It may not be a dog-eat-dog world, but it sure is a small one; At least in terms of synchronicity (more about that later.) This morning, there was another canine and it's human leader in my kingdom upon my arrival. The leader acknowledged me. I reciprocated his acknowledgement. As I approached the gate to the most un-kept dog run in the New York Metro area, I got a better look at the dog that occupied it. It was a Pitbull. Now, most people with a 20-pound dog at their side, would have started shaking in their Rockports (hey, they're comfortable!) but not I! I'm not afraid of dogs. Besides, I know that Pitbulls, in general, are sweet loving dogs with a bad reputation created by a select few idiots in this world that take advantage of their strength for monetary and egotistical gains.
In short, the owner was a very responsible human who understood the breed and, more importantly, had obviously established himself as this dog's leader... as evidenced by his simple verbal commands that were immediately followed. I entered the dog run with my dog, Kiyoshi, and they hit it off. Now, Kiyoshi, on the other hand is a very "pretty" dog (he hates when I say that), a Shiba Inu, but he is also very skittish, nervous, and doesn't make friends that easily. But when he does make friends with his canine brethren, it is beautiful to see.
As freelancers, marketers, and creatives we spend quite a bit of energy on establishing a brand (whether that's futile or fruitful is up for discussion,) but when we use symbols and images to portray certain characteristics of ourselves and our work, we never stop to think about whether the underlying message is in sharp contrast to the intended one. Would a tough, gritty, aggressive voiceover artist, for example, use a Pitbull on their marketing materials? Perhaps. But, after today's experience, my perception of that brand might not be what the artist intended.
Here's to Kiyoshi and my new friends - Ron (the human) and Dutchess (the dog) for giving us new perspective.
-Anthony
P.S. I mentioned synchronicity in the opening section of this post - Ron is of
Dominican heritage, as am I, and attended the same high school I did. Oh, and our dogs both have four legs!
