Editorial note: Opinions expressed here are solely those of the blogger
I had a former colleague who unfortunately passed away, far too young, some years back. He was the type of person who had a visceral reaction to certain foods, especially baked goods. We worked at an ad agency back when everyone went into the office and there were a ton of baked goods around on any given week. And I never stopped getting a kick out of the wide-eyed enthusiasm and glee my colleague would display every time he saw muffins, scones, or most especially, doughnuts.
If I had to pick a food capable of eliciting a similar response in me, it would be pizza. The humorist Mike Birbiglia notes how the two “z’s” in “pizza” look like pizza slices. I’ve actually heard pizza compared to sex – that even when it’s not that great, it’s still pretty good.
Yesterday I found myself thinking of pizza relatively early in the morning. Breakfast pizza, that is.
My wife Wendy and I were having a conversation with a business associate who relayed the following anecdote: This man was doing housework on a Saturday morning, thinking of where he, his wife and kids might have breakfast. A local news show was on in the background and happened to feature a chef from an area restaurant making breakfast pizza.
The business associate described the pizza he saw on television in mouth-watering detail. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, plus a special sauce. It sounded amazing and I felt myself getting progressively hungrier.
Then he dropped the proverbial bomb on Wendy and me.
This man was just about to gather up his family and head out to the restaurant featured on the news segment when the chef mentioned the establishment didn’t open until close to lunchtime.
I felt myself getting worked up by proxy. What kind of person builds up hopes and expectations with a delicious breakfast pizza and features it on a morning show during a time when you can’t enjoy it? The kind of person that didn’t think through his messaging, or more likely, have someone think it through for him. That’s who.
Our associate told Wendy and me this anecdote because he knew that, as content strategists and creators, it would resonate with us. A reminder of the need to be descriptive and enticing with messaging and content. But darn it; follow through.
Image credit: emicooks.com
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