BoJack Horseman's Most Redeeming Moment

By Jen Ruppert

BoJack Horseman is not a good person. He is rude. He is decadent. He is jaded. Also, he is, well, a horse. But there is still a shred of goodness in his heart. Never is this more evident than during the show’s “Fish Out of Water” episode (S3:E4).

It starts with BoJack plunging deep into the ocean on a 20K Leagues Subliner to attend the Pacific Ocean Film Festival where his movie Secretariat will be screened. A hurried pre-submersion conversation with his publicist reveals how his boorish behavior has made him unwelcome at prestigious film festivals on land like Sundance and Cannes. And we regular viewers are not surprised. It is classic BoJack to irk the French by making negative remarks about Sartre, and anger Robert Redford by telling him the Horse Whisperer was offensive because “real horses don’t just do whatever someone says.” He even tries to bail out before the submarine descends but is tased back into submission by an electric eel.

Upon arriving at Free Willy International Seaport, BoJack seems humbled by the alien environment. His horse head encased in a bubble, he awkwardly seeks his driver who is instructed to look for someone “chubby with a sport coat.” He checks into a room at the Rinse Carlton with an underwater version of Picasso’s Figure at the Seaside hanging above his bed, and tries to take a nip from his flask, forgetting his head bubble makes that impossible.

Venturing out, he sees an old colleague he wronged and tries to hide from her. A school of fish forces him onto a bus where he falls asleep, and upon waking, is compelled to help a male seahorse deliver his babies. But one newborn gets left behind. And despite his best efforts to leave it for dead, BoJack finds himself striving to reunite the little guy with his dad.

Their journey is transformative. They see a weird ad with Mr. Peanutbutter hawking seahorse milk. They get chased by the bodega shark. They fall off the Continental Shelf. They bounce around on bioluminescent creatures. They are nearly shredded by a propellor at the freshwater taffy factory. They get into a slow-speed chase with security barracuda. Despite the danger — or maybe because he endures it to help someone else — BoJack feels joy for the first time in his life.

BoJack eventually achieves his goal of reuniting the baby with his father. The land horse who suffered a tragic childhood redeems himself by saving the seahorse from a worse fate. BoJack delved deeply into the sea, and found his humanity.

Design (Not) Within Reach

By Jen Ruppert

Have you ever spent more money than you intended on a product from a brand you admired only to be disappointed the moment it arrived? Did the warehouse team send you the right chair with the wrong color cushion? Was the delivery process inconvenient and stressful? Did it sour you on the brand?

I’ve been there. And I’ll bet you have too.

In this 2015 Forbes article, Ernan Roman says: “Trust in brand promise is universally a top priority for consumers in determining whether to do business with a company. But trust cannot be assumed or bought. It needs to [be] earned through actions.”

In more recent years, this maxim has proven even truer. Millennials, especially, won’t do business with companies they consider inauthentic.

I don’t enjoy casting aspersions. But I do have a specific company in mind that did not deliver on its brand promises. I love their products and their branding is compelling. But their service is abysmal, especially given the high price point.

I’m talking about Design Within Reach, although Design (Not) Within Reach might be a better moniker.

DWR sells authentic home furnishings by some of the world’s most iconic modern designers. Its branding and messaging convey this promise through clean look-and-feel and stunning photography. But the moment you spend a staggering sum on an Eero Saarinen dining set and toil to get it delivered is where the happy feelings abruptly end.

I made such a purchase a few years ago and suffered a ridiculous series of phone calls and wasted time on hold and waited for months to receive my what I bought. The people who “assisted” me were rude and unhelpful. 

It’s almost like they don’t want you to buy their furniture. Maybe it’s DWR’s way of establishing exclusivity, an attitude that I suspect will eventually lead to the company’s demise.

Why Your Boss Should Read Seth Godin's 'This Is Marketing'

By Jen Ruppert

My friend who has built a long and successful career in sales always tells me – and anyone else who will listen: “Everything is sales.” Whenever she utters this maxim, my rejoinder is: “You are dead wrong! Everything is marketing!” I am 100% confident that Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing and other revered books on the subject would eagerly back up my claim. Godin says:

“The entire organization works for and with the marketer, because marketing is all of it. What we make, how we make it, who we make it for. It is the effects and the side effects, the pricing and the profit, all at once.”

I manage marketing for a law firm. Lawyers typically think of marketing as a cost center or a task that pulls them away from billable work. Many of them consider branding to be window dressing. I do my best to convince them, but not having a J.D. sometimes puts me at a disadvantage. What if the detractors could shift their mindsets to think of marketing as integral to everything they do? 

I am not just the person who manages their website, helps land their biggest client, or secures their next speaking engagement. With all of my efforts, I know that I am marketing the quality of the attorneys’ law and motion work, their ability to communicate effectively with clients; their knack for finding creative solutions to complex legal matters; and their skill at obtaining defense verdicts. If they do a great job, I have a much stronger value proposition. And if they willingly work with me to tell these compelling stories about the prowess of our firm, the more problems we can solve for clients. Together.

This is why I will call my boss first thing tomorrow morning to recommend Godin's book. And it's why you should too.