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| April 12, 2007 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 It's been a big, wild week here at Insurgent Headquarters and I need a little time to decompress after the election. I'm taking the week off from 'Editor's Desk', but offer up for your enjoyment this "classic" column form the past, dated just about one year ago, when the Municipality of Anchorage announced that it would be spending $80,000 to come up with anew "brand" for the city. See if you like our suggestion (at the bottom of the page) better than the eventual winner, "Big, Wild Life". 
It’s been a branded week here at
Insurgent Headquarters.On Monday, the Municipality of Anchorage announced that it had given $80,000 to two advertising agencies to come up with a ‘brand’ for the city. You know ... kinda like “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” or “the city that never sleeps” (wait a sec ... isn’t that Vegas, too?). This is the best and worst idea I’ve heard in a while. On the one hand, the notion of spurring community thought on just exactly what it is that makes us want to live here is long overdue. Anchorage could use a shot in the arm when it comes to city pride and identity. Are we the “Air Crossroads of the World” (booooring)? Are we the “City of Lights” (surprised Paris hasn’t sued us yet)? Are we merely, as they say in rural Alaska, the “Gateway To Costco”? Although the idea of ‘branding’ Anchorage is indeed a compelling one, paying eighty grand to a couple of ad firms (one of them from Outside) to do it is just plain nuts. Does the Municipality have no clue about the wealth of talented, creative, imaginative people who happen to live here? Giving this job to an ad agency defeats the purpose of creating a community spirit, doesn’t it? Come on, Anchorage, we can do this. And we can do it for free. Here at Insurgent Headquarters, we’ve been working on it all week. At first, it was difficult to take the task seriously, and the slogans for Anchorage we came up with were decidedly silly. “Anchorage: City Of Fermented Dog Turds” “Best City In Town” “Boyhood Home Of Ben Stevens” After the giggling died down, however, we got serious. “What is it about Anchorage that keeps us all here, and usually pulls those who stray back into its orbit, too?” we pondered. What makes Anchorage special? We did a little brainstorming. Our trail system. Our parks system and greenbelts. The Chugach mountains in our backyard. Cultural diversity. The Bear Tooth. Hmmm ... we soon realized just how difficult a job like branding Anchorage could be (still not worth $80,000, though). How to take all of the positive aspects of our city and condense them into one catchy phrase that would inspire tourists and locals alike? Or ... are we going about this the wrong way? Does a slogan for Anchorage necessarily have to be positive? Maybe we should buck tradition and just be honest. “Anchorage: The Ugliest City In the Most Beautiful Spot In America” “Hookers, Meth & Prevo” “SUV Utopia” “Anchorage: Rape Capital Of the Country” It was that last one that made me throw my hands up in defeat. It was obvious that I, like a lot of Anchorage residents, have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the city. Perhaps this branding thing is best left to the advertising professionals, those who are masters of glamorizing the unglamorous. Last night, I decided to take a break from branding. To clear my head, I took a little stroll around my downtown neighborhood. As I was walking down Fourth Avenue, my mind turned to other things, I was suddenly struck by divine intervention. A sign in a shop window gave me the inspiration I had been looking for. In two words, it summed up everything important about Anchorage, the very essence of the city. I knew instantly what our new ‘brand’ would be: “Rippie World”. Aaron Selbig is an activist and media junkie who resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage. He is the winner of a 2006 Alaska Press Club award for Best Editorial Writing, host of KUDO 1080 AM's 'The Aaron Selbig Show' and a co-founder of Insurgent49. Aaron may be contacted at editor@insurgent49.com 'Editor's Desk' appears on insurgent49.com every Thursday. |
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