Owning my own bakery is my dream job. I am the friend that always volunteers to bake the birthday cakes or cupcakes and sends cookies to friends out of state. I fall asleep to the Food Network each night and Paula Deen's memoir is as good to me as the Bible. Going to school in DC I had the opportunity to frequent Cakelove for delicious cupcakes and cookies more times than I probably should have. I even celebrated graduation with a four layered strawberry filled number that was out of control good. But besides my affinity for their baked goods, Cakelove and it's owner, Warren Brown are featured in the new American Express spot called "Small Business Owner Anthem" and it is as good as any piece of cake I have ever tried.
Warren Brown is a lawyer turned baker who took his love of baking and turned it into a small business that currently has seven locations all over the DC/VA/MD area. His story is truly refreshing for anyone who is stuck in a mundane job, not pursuing what they are passionate about. He traded in long hours and large checks for even longer hours and an apron and when I first saw his story on the Food Network, I knew that he would continue to always be someone who's professional timeline I would admire. We are taught when we are little that doctors and lawyers are the types of people that we should become, but I have always believed that it is about pursuing our passions as much as it is about having the big houses and fancy cars. Brown is just lucky that now he can have both.
If you know his story at all, then you can really appreciate the way that American Express has utilized him to exemplify the "small business anthem" that they are conveying in their messaging. It is easy to get caught up in this economic crap storm as an advertiser and use desperate images and sappy music to pull at the heartstrings of consumers. Especially for companies like American Express who are now de-exclusivising their once coveted Black Card because they too need to increase revenues. Spots that are too filled with emotion turn us off and they don't make us feel any better than we did before we were exposed to the messaging. This spot, however, while it has a bit of sap poured over it, is uplifting and inspirational. It does not go over the top in trying to make you feel like we are down and out, or that we shouldn't be thinking like Brown and pursuing our passions to start a new business... even now.
American Express talks about the "spark" that happens with this passion of small business owners. They claim that these businesses will continue to "drive change, to innovate and connect" because they are the driving force in our economy today. They also talk about the change that is happening in the world of business in general, which the exemplify through Warren Brown, and other small business owners from a restaurant, to a bike shop to a greenhouse nursery. Their message in the end is to encourage small business owners to not only put their resources into American Express but utilize their website, openforum.com, to design a business plan to grow. It is a way for members to connect with one another, discuss, engage and empower each other to do better in a failing economy. It is all under the American Express umbrella, but it is not pushy or overly sentimental.
American Express has ignited an energy for small business owners through this messaging. The spot is beautifully executed and it touches at all of the right elements of emotion but leaving you with the curiosity (even if you aren't a small business owner) to rethink the power that you have in creating your own "spark" to change our business success as a country today. It is an advertising message that gets you to think and feel deeper than the product, and it successfully highlights inspiration that we can all take away from in our own professional careers.
A commercial as sweet as the cupcakes in it.
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