We have ALWAYS had family at New Orleans Mardi Gras, thanks.
I was told about this by a friend at the synagogue last night:
Here’s a good test of social media’s muscle: The re-branding of Mardi Gras in New Orleans as family-friendly entertainment.
That’s a tough brief, for sure, but it’s already attracted major brand and media backing from Louisiana pantry staple Tabasco and broadcaster Belo Corp.
“We want to show people that Mardi Gras can be clean and wholesome,” said Jan Carroll, Tabasco’s marketing director. “It doesn’t have to be ‘Girls Gone Wild.’”
To most of the country, of course, it is — a vision of frat boys and party girls pouring into the French Quarter for a bacchanalia of booze, bare breasts and beads. Programs such as “Girls Gone Wild” and “Cops” have reinforced the image.
And that’s long frustrated Tom Martin, president of local marketing firm Zehnder Communications (and a contributor to Ad Age’s Small Agency Diary), who, like a lot of New Orleans residents, says the event ought to be better known for cultural and culinary aspects than for its debauchery. “As long as I’ve lived here, I’ve listened to people bitch and moan about how people around the country just don’t get it,” said the Texas-bred adman. “If you’re going to whine, do something about it or shut up.”
What he’s doing? The family-friendly My Mardi Gras Experience, which won’t begin its posts from bloggers showing what a great experience it is for people of ALL ages until February 1st.
Take that, Jefferson Parish and Baton Rouge!
…at least, until the first posts begin popping up. Jury’s out on how well they’ll be written or received.
‘Til then, I offer you my humble postings on past Mardi Gras celebrations with MY family.
And this doesn’t even go into Homan’s posts on Barkus, whose participation includes ALL of his family and close friends. If you have any other “family-friendly” reminiscences of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I invite you to share. If it gets too long for a comment, just write it out in a post and throw the link back in your comment.
“Re-branding”, my tuchus. Families have ALWAYS enjoyed Mardi Gras here, and always will.
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Branding is often more about image than substance. Not always by a long shot, its integral to what I do for a living, but this sort of this is foolish and misguided.
“Branding is often more about image than substance.”
Which is why the jury’s still out on how well this balloon will go over. Not everybody’s gonna jump up and down over stories on the internet and say,”Hey, let’s all take the kids to Mardi Gras in New Orleans next year!!!” And, honestly, I’m not sure I’d want ALL of ‘em here. ;-) This kind of thing has been going on for years, however, and it would be better for more of these stories to become mainstream, just to provide some sort of balance that is lacking.
The hideous antics described here, and shown on tabloid TV, will never be ‘out branded’ by civilized society, no matter how PG, P.C. or charmingly bawdy.
They like to show that shit on TV so they can sell cheap beer & big screen televisions to morons.
Do I really want all those people and their kids coming on down to ruin my Mardi Gras? Hell no.
The creative costumers, artistic spirits, seekers of Bliss, Joy & Liberation will always gather here for this blessed event.
The day it gets that widely attended is the day it starts getting lots of new rules.
I don’t wanna live in Disneyland.
http://lorddavidtruth.blogspot.com/2009/02/carnival.html
So, he wants to promote the Family Values of Mardi Gras, yet he uses the phrase “bitch and moan”? I bet his kids swear like drunken sailors!
It’s the other side of “Family-Friendly”, y’all. Too many forget that families can and sometimes will be a contentious bunch – but Mardi Gras here doesn’t forget that, it makes room for it, lampoons it, gets it a little drunk and high on king cake (and possibly other substances) and the bands play on.
It’s just life. Celebrated.
And places like JP and the Red Stick can’t include that in their versions of Mardi Gras because it would be unseemly and somehow bad for business – too revealing of the good ol’ boys behind the curtains.