Woodstock Matters

Woodstock Matters

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/07/17/john-tantillo-woodstock/

Woodstock was about saying "Yes, we can" long before Barack Obama was
on the scene. And it still is.

by John Tantillo
July 17, 2009

Woodstock coincided with my entrance into a Franciscan novitiate on
Long Island. Not exactly the typical Age of Aquarius response to Bob
Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin"... But a response
nonetheless. Woodstock and all it represents was a part of me and my
generation and it still is. Woodstock matters.

Like so many moments in history, Woodstock came to represent
something larger than itself, something that has endured: the sense
that America and Americans should and could be even better.

It wasn't just flower children getting on board with this message, it
was people like me, a blue collar kid from Queens who thought he had
a religious vocation and wanted to make the world a better place
through a religious life.

Woodstock was about saying "Yes, we can" long before Barack Obama was
on the scene.

And it still is.

As far as I was concerned, the concert itself was a sideshow that
came to represent much more. It reminded America of its inherent
optimism and bright future. It was a generational statement that
said: "we're going to do things differently than our parents."

That statement has rung true for conservatives and liberals
alike. We all did things a lot different and the America we live in
now -- for better and for worse-- is the result.

That's why forty years later with the big anniversary approaching
(August 15), we're still talking about Woodstock (and merchandisers
and events promoters are selling Woodstock).

People can lament all the merchandising and promotion, but the
marketer in me -- the idealistic, Woodstock-shaped real marketer who
still believes we should always try to make things better through our
chosen profession whatever that happens to be-- knows that a marketer
doesn't create needs, he or she satisfies needs. You can't sell
people things that they don't already want to buy on some level.

And right now many people want to "buy" a piece of Woodstock.

It's natural for people to want tangible things to remember major
cultural events. Hey, there's even room for the Jimi Hendrix air freshener.

More important, I think people also want to understand what Woodstock
meant for their lives and for America, and, even more important than
this, where we all go from here.

And remember, things are always easier to understand when you keep
marketing and branding in mind.
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John Tantillo is a marketing and branding expert based in New York City.

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