Meanwhile, in looking to see if Umair had posted on the dumbest move this week™, I saw he pointed to this.
What a riot! Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard, who was in the running to be the new Fed chairman, issues a parody video set to “Every Breath You Take,” poking fun at Ben Bernanke, who got the job.
This is the opposite of the Times move. First, it’s riotously funny and very well done (as opposed to vaporware). Second, it pokes fun at the author, the subject, and the band (instead of thinking it’s going to actually matter). Third, just how many professionals would be willing to take this risk, to be this authentic, to speak in a human voice without press releases? Certainly not the Times. I have several academic clients, all constrained by the institutional voice. I’ve seen this up close, at the point of decision.
Oh, if only more organizations could act with the spirit of carnival that this video demonstrates.
Breaking Update: We received an electronic communiqué from Doug, saying CBS.Chick.2007 is reporting that the star of the video is a student, not the Dean. Whoops, bad reporting on Notio’s part. Wisdom of the crowd in action, right there. But still, the fact that this video is going out under the banner of the School is admirable. And worth another laugh, even with the student actor. He’s a grad student, at least.
April 30, 2006