I’ve spent parts of Ramadan all over the Middle East including Lebanon, the Sultanate of Oman, and Syria. Without creating serious debate, one of the best places for anyone to be during the holy month of Ramadan is in Turkey. Here, the solidarity of the holiday reaches its peak while honoring many of centuries-old traditions across all parts of the society.

For many outside of Islam, it would be easy to put Ramadan into a bucket of religious holidays, but truthfully it is much more than praying multiple times a day and fasting from before dawn until night. It’s also as much about bringing people together as much as any other kind of biased opinion you may have heard other the years.

In Turkey, Iftar is a daily celebration of the breaking of the fast. Tables are elaborately set where families, friends and neighbors gather around the same table to feast on dishes that are prepared throughout the day. When I recall Ramadan traditions, the first to come to mind are crowded Iftar dinners, delicious treats, and home chefs revealing their culinary skills.

These rich dinner tables, extraordinarily adorned with a large variety of dishes, are an indicator of the hospitality and family values—with very few countries more adept at it that the Turkey people. Iftar is also where you discover that the centuries-old tradition of helping the poor and those in need shine bright. It’s a place where you can invite the needy over for Iftar, or prepare a special dinner for them for a greater sense of community. Even better is the incredible amount of hot food distributed to thousands of people by institutions, organizations, and of course, the locals.

Foods most frequently served on the tables include regional and traditional varieties of lamb and beef dishes, vegetable and legume dishes, soups, pilafs, dates, olives and cheese varieties, soujouk (fermented halal sausages), fattoush salads, various pastries and pies made of thin sheets of dough.

One these long summer days, there isn’t time for more than formal meal, but in the true underlying meaning of unity, Sahur is prepared and consumed in the wee hours of the morning. Only members of the household attend this meal, proceeding the upcoming 12-15 hours fast of the coming day.

Sahur comes from one of the oldest traditions of the month of Ramadan, the mesaharati (or the Ramadan drummer) wandered from one street and neighborhood to another, informing those who fast about the approaching Sahur time. This tradition, which started to make sure that nobody would miss Sahur in an era when not every household had a clock, may have lost its functionality today but symbolically, it continues across the entire country. The drummers are rewarded for their month-long effort to wake up the people by collecting tips on the last night of Ramadan. Sahur tables are highlighted by lighter dishes like yogurt parfait, dates, fruits, toast with lebne dips and cheeses, and the all-important freshly-brewed chai.

An essential part of Ramadan centers on the “Ramadan pita.” In Turkey, it is a traditional delicacy of the cuisine. In pre-COVID days, pita queues in front of bakeries start hours before iftar. These days, takeaway isn’t as readily available, so breakout your chefs hats and baking sheets and let’s make some delicious Turkish pita.

Ingredients
• A pack of yeast (25g)
• 2 water glasses of warm milk
• ½ dessertspoon of sugar
• ½ water glass of warm water
• ½ tea glass of oil
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 5 ½ water glasses of flour (more if necessary)

To be used while shaping the dough:
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 5-6 tablespoons of water
• (Mix the flour and water well; it must be a fluid mix so add more water if necessary)

To apply on the pita:
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 1 dessertspoon of yoghurt
• Plenty of sesame
• Black sesame

Preparation

Put the yeast, milk and sugar in a deep bowl and keep for 10 minutes (until the yeast melts). Add the remaining ingredients in order, knead the flour, and after it thickens, wait for 40 minutes after it thickens (ensure it is a soft dough that does not stick to your hand). Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces.

Sprinkle some flour on the surface and take some flour on your hands before spreading the dough. Give it a circular or oval shape. Place the spread out dough on a tray that is either previously oiled or lined with a baking paper. Also sprinkle some corn flour on the tray so it won’t stick. Immerse your hands in the water-flour mixture and give it a square or lozenge shape by first pressing on the edges and then on the middle. The trick is to keep on immersing your hands in the water-flour mixture so that the shapes won’t disappear during baking. The dough is left for half an hour to leaven and the same procedure is repeated on the shaped parts to make sure that they will last. Finish off by applying the sauce on and sprinkling a lot of sesame and black sesame.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 200°C until golden brown.

Note: This article originally appeared in ALO magazine.

The post Making Turkish Pita: The Ramadan Way appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Well, it’s been a long wait. Over two weeks to be exact and I’m still waiting by the phone awaiting a call from either Margo Georgiadis, CEO of Ancestry, or senior VP of U.S. Marketing Caroline Sheu…or both. Perhaps it will be a conference call, who knows? So, why should these two industry leaders ring up the independent Media Guy consultant? Well, have you seen their tone-deaf phone “Inseparable” commercial that lit up the airwaves back in April?

Set in the Antebellum South, a foggy pre-dawn scene shows an out-of-breath white man offering a wedding ring and a promise to flee to the North to his love interest, a (presumably enslaved) black woman:

“Abigail,” he says. “We can escape, to the North. There’s a place we can be together, across the border. Will you leave with me?”

But, before I prattle on about how the advertising vision of the Media Guy would have saved the genealogy company millions of dollars in bad will and publicity, let’s watch the spot together:

I understand at the ad was most likely intended to be a romantic adaptation of how someone taking a DNA test ends up with muddle of geographic origins in their heritage. But it wound up as an discomforting blunder when critics correctly pointed out that the “forbidden love” plot was a story gone wrong because the pre-Civil War Deep South was largely defined by the ruthless sexual exploitation of black slave women by white slave owners. All of this brought disdain from the community at large.

With an IPO looming for the genealogical website, this mistake could have been costly. Ancestry quickly pulled the spot and apologized profusely. In a statement, the company told WIRED,  “Ancestry is committed to telling important stories from history,” the company said. “This ad was intended to represent one of those stories. We very much appreciate the feedback we have received and apologize for any offense that the ad may have caused.”

I have to say that this tightly worded apology—mostly likely crafted by Sheu—is a ton better than I would have written. Her experience at GAP, Inc. and her B.A. in Political Science and in East Asian Studies from UCLA, an M.A. in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley, and a J.D./M.B.A. from University of Chicago pales my degrees from UCLA for sure. But with “20 years of experience transforming marketing organizations to adapt to rapidly changing consumer and technology trends” you would figure that Ancestry would have never gotten into this mess to begin with.

A little vision (and a one-hour consulting session with the Media Guy) would have revealed so much just by me looking at the storyboards.

Oh, where to start?

Let’s start with this litany of historical and cultural offenses shoehorned into the 30-second commercial:

• The notion that a white male protector could only liberate a black woman from slavery…
• That most mixed-race people in America today descend from tender, consenting relationships when the biggest historical reason is actually rape…
• Prior to 1861, it was legally impossible for slave women to file rape charges against a white man in Southern U.S. states, 
• That interracial relationship was even possible in this time and this place given the extreme power irregularities of the institution. And finally…
• That there was a promised land of equal opportunity in the “North.” (Breaking News: it wasn’t even close.)

Wow, that’s a lot of errors in thirty seconds. I mean, clearly there were no history books allowed at these final planning sessions prior to their commercial shoot. But, hey, Ancestry was spinning some fairy tale that by filling up a small vial with your saliva that they can miraculously fill in the family tree branches that were severed by the transatlantic slave trade. Oh jeez.

They say when you are so close to a project or a situation, you can’t see the forest among the trees and in this case, that idiom definitely applies. Some extra eyes from the outside would have identified all of this troubling content before filming began. What a waste of filming days and post production and that’s not to mention the damage that could have leveled at their impending IPO.

As a descendant of Russian immigrants from the 1880’s due to the state-sanctioned policies of Alexander III, trust me when I say that tracing family ties aren’t so straightforward. Names were often changed to escape persecution and in the pre-Civil War Era, names of slaves were altered when they were sold to new owners. When you are doing a deep dive on your family history, the process of doing so unearths up painful truths you weren’t expecting.

Reaching out to a diverse audience is important for Ancestry because their DNA database are overwhelmingly white. They tell a much hazier origin story for African Americans. I’m told that Ancestry can divide the 32,000-square-mile island of Ireland into 85 distinct genetic populations. For all of Africa, the company can only carve out nine. Recruiting a more diverse customer base would certainly help lift some of those limitations, and that’s how this commercial came into play however it came off.

So here’s my message to Margo Georgiadis and Caroline Sheu. I called you both and left messages. Two weeks have passed and I’m beginning to think you won’t call me back, but you should and I’ll answer 24/7, 365 days a year. My fees are small and a few hours along with a business class airline ticket will get you and in-person meeting and I’ll save you the hassles of another misfire in the advertising arena. I have the midas touch wherever I go. Once upon a time I made falling in your home a cottage industry and convinced the New York Times that Syria was a top 10 destination.

Do yourselves a favor, don’t say for a second time, “We should have called the Media Guy!” I’ll be waiting with my out special set of media skills. This latest commercial shows that companies like Ancestry still need to prove they can be trusted with their media buys.

Previous “You Should Have Called the Media Guy” Columns:

Hong Kong Tourism Board
Burger King
H&M
The American Red Cross
Pepsi
Kellogg’s
Anaheim Ducks
T-Mobile, Dove, McDonald’s

The post ANCESTRY.COM: You Should Have Called The Media Guy! appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

I’m phone watching once again, half-heatedly expecting Dr. Peter Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, or their executive director Anthony Lau, to call me to sort out this mess created by their sexist and creepy “Treasures of the Heart” tourism commercial.

Before I go on my whimsical rant about how the watchful eyes of the Media Guy could have saved Hong Kong millions of dollars in bad publicity, let’s go to the tape to view this tone-deaf advertisement.

My eyes tell me this is more an ad about human trafficking. Showcasing the controlling relationship one has over the other is a lesson in manipulation.

I understand that “Treasures”, directed by Chan Chi-fat, endeavors to showcase an spontaneous starry-eyed escapade but rapidly degenerated into a 1:45-minute movie trailer that can best be played out as a Halloween thriller. This is more Taken 5 than Love Actually. All we need is Liam Neeson talking about his special skills and this poor young lady being loaded into a shipping container and we’re all set.

How do you make a girl follow your manipulative directions and do anything you say? Well, that’s an easy one: take her passport.

Dr. Lam and Mr. Lau, did you watch this before greenlighting this to air? If you sent this to me as your media consultant, after a single viewing I would have penned you this email:

“It’s utterly criminal to take somebody’s passport to impede them from traveling. In fact, this is a textbook maneuver favored by sex traffickers in the Far East to trap girls and women. Please see attached a revised script where you can save most of your footage and eliminate the ominous undertones of this spot.”

During the flashbacks in the spot, we gain insights on the their relationship including where they fell in love and where they argued and where her camera was obliterated. The make good at the end where he gives her a new camera and instructs her to “Don’t forget to put my photo up on your dorm door…” is also textbook male sociopath behavior.

The core messaging of the boyfriend’s negative influence on the girl—one who is on a journey to better her own life—wasn’t lost on me as my head spun around on its axis while watching it.

It left me murmuring to Dr. Lam, Mr. Lau, and the entire Hong Kong Tourism Board: “What were you thinking?” This spot does little else than to embolden emotional abuse in relationships while dressing it up as “romance” and “love.” After watching this, Hong Kong has zippo appeal and would never encourage sane people to visit. As Vivian Ward would say, “Big mistake. Big. Huge”

Also, I must admonish the headline writers for the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Really, is this the type of thing that gets people booking airline bundles on Expedia?

“Girl meets boy. Girl leaves boy. Boy hides girl’s passport: A #ShamShuiPo love story.” 

I called Dr. Lam and Mr. Lau, but an entire day has passed and alas, my phone hasn’t rung, nor will I think it is going to happen. Gentlemen, my ringer is on and I’ll answer 24/7. My fees are small(ish) and will save you further humiliation on the back end on future campaigns. I can turn almost anything into gold. ICYMI, I was able to convince the New York Times that Damascus was a top 10 destination once upon a time!

Don’t say a second time, “We should have called the Media Guy!” I’ll be waiting with my special set of media skills.

This is what happens when you take a girl’s passport and Liam Neeson gets wind of it:

Previous “You Should Have Called the Media Guy” Columns:

Burger King
H&M
The American Red Cross
Pepsi
Kellogg’s
Anaheim Ducks
T-Mobile, Dove, and McDonald’s

The post Hong Kong Tourism Board: You Should Have Called the Media Guy! appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

No I’m not on vacation—more on that later—right now, I’m hunkered down, barricade-style, on a mission to finalize my Clio submission.

Yes, it’s awards season in the ad world and fresh off my Telly Award wins (hate to brag, well, no, it’s nice to be able to…), I felt it was time to try to add to my collection of Clio Awards from my work in the 1980s and 1990s (yikes, I must be old!). I did some really nice work this year in Japan, Hollywood and the Middle East. The entire submission process to even be considered for a Clio isn’t easy. Last year I found this whimsical little article by Xanthe Wellson on How to Win a Clio Award: 10 things I learned as an award judge. Since I didn’t use a sumo wrestler (which isn’t so simple to exclude when you work in Tokyo) in my ads, I just may have a shot at another golden statue.

My guesstimate is that I’m asked how to get a leg up in the media world about ten times a month. While I offer my baseline advice …

1. Go to school, 
2. Work for free in one of the great agencies and, 
3. Be either unique or great (hopefully both) …

… the first thing I want to say is look up hall of fame art director George Lois. “Who is this Lois Guy?” you ask. Only one of the greatest art directors the advertising industry has ever seen and is said to be the inspiration for the character of Don Draper—a charge he denies with Draper-like passion. He is probably best known for over 92 (yes, ninety-two!) covers he designed for Esquire magazine from 1962 to 1972. However, his signature work for MTV, VH1, ESPN, Tommy Hilfiger and USA Today validated his proclamation that advertising is an art and not a science. AND, he’s a Clio Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Time Magazine once gushed, “The first step in selling is stopping the eye. No one has mastered that rule as well as George Love. For Esquire, the media renaissance man concocted a fresh style for magazine covers – smart, fun, funny, and visually fluent. He has married the outrageous to the fantastic.” Zip on over to the master’s website to read the insights and commentary on his Esquire covers.

The ironic part of the Clio process is that in order to win an award for your :30 second commercial, you might have to create a mini documentary to pimp you entry. This is actually more work than the creative you are submitting your work for…after this I may need a vacation.

One of the Clio Awards in my office.

Vacations
Speaking of vacations, it turns out you might want to take more of them if you’re angling for a promotion. The conventional wisdom says that you should work, work, work and work some more in order to secure that precious promotion; vacations are for the weak and the unworthy-of-promotion! But new research indicates that the opposite might be true. As it turns out, bosses actually recognize that all work and no play makes for unhappy, unproductive workers. Just make sure you get permission first—going AWOL is a recipe to get fired, not promoted.

Vacations, Part II
In the not so distant past, my tourism work netted a would-be $5 million dollar contract with the Syria Department of Tourism. Yeah, I know when you are saying: There are two words that do not belong in the same sentence: Syria and Tourism. That turned out to be true, because as soon as the ink was dry, civil war broke out and the contract evaporated in the abyss known as Isis. But in 2010, I was the PR King of the Middle East. I convinced The New York Times to pop Damascus into their 31 Places to Go in 2010 as their #7 selection. Read this and hail the king:

7. Damascus
The next Marrakesh? Perhaps mindful of the way that renovations of historic roads have drawn upscale travelers to Marrakesh, Damascus hoteliers are trying to mine tourism gold in the rundown buildings of the Syrian capital’s Old City. These 18th-century homes — many with inviting courtyards and rooftop terraces — are now boutique hotels, like the nine-room Old Vine (www.oldvinehotel.com) and the Hanania (www.hananiahotel.com), which doubles as a hotel and a small museum.

A Meaty Story
If you’re stuck at the keyboard with writer’s block, nothing helps more than a great burger. Every ad man knows that. Benjamin Wallace penned the Story of the Hamburger and its rise from a lowly patty of chopped meat to the aristocracy of foods; its charismatic and delicious descendants; the arguments it inspires­ — over ethics and blends and tastes; and Silicon Valley’s attempt to replace it with a meat that is not meat at all. Make sure to read it if the words aren’t flowing in the screen…

Shia LaBeouf Believes In You
After this psycho pep talk, you’ll just want to DO IT!

AD OF THE WEEK/MONTH/WHATEVER

The Most Obscene Billboard Ever

Costa Rican drivers are getting an eyeful when they pass this billboard for Republica Parrillera Pilsner beer. Looking at the front of the billboard, nothing seems amiss. But when viewed from behind … well, yeah, that does look like a giant penis, doesn’t it?

As always with such placements, there’s debate over whether this was intentional or a mistake. Proponents of the former say it’s brilliant marketing, as drivers who approach the ad from the back are probably fairly likely to check out the front of the ad as they pass—behavior that precious few billboards provoke. Those who think it’s a mistake can’t fathom the kind of balls it would take to put a giant phallic symbol on a billboard.

The post Hail the Public Relations King of the Middle East appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

(*) SIDE NOTE: By the way, I would have guessed this
would happen. I remember my first trip to Syria in 2009. There I was at a Syrian
Tourism Department a press conference. [Yes Syria had a tourism department long
ago. I was one of their public relations stars and was able to get their
USA-imposed travel warning lifted eighteen months prior to the start of their
civil war. (Yeah, yeah, I know!…they should have listened a little bit more.)
Anyway, at this presser, my friend and colleague, Ally Miola (editor of Business
Traveler magazine) implored the Syrian Minister of Tourism, Dr. Saadallah Agha
Alqalah, to lift their Facebook ban because Syria was “better than that.” Of
course that immediately prompted him to end everything right then and there. Months
later Facebook was lifted. I mean, even Syria knew than banning social media
was badness. Bottom line, have media savvy advisers around you and good things
happen. Have ignorant media advisers around you and bad things happen…it’s that
simple.

Guy Fawkes masks used to have a higher Q rating that many PMs.

So I’m guessing now that Erdoğan’s week didn’t go
quite the way he envisioned it. Why? Because before Thursday, most people on
our little blue planet barely knew his name. As a matter fact, I would wager
that those little funny masks every would-be rebel is wearing had a better
Q-rating that Erdoğan. Instead #DictatorErdoğan sent millions of non-Turks
scrambling to Wikipedia to figure out which new bad guy on the block was trying
to force his way into the infamously elite club of Social Media Blockers
started by the collective of Iran, Egypt and North Korea.

• “Twitter, Facebook
  and YouTube have to respect the Turkish Republic’s laws…Turkey is not a
  banana republic.”
• “We won’t allow
  the people to be devoured by YouTube, Facebook or others.”
• “We will not leave this nation at the mercy of
  YouTube and Facebook”
• “I cannot understand how sensible people still defend
  Facebook, YouTube and Twitter…they run all kinds of lies.”
• “If Twitter, Youtube and Facebook will be honest; if
  they’ll stop being so immoral, stop attacking families, we’ll support
  them.”
• “We now have a
  court order… We’ll eradicate Twitter. I don’t care what the international
  community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic.”

Glorious Bodrum, Turkey

UPDATE (5/21/14): Apparently, this ousted PayPal exec didn’t read this column. Ugh…think twice before hitting the send button!

The post Twitter, mwitter! appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

“He who never made a mistake never made a discovery. ” 

I love this quote quite frankly; it says it all. I hope this past weekend, I didn’t make a mistake with my forthcoming book.

In the weeks after two wildly lucky winners in Missouri and Arizona divvied up the $600 million Powerball jackpot, I found myself enviously pondering, as I tore up two my December Starbucks allowance, what I would do if I woke up one day with an extra $300 million in the piggy bank. While I was doing that I received this email:

From: maggie, the book editor assistant [mailto:xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 1:17 PM
To: ‘Michael Lloyd’
Subject: RE: Lloyd Book Changes #41


Michael,
Happy New Year! Just hung up with Amazon and we are awaiting Landscapes to go to press. I know we’ve asked for an interminable amount of changes, but we need to shorten the six weeks we gave you to bring it all to final AND we need the new layout by Jan. 25th. Get back to me when you can and, uhm, no pressure,
Maggie

Well, happy new years to you too, Maggie! When you get an email like that, what’s a Media Guy to do? I mean, I was still planning what to do with my first hundred mil… I’m fairly certain that ]I would not have poured it Lakers season tickets or JCPenney stock — my first order of business might have been finding a Westwood apartment with a few bedrooms, and maybe donating ten million or so to charity. But now I just had to get to work. I sequestered myself away from humanity and whacked my 250-page Landscapes of Life tome down to under a hundred pages. Really taking a book like this from 160 photos down to 90 was akin to choosing which of your children you love the most.

The new book cover designed by Anna Aladadyan.

I guess it could have been worse. Take a look at who didn’t make the cut elsewhere:

• 12 proposed U.S. states that didn’t make the cut 
• Forbes 400 Drop-offs: Those Who Didn’t Make The Cut
• Sorry Jill, you didn’t make the cut 

Anyway, I bring this up to honor five of my favorite photos that didn’t make the cut for the book. Without further ado…

5. RAZI. When you see images from the Middle East and similar places in Afghanistan and India, women are often depicted as rights deficient thirsty from the parched climate of domineering men whom seek to enslave their every whim: No shoes. Six to 10 children in tow, once always attached to the hip. Each woman with the same “help me” look sewn into her face. Razi, shown here, explores the beauty that multiplies from within. The picture seems to show her emerging from a cocoon ready to embrace the world and have it embrace her back. Her expression emotes innocent confidence and traces of power that we hope will be realized along with her dreams.

4, ABANDONED. Living in the bigger cities typically doesn’t give you the access to large areas that lack the residue of human activity. While traveling in Salalah, such a place exists near what would be the equivalent of prime beach real estate in Malibu. These hand-built row of ancient tract homes still stood tall, yet uninhabited as if they were resistant to the atomic bomb that surely must have detonated here. The area begged for answers. Who lived here? How did they live? What would make an entire town move en force?

3. THE LONG MARCH. On my way to Wadi Rum, the desert run where Lawrence of Arabia led the Arab Revolt, I spotted these two Bedouin trekking forward. I love the way they are walking while a truckload of people move past them; two generations of transportation dueling in opposite directions. The questions loom: How long was their trek? Where were they going? How hot were they in their black abayas on a hot desert afternoon?

2. NORIAS OF HAMA. The water wheels of Syria, aka Norias, have been delivering water to Hama for centuries. They also deliver a soul crushing sound that haunts the ears in a way that no other architecture ever has. Take a listen here.

1. THE MAN OF PALMS. By far my favorite picture that, alas, didn’t make the cut. The Yemani man in his traditional dress sat in this single spot for hours. He was there when I left to visit an abandoned fort. He was there when I came back for lunch. He was there when I ventured out the next morning. Same position. Same happy-go-lucky look on his leather face. He never seemed to move and was more part of the botanical surroundings than the palms he sat among.

With that bittersweet countdown behind me, I now hand of my book to the acclaimed Los Angeles designer An Na who will turn the images and descriptions that did make the cut into a work of art.

The post They Didn’t Make the Cut… appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

The Fuji exhibit feature the traditional dance of the meke.

The Scuba Dive Pool sponsored by www.beAdiver.com was home to an 18,000 gallon  heated dive pool where you could learn the basics of diving.

Again I think to myself, “Are you kidding me? A travel show to plan a vacation? Isn’t that why they invented the Internet? (Yeah I know they invented the Internet for THAT. I mean besides THAT?) What about all the travel shows on Discovery, Nat Geo and the Food Network? What about Travel+Leisure magazine? Aren’t they the experts?”

• Aleppo, Syria: “This former Spice Route capitol was the world’s greatest food city a thousand years ago and is still one today. Paved with ancient pathways, it’s perfect blend of Middle East and North Africa.”
• Barcelona, Spain: “Barcelona offers a remarkable depth and breadth of eateries. The best in Spanish cuisine is well represented here.”
• Montreal, Quebec: “It’s a city with more culinary balls than any other on earth. Classic eats, street fare, indulgent, boozy, chef-driven, extreme cuisine.”
• Taipei, China: “I love Chinese cuisine, maybe above all else. The night market in Taipei offers what is perhaps the best street eats on the planet narrowly beating out Penang’s New Lane and Singapore’s hawker stalls.”
• Venice, Italy: “It’s the perfect walking city, dark and brooding at night, hidden and mysterious, and the food is once again on par with the town itself.”

For nature and wildlife lovers, the Falklands are the place.

The post Travel & Adventure Show: Skepticism Eliminated appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Maalula Village, Syria—According to legend, Saint Tekla was stalked by an unforgiving, scorned fiancé who tried repeatedly to kill her for her religious beliefs. Eventually she sought refuge in a grotto in the cliff around the bend where a convent — now named in her honor — was built. She used this escape route to move freely between the convent and her new safe haven.

The post World Portraits: Escape appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

I used to roll in some jeans and comfy shoes. Kind of a grunge-under-the radar-look that really doesn’t sit well if you are labeling yourself the “Media Guy.” Now I rock in all black with Armani slacks and a pin stripe Hugo Boss blazer with a purple scarf that doubles as a pocket square.

I’m no James Bond, but the new look, slimmer, sleeker Media Guy now fits the bill. Score another for the new workout regime.

So there I was in the desolate Aleppo Airport at 11p. Six journalistic souls in a foreign land hoping for a quick entry stamp in their passports and a metaphorical journey into the unknown. They were looking for a center. I mean as much as I love travel, the Middle East and Syria, all this airport was missing was the Green Acres theme music and a goat randomly searching for a meal near baggage claim.

I didn’t know any of these writers prior to reaching Syria. They were simply blurry faces on bad copies of passports that were coupled with flashy bios of past successes. I must have stood out because each found me and wondered aloud if I was ready to lead them past the Immigration folks. After a quick discussion of the pocket scarf and a quick comedy show I had collected passports and forms and started my visa negotiations. Credit the new Media Guy Look again for opening doors that would have been otherwise closed with the old grunge ensemble.

I’ve done this many times before. You know, the tap dance to get everyone into the country without issue. This one was especially easy because every question from the officials sounded like a warped overhead speaker announcement. I understood nothing they were saying except “Yes Mr. Michael.” With each approval my mind drifted back to more pressing issues.

Ethics are on my mind lately. The lines of ethics are getting more blurry every day. People poking their noses in other clients’ business and other levels of untrustworthiness, spying (and the related) creates this big soap opera.

I see the lines between work and real life getting more blurry and confusing; everyone’s running back and forth across the line so much that their footprints are obscuring it even more. I see that no one knows the meaning of a Chinese Wall.

Most people don’t know its technical correct meaning: The ethical barrier between companies that protects client confidentiality. Setting appropriate boundaries so that the same people can have business and personal relationships without damaging either.

I don’t see people honoring the sex Chinese Walls either. Don’t fish in the company pond or the more direct don’t f#*k where you work. Seems fine when you are young until you get caught.

I also see a lot of people blurring the mantra of “There’s life, and there’s work.” The two are different and you forget that to your peril. Maybe the “end of the world” hyperbole can remind us that it’s not the end of the world at all, it’s the potential end of a business in a booming industry and a great job market. Too bad the job market is so poor and we can’t just say “It’s just business.”

Regardless of where the walls are crumbling, I know that truth and transparency eliminates most ethics gaps. But there has never really been a line for most people. Work and family and love and sex and career have always been far too intermingled for most. Maybe that’s part of my problem since I have always been able to compartmentalize life’s segments. Others can’t and won’t.

Perhaps if I did a few more downward dogs or crammed in a workout before having to jump into Media Guy role I wouldn’t be thinking so much.

Some deep breaths might do the trick; and sometimes that’s all that matters.

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I just returned from another trip to Damascus planning the 2011-13 Media and Communications Plan for Syria and things couldn’t have gone better.

I mean I don’t usually pat myself on the back, but here is a case where I am compelled to do so. I mean it’s not often David bests Goliath. Here’s a case where I was told something was impossible and we made it very possible.

Q: Did you ever think that Syria could get positive press in North America media?

A: Well, they are!

***Warning – Shameless Self-Promotion***

And, it’s all because of the innovative and distinctive first ever North American Delegation to Syria in October 2009 that we lead at Unique Image, Inc…

-U.S. Sanctions? No problem.

-No Twitter or Facebook access? You don’t need them with all of the turn of time attractions from Crusader Castles to Roman ruins.

-No American brands, like McDonald’s and Starbucks? Substitute with old world hospitality of the bustling restaurants with five-star food.

We have been able to overcome it all and and gain phenomenal press across the continent (8 million in circulation and counting!). I’m talking about top publications like More, San Francisco Examiner, ALO magazine, Travel Weekly, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dreamscapes, Four Seasons magazine, Long Island Pulse, Reviewit, and more.

Now comes the hard part:::keeping it going. You can bet that we can and will. The only thing that could ever stop us is conflict in the region.

We’ve launched pioneering international programs partnering with government and economic developmental agencies, trade associations and chambers of commerce. Our efforts have greatly expanded the scope of cultural, consumer and business-to-business prospects in the U.S. and the Middle East. We are the folks that guided historic sister city agreement between Los Angeles and Beirut signed into effect by the Los Angeles City Council.

Make the impossible, possible?

I love the sound of that.

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