The President Called Me
Whether your candidate won or lost this week, there is one thing we can all agree on; at least those annoying robocalls have stopped. There’s nothing more infuriating than getting a phone call from a local number and answering “hello” five times before a pre-recorded message starts playing. Former president Barack Obama called me Monday. So did President Trump. One House of Delegates candidate called me Sunday afternoon during the Redskins game. (the Skins won the game, but he lost the election) #karma
I have many friends who complain about political ads, and some like to rib me about being in the ad game. Many gripe about negative ads, but the ugly truth is that most people secretly like them. Robocalls, on the other hand, are universally despised. I’ve never met anyone who likes them, and studies show that they are not only ineffective, but actually hurts the candidate that buys them. They’re intrusive, stupid, and ineffective.
If you are a company that makes robocalls, you are actually breaking federal law. A class action lawsuit that just closed November 3 ensures every home called by a Florida company selling cruises can get up to $900 in damages. But if a politician calls you at dinner, it’s perfectly legal…and you can’t do anything about it. Despite the Telecommunications Privacy Act of 1991 (TCPA), and implementation of the Do Not Call Registry in 2003, we still get robocalls. Why?
Monday, November 6 – Easy Rider
The kids were out of school Monday, which meant a really short commute to the office. The kids at Madison+Main were busy though…
Due to the popularity of Jack, the wisecracking “spokesplug” for Virginia Energy Sense, we’ve taken online videos we made with our friends at Abandon Films and cut a :30 TV spot. Jack’s baaaack on a TV screen near you. Check it out!
Jack is baaaaaack for Virginia Energy Sense!
Tuesday, November 7 – Selection Day
This week celebrate the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps and Veterans Day, so it was appropriate to have Virginia War Memorial Executive Director John Mountcastle as our speaker at the MAGNIFICENT Midlothian Rotary Club on Tuesday morning. Have you ever thought about joining a great group of business leaders who want make a better world? Come be my guest!
Wednesday, November 8 – Head for the Bowl
I started my day and ended my day with my friend and neighbor, Justin Lenart. He joined me for coffee at 8 a.m. and dropped by the 8th Annual Madison+Main Chili Cook-off at 8 p.m. Justin is a great guy who works as a marketing producer for NBC12. You should connect with him on LinkedIn so he can get over the 500 connections hump. #magicnumber
The Chili Cook-off was a huge success. Special thanks to Atlas 42 for hosting and to all of the guys and gals at M+M for organizing. Our celebrity judges tried 12 different chilis, and some probably needed some Pepto Bismal yesterday. Thanks to CBS6 Sports Anchor Lane Cassadonte, Richmond Raceway Prez Dennis Bickmeier, ESPN Radio‘s Greg “Hardly Workin” Burton, and Richmond-Times-Dispatch Managing Editor Mike Szvetitz for being such good sports… get it? The theme was Sports! #KingoftheBadPun
The winners:
1st Place – The Alliance Group, with “Go Navy, Beat Army” Chili
2nd Place – Tie between Comcast Spotlight and James River Equipment
3rd Place – Worth Higgins‘ “Worth a 2nd Bowl” Chili
People’s Choice Award (a.k.a. 4th place) – Peter “Hot Pants” Larsen from Cobb Technologies.
Thursday, November 9 – Oops, Almost Missed It
I had lunch Thursday with my friend and fellow Rotarian Rainer “That’s easy for you to say” Schlichtherle and he reminded me that the last time we grabbed lunch, I never mentioned it in the Weekly Report. This week I’m giving a shout out to Rainer (pronounced RHINE-Urr). We had sandwiches at Can-Can Brasserie, and they were delicious. #offthediet
VCU Ad Club came by for a visit Thursday afternoon, and I heard they got a great tour. Sr. Account Manager Kaitlin Thomas and I (almost) missed them, as we were out at a meeting.
The Calendar!
New Kent Winery Farmer’s Market & Open Mic Afternoon
November 19th
Our pals at New Kent Winery are having another Farmer’s Market event on Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Join the Dombroski family for a relaxing afternoon sipping their tasty wines while supporting local farmers and small businesses! An Open Mic Afternoon will follow the farmer’s market, beginning at 1 p.m. Check it out!
Friday, November 10 – 100 In A Row
Nothing better after a busy day than to enjoy a VCU Basketball game. So tonight, my beloved VCU Rams will take on Grambling at the Siegel Center and pack the place for the 100th consecutive sellout. Are you going to the game? #GoRamsGo
“The cold call may be officially dead, but the robocall is its flesh-eating-zombie-straight-outta-hell replacement.”
–Dave Saunders