Looking Like a Fool with Your Pants on the Ground

American Idol certainly knows how to get a buzz about its program. Last night was no exception. 62-year old General Larry Platt steals the night with his original song called: Pants on the Ground. 

Obviously, Platt is too old to audition, by at least 34 years. But the Idol producers know how to create a buzz and get people talking about their program.


Back in the 90's "must see TV" was discussed the next day at the water cooler. Today, it is done instantly via Twitter and Facebook.


Kudos to American Idol. This is a Brainworm™.

What is a Brainworm™?

Hi everyone and welcome to the first installment of Brainworms and The Buzz™. My name is John Weeden, a marketing communications professional in beautiful Orlando, Florida. I love TV, movies, music, advertising and social media with a penchant for all things “Brainworm™.”

So what is a Brainworm™? Funny you should ask.

First, I’ll begin by telling you what it is not. It’s not blatant like a gory horror flick. It’s not a tacky used car lot commercial with some guy—probably the car lot owner himself—yelling at you. (On a side note, why do they buy into the notion of “no yell, no sell” anyways? It’s annoying, but sometimes it works; but I’ll save that topic for another day.) A Brainworm™ is not Ashton Kutcher leading a pack of lemmings in the quest to garner the most Twitter followers.

A Brainworm™

A Brainworm™ is a viral parasite that’s virtual in nature. It begins in a miniscule form and looks for brains to feed upon. In a subtle, quintessential “Brainworm™” manner, it begins to grow. It feeds on its host with the purpose of propagating. A mild Brainworm™ will spread to a few hundred people. A good Brainworm™ will spread to thousands. A great Brainworm™ of epidemic proportions will spread to millions and be all of the rage.

Have you ever heard a tune and could never get it out of your head? Some bonehead in your office whistles the theme to “The Flintstones” and you’re stuck in a feedback loop for hours. That’s a Brainworm™.

This blog, titled Brainworms and The Buzz™, will be the rants and raves of all that I find memorable. At a minimum, it will be like “the good, the bad and the totally-get-out-of-my-face ugly.” Sometimes the blog will have a direct purpose. Other times it will be just me, furiously typing away on meaningless trivia. My hope is that you find this blog to be entertaining, inspiring, and most of all memorable. I would welcome the thought of getting to know each of you, in person, or over the ever-expanding social media universe.

Thinking of you.

John

(Originally posted December 1, 2009)