Brand Apologies

Last week, as I was looking out the window of my 39th floor room at The Palazzo, I was taken by the elaborate size of everything on the Vegas Strip.

This wasn’t the first time I had experienced the size of Vegas. On my first visit, I convinced myself to wear a suit (see also: convinced myself that I was one of Ocean’s 11). Trust me: you don’t want to walk The Strip in brand new dress shoes, or be the well-dressed sore thumb turning down...umm...propositions.

So now, I’ve felt the mental and physical effects of Vegas’ size. What I can tell you is this:

Vegas doesn’t apologize for any of it. Why should it?

It is what it is. Sure, it’s gone through some changes, both good and bad, over the years. Just like ourselves. However, we seem to apologize for quite a bit. Some more than others.

Vegas though, Vegas doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t.

Outside of, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” The Strip doesn’t really try to hide anything (and let’s face it, it isn’t The Strip who utters that quote). While some of what happens might not be considered acceptable for all, it’s almost refreshing to see that kind of 24/7 transparency, without the base alloy of hypocrisy that so often exists.

But still, Vegas exemplifies true self-awareness in everything it presents. If it were a model car, it would be the picture on the box. For most brands, they’re still the tangled pieces of plastic inside the box.

How many of us have that kind of clarity of what our brands should be, of what our brands truly are? And once that model is complete, crooked decals and all, does it resemble the picture on the box? Or, will apologetic press conferences need to take place?

Hopefully, when we take that look outside the window, we can appreciate the view.