You are the best of us, they told him. Then they kicked him to the curb.
Then they wouldn’t let him die.
Thank you for your recent call. Made my weekend much more ENJOYABLE. My cousin has been by my side most of the last month. When is the last time you shared yourself with a 26-year-old, same gender, tattoos, pierced nipples and, it’s too unbelievable, I can’t go on. Mike worships me and you can’t blame him. Mike’s outa here tomorrow. Darla and Andy are going back to Swisshome and I am in Northwest Portland writing away. My house owner returns Sunday.
Thursday night I am attending Nike’s private Hood-to-Coast Relay pep rally as a guest of Alberto’s. The next night Alberto and I and the defending H2C championship team will head for the mountain. I am going in my official capacity as feature writer for Running Times. Looking for more. I have this long piece of fiction in mind. Maybe a high school team, led by Brooks Rockit. That’s the name I gave him.
Teaching a workshop “Unleashing Your Wild Dog” at the Yachats Literary Festival from 9/4-9/9.
More miscellaneous thoughts. You are an entertainment company. How about a new form of comic, a graphic sports short story collection. A novella perhaps. ref Classics Illustrated or some of the new stuff. Get an illustrator from the Dark Horse stable. Check out the young adult sports section.
The average American consumer sees 16,000 ads daily. (including logos and labels.) You just saw one.
Ten years from now, 12,000 Americans will turn fifty every day.
“…in today’s puritanical, post-neo-punk era, when kids grimly scrutinize bands for any sign of selling out…. Dogstar is just the band for a time when sloppiness is next to godliness.” From a review of Keanu Reeves’ rock group.
Dimension Six condoms. The official prophylactic of the Summer Games. Give them out for free along the marathon route. Where the rubber meets the road racers. Bring attention to AIDS. These are the fittest creatures of our species and they come together in Hotlanta. Frequently, I’ll bet.
Take a stand for affirmative action. Might be a popular stance in the inner cities, Atlanta, for example. The power may be with the Pete Wilsons of this nation for now but the feet are still on the masses of the oppressed and downtrodden. And no other shoe company, I am guessing, can speak as clearly on this issue as Dimension Six.
Dimension Six posters on telephone poles. In the style of rock band promo sheets. Might give this a shot in Atlanta next summer.
The real American Olympics next year will be the campaign for the U.S. Presidency. Congress, too. What are your promo ideas for that? Reprise ’68. Contract On America a far more deadly war than Vietnam.
Wouldn’t it be something to know in advance what or who will capture the void left behind when they cart Orenthal James’ car-rental hustlin’ ass off to the slammer? And get there early. Push the people that way. Find out where they are headed and get ahead of them somehow . Make sure your financials are in order. And you don’t have any tariff favors to ask.
New topic. AD COPY:
You’re the athlete.
And you honor us by running in our shoes.
Create your own logo.
Dimension Six.
Become Your Own Hero.
I see now the Dimension Six name shouldn’t be last. Give the ball back to your audience. Your ads should tell stories. Your ads should tell the customer’s story. Let your customer tell his own story to himself.
ad copy:
When the game is finally over, sing your opponent’s praises.
Win or lose. You are your own fat lady.
Dimension Six.
Become Your Own Hero.
Sure, perhaps a tad verbose. Just throwin’ stuff against the wall.
Oh. One more thing. Like to see a dog in all your ads.
I actually wrote this letter to an actual shoe company honcho. Please note how many of today’s advertisements have canine actors for no good reason other than whatever product they are selling suddenly got cuter and warmer and lively. That’s why there’s a puppy asleep on my foot.