Brand Mix

Decade from hell? A great decade? Somewhere in between. I link. You decide

1) The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade from Hell: Time
Time got in early with its pitch that it was the noughties from hell, going as far to describe it as the worst decade ever in this photo-essay. The decade actually got off to a good start by not having the Y2K meltdown that everyone expected. But then there was: 9/11, Iraq, tsunamis, Katrina, foreclosures and a market meltdown. Time thinks we only have ourselves to blame. A fatal mix of: greed, neglect, self-interest and deferral of responsibility drove these disasters.

2) Are the naughties the best decade ever? Marginal Revolution
Not so fast says Tyler Cowen. While bad things were happening in the U.S., he points out that good things were happening elsewhere. China, Brazil and India, even Africa enjoyed a decade of economic growth. Not surprisingly, this post generated a lot of comments with people suggesting other decades that were clearly worse than the naughties. I'm glad I missed the 1910s and the 1940s and, apparently the 1860s were really awful too.

3) Who's been the naughtiest in the noughties? Not yet published as far as I know
Someone's going to publish this soon but, before they do, here's my version. Naughtiest of the noughties in various categories:

Financial (individual): Bernie Madoff
Financial (corporate): Enron
Sports (infidelity): Tiger Woods
Sports (animals): Michael Vick
Sports (individual performance): Barry Bonds
Sports (team performance): Detroit Lions
Sports (hands): Thierry Henry
Politics (infidelity): Tie: Mark Sanford, John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer
Politics (travel): Senator "I did nothing 'inappropriate' in airport bathroom" Larry Craig
Politics (influence): Jack Abramoff
Politics (Chicago): Rod Blagojevich
Entertainment (intolerance): Mel Gibson
Entertainment (animals): Paris Hilton
Entertainment (wardrobe): Janet Jackson
Entertainment (reality): Jon and Kate Gosselin
Entertainment (crafts): Martha Stewart
Entertainment (substances): Amy Winehouse
Fashion (hair): Britney Spears

These are just my first slate of categories and candidates. Let me know if you wish to nominate anyone else or add some categories.

4) Prince Charles Scandal: The Daily Show
It's the 50th anniversary of Second City and alums are returning home to Chicago to celebrate. Second City alumni include Bill Murray, John and Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert. Here's a video of Colbert when he was still on The Daily Show trying to report on a royal (naughty) scandal:



5) Words of the decade: Fritinancy
There will be a chosen Word of the Decade from the American Dialect Society soon enough but, for now, Nancy Friedman has made her own selections. Her list includes: ADD, awesome, blog, diva green and ground zero. Each word chosen for its prominence in the decade and how indicative it is of trends or sea changes that affected us.

6) We got that B-Roll: Dexfango
Nothing to do with the topic but just too good not to include. Don't judge the B-Roll!



That's it! Back soon with more stories from the world of brand strategy (and vaguely related areas). More thoughts and comments also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).