New Moon’s Rising For Girls Media: Orb28 For Teens 13-15+ (Part 1)

Orb28 Let's see: Orb: "A sphere of influence, a collective body"...28: numeral referring to the moon's cycle...New Moon: lunar phase when the moon orbits between the Earth and the Sun; Moon: a symbol of womanhood... Okay, I'm beginning to get it now...As a name generation gal, I tend to dissect etymology for sport, but I admittedly glossed over New Moon Girl Media as simply … [Read more...]

Manga Makeovers and Other Body Image Cartoon Capers (Part 2)

It’s devil’s advocate day here, as I try to flush out my bias and take a centrist point of view on the cartoon character facelift conundrum, exploring ‘then and now’ from a sociological perspective, with a bit more analysis from yesterday's post on my own marketing background in terms of branding overhauls. After all, Pooh Bear got a makeover. So did Mickey. Popeye. Charlie … [Read more...]

Facelifts for Kiddie Characters: Rebranding ’80s Icons?

Last week’s New York Times article on 21st century ‘facelifts’ for kiddie characters gave me the willies on a variety of fronts, despite the fact that I’ve personally ‘freshened’ many a brand in my time. From Peanuts to Barbie, I 'get' that mega-brands need to stay au courant... I’ve admittedly had a hard time tapping into specific analysis of what’s irking me most about … [Read more...]

Zrii & the Tao of Healthy Beverages: What’s IN This Stuff?

Raised predominantly in Hawaii, packaging like Fiji water and Zrii always catches my eye, as do lofty health claims like, “a drink so nutritionally complete that it has no equal in all of history”...So I set out to find the scoop on the zen of Zrii, soon to be the next consumable hypefest elixir, and sure to appeal to uber-trendy teens who are being targeted big … [Read more...]

Defending Pretending: The Need for Prominent Play (Part 2)

Update: 6-25: USA Today Interview with Susan Linn here. When’s the last time you unplugged to take time, space, and silence to reconnect with yourself and just play? It’s no secret that renewal and fresh thinking often springs from quiet time, where body and brain can retreat, relax, restore…this goes for kids, too. Dr. Susan Linn writes in her book The … [Read more...]