I was watching a U2 video on youtube today, and I was very intrigued when certain words spoken by Bono (not to be confused with Sonny Bono) elicited spontaneous cheers from the crowd.
I have seen this crowd energy phenomenon occur many times . . . Sometimes it’s certain key phrases, but just as often, it’s the theme of a familiar piece of music. While I played with Arthur Fiedler and the Pops, it was always fascinating– and as predictable as clockwork– that when we started to play “Stars and Stripes Forever,” the crowd would roar its approval. We the musicians were generally sick of it, but one could not deny that it was a real crowd pleaser. We got an even bigger roar from the crowd when the big American flag would drop down on the recapitulation.
This kind of crowd excitement over old, repetitious, and familiar things is, I think, often forgotten about. It seems like there are so many people selling “brand-new” stuff that they forget that there is a lot to be said for things just being the same and familiar.
Just some examples, I went to a Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago, and while I certainly appreciated the effort the host made in making the dinner, I was truly disappointed that there weren’t any mashed potatoes, nor was there any turkey. There are times and places when one wishes to discover new and familiar things; there are times when I wish to explore and experiment. There are also times when I just want to eat a peanut butter sandwich, watch a rerun of the Wizard of Oz, and go to sleep in my own bed.
I run into the conflict of old vs new a lot when I go dancing. There are some DJ’s who play nothing but “old favorites,” and there are others who will only play all new stuff that none of us have ever heard before. In my opinion, the best DJ’s know how to balance familiar with unfamiliar.
I guess I run into this problem myself a lot. When I get up to speak, I am so terribly eager to share some new discovery, I keep forgetting that I need to somehow reinforce my connection with the audience via common experience and tradition.
This applies to product branding as well. Will anyone ever forget the disaster that was “New Coke”? And I cannot begin to tell you how vexed I become when some web site I use suddenly changes its interface.
There is a constant message out there that newer is always better. Therefore it is important to emphasize that there is a lot of value in tradition and the sense that some things are constant and unchanging. The more change and disruption we experience in our lives due to the relentless onslaught of technology, the more we need something to hold onto to make us feel like we have something to depend on. It’s old, we’ve heard it a jillion times, and that is why it has value.
© Justin Locke
