On a lively marketing podcast last night, we chatted about everything from the future of the Apple iPad (fantastic opportunity for app development, but geez, what a lame name), to Toyota’s massive branding fail.
Our host, Bob Knorpp, asked each guest to predict a new trend. Abbey Klaassen, executive editor of AdAge, is watching brands pushing social good over traditional messages (Pepsi jerks out the Superbowl after 23 consecutive years!) in favor of social awareness. Mullen’s Chief Creative Officer, Edward Boches, is watching how avidly people participate and share in the megaphones of foursquare and Blippie. Len Kendall, digital superstar for Golin Harris and the force behind social blog experiment the3six5, contrasted how differently Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are choosing to spend the latter half of their lives.
My trend to watch out for? Rising sarcasm.
Economic legend tells us that hemlines rise with the economy: shorter skirts are a predictor of a rising stocks and consumer confidence. Humor rises and falls the same way. When our collective morale is low, we’re fearfully watching our stock portfolios and hiding from the boss with tails tucked firmly between legs. (Career advice 101: It’s perhaps unwise to crack wiseass retorts in status meetings when you’re even lucky to have that seat at the table). We’ve kept out tongues in check for months, experiencing an onslaught of the fascination alarm trigger.
But now– hurrah!– if you listen closely in the snarky hallways of Twitter and Facebook you’ll witness the return of well-honed tweaks of irony.
Sarcasm is back, baby. Even if you haven’t missed its brazen swagger, you probably appreciate the confidence it heralds. Let’s hope consumer morale won’t trail too far behind. The alarm trigger is lessening in favor of… dare I be so bold to say… optimism?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go celebrate by trading my ankle-length hemline for a miniskirt, and go tweet something deliciously scintillating.
