Brand Down and Brand Up (or Something Like That)

I don’t know why Donny Deutsch does the weekly “Brand Up, Brand Down” segment on MS NOW’s Morning Joe, other than have a lengthy, successful career in advertising working for (or owning) an advertising agency, but I could totally fill in for him if he ever has a cold or stage fright.

Oh, ahem. Yes. I watch Morning Joe, and so I’ve revealed a slight glimpse into my political leanings but here’s my justification … I identify with Joe Scarborough. I’m fairly conservative in the way I live my life, but I also have an open mind, believe in fairness, and I’m a smartass. Plus, Morning Joe kinda tells me all my news, with a slanted opinion (an opinion I’m aware of) and fits it all into 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. It repeats the 6a-7a hour, starting at 8. Plus they talk some sports and non-political stuff, and have some interesting guests … like Donny Deutsch.

He does this “Brand Up, Brand Down” and just lists things and has a little commentary. Pretty easy. This morning (watch it here), he gave a “Brand Up” label to adult braces (because it’s actually for better health and not just vanity of a straight smile) and Mike Myers (because he’s making an Austin Powers 4).

Meanwhile, Dad Bods, soap and shampoo dispensers at hotels, and streaming TV prices all got “brand down” … which sucks, because Dad Bods were trendy recently and that was good for me because I was all trendy just by being old and a little flabby.

Anyway, I’m going to audition for his back-up because (a) my name is also “Donny” (even though I go with the “Donnie” version) and (b) I work in advertising.

I’m gonna call my new Blog feature “Brand Down, Brand Up.” Similar but different. And like Donny on MS NOW, it’s really just a list of things I kinda like and things I don’t like.

Here goes…

Brand Up

Ember Mug: I don’t gulp coffee. I savor my morning cuppa joe. I take sips while I write, check Emails, or do morning chores. A normal, ceramic mug forces you to wait, wait, wait until the coffee is not scalding hot and then… drink it in 10 minutes or less otherwise, it gets luke warm, then cold. Microwaving a cuppa coffee changes the taste. An Ember Mug might cost a little, but it’s a “smart mug” and you can set the temperature for whatever sipping temp you like and it keeps it at that temperature. It works with an App on your iPhone. If you’re like me, I can take 45+ minutes to savor a cuppa coffee and with the Ember Mug, the coffee is always at 135-degrees.

Brand Down

Synthetic Fibers: I won’t bad mouth any particular brands, but for some reason, we all suddenly fell in love with wrinkle-free, cooling technology, and wicking in our shirts. If a shirt wicks or is wrinkle-free, it definitely has polyester or spandex or some other type of plastic that makes it that way. It’s not a theory – it’s a fact. Plastic is everywhere and that plastic gets inside our bodies and if your shirts, jeans, and bed sheets are made with synthetic fibers, little microplastics are going into your skin, or being inhaled, and it’s bad news. Time to seek out and get back to 100% cotton or wool for your clothing and bed sheets.

See? “Brand Down” is just stuff I don’t like.

Brand Up

LEUCHTTURN1917 Journals (Especially Bullet-Journals): It’s trendy to say you’re into “analog” and IYKYK (if you know you know) that means getting off your screen and doing things IRL (in real life). Things like … talking to people face to face. Getting outside and walking (instead of on a treadmill in a gym). Listening to music through a speaker and listening deliberately without earbuds or headphones and listening-only (not while doing other things – just sitting and listening). Paper books instead of eReaders. And, for me, sharpening a quality pencil and writing in a paper journal. I personally have fallen in love with a bullet journal because I like square corners and angles and I recently learned there’s a whole movement of people who love a good “bujo” (that means “bullet journal”). There’s a nice feeling of scratching the lead against the page and writing out your to-do list, or making a note or reminder, and then of erasing a mistake.

BONUS BRAND UP: A classic, old-fashioned wooden pencil is “green”, unlike the bazillion plastic pens that likely don’t get recycled and just sit in landfills for eternity.

Brand Down

Mike D: Actually, this might not be a “brand down”, and I can’t hate Mike D for still wanting to create and make music even though MCA is no longer with us, and because he and Ad Rock said they, “would never perform as The Beasite Boys, again.” And he’s not (even though he mixes in Beastie songs into his growing set as he starts performing again). Well, not really. Even if he did an entire hour-long show of nothing but Beastie Boys songs and I would love every minute … it still feels a little “brand down” and his new, original, solo stuff is … not The Beastie Boys. Maybe I’ll make a new category and call it “Brand Maybe”. Anyway, below are Mike D’s two new solo songs and I want to love them because I love the Beastie Boys and, hence, love Mike D and he, the Boys, and their music are tied to all my formative years and my best friends and all the concerts …but I’m just not sure.

There you have it… the first installment of Donnie K’s “Brand Down, Brand Up” and if anyone at MS NOW or in Donny Deutsch’s “camp” (I assume he has a camp) is seeing this … let’s connect and I’ll fill in for him when he’s on vacation or out sick.