I got into pro wrestling in 2003 after high school mainly because I had been telling people that I was going to be a wrestler for five plus years at that time. So when I had the chance to pursue this dream, I took the figurative ball and ran with it. I've been on tours across America, Canada, Mexico, and Portugal. I've wrestled for the WWE on numerous occasions, and have been on television programs around the world from Fox Sports in Mexico City to the longest running weekly program on TV "WWE's Monday Night Raw." Long story short, I've given a lot to wrestling and it's given a lot back.
"HEY! What gives? I thought this was about advertising and superpowers?!"
Well give me a minute and I will tie it all together. For those of you who have seen professional wrestling, you know that it is a lot of show. I've heard the term "a male soap opera" used to describe more times than I can count. And we all know that any good story needs good characters. So that is exactly what wrestling gives you. Larger than life characters. You have good guys vs bad guys. Evil Gangs taking on the group of good guys week after week. What you really had, to a 6 year old boy in 1990, was real life superheroes fighting real life super villains. They couldn't fly, or jump over tall buildings, but they could inspire. I mean, Hulk Hogan inspired a generation of "hulkamaniacs" for decades to "say your prayers and take your vitamins, Brother..."
Now, for those of you who think it's the powers, fighting skills, or money that make superheroes, I'm here to tell you that you are wrong.
Hope and Inspiration...that's what makes a hero.
Take for example, Superman. Here, is this near immortal, "godlike" being who has every power you ever wanted as a kid. This man has the power to demolish a city with just the heat of his stare. Literally. Yet he doesn't. Instead he saves countless people, stops the end of the world countless times and becomes the world's strongest hero. In end, inspiring humankind to do more, to be better. People who know me, know that I am a HUGE Superman geek. And it's not cause of his powers, it's what he does with those powers. And whether the iconic Clark Kent is being portrayed by Tom Welling in "Smallville", the legendary Christopher Reeves, or Henry Cavil in Zach Snyder's 2013 summer hit "Man of Steel." It's always been about hope. About inspiration.
Check out this clip from Snyder's "Man of Steel" It's not an "S"
The power to inspire, and to drive hope into the masses, is a powerful weapon. Perhaps one of the most powerful we have. With it, you can lead people whereever you want and convice them of anything you want. Unfortunatley, in the real world, we don't have Superman and the rest of the "Justice League" to inspire good into us. Instead we have huge corporations leading us whereever they want. Companies like BP(and other big oil companies), XCEL(and other coal based power companies), and Monsanto(the same people who helped invent thechemical warfare weapon, "agent orange") just to name a few. For years, this "Legion of Doom" has been convincing us, through advertising(because what is advertising if not inspiring) has convinced us that GMO's are ok, or that oil and gas are needed for cars(which we know now is not true. CHECK OUT NIKOLA TESLA'S
Well I saw this newsclip the other day online, about a group of young people in Boulder, Colorado that set out to change the world. A nonprofit group called, "New Era Colorado."
These people set out to change Boulder's primary energy source away from the coal based company, Xcel, and to localize their power. When the big company found out about this, they spent millions on advertising trying to sway votes away from this "clean energy bill." However, they didn't spend enough, because the bill was passed. People had inspired good into people and they had done it using the evildoers own weapon against them. Advertising. They advertised and flyered and got the word out, and they inspired. Now the big power company has put in millions of dollars more in advertising to try to overturn the bill. They fear that Boulder will inspire other cities, which will inspire other cities, which will inspire the world. Now it turns into a battle of money vs the people. These big companies have the money to spend on advertising till the end of time, and are willing to. Luckily, it is 2013 and there are other avenues to advertise, and to inspire, people. Many of which are blogs like my own here to help spread the word of what's going on. To show people that there is hope. To inspire just one person, so that they may go inspire another.
If Inspiration is power, and advertisment is a tool to inspire. Than advertisment must be a powerful tool. A tool that anyone can use. A superpower for everyone. And that is what excites me about advertising.
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