Literally Eating My Words at Spoon Me

In town for Spoon Me founder Ryan Combe's wedding over the weekend (see next post), thanks to the GPS in my rental car, I managed to hit two Spoon Me locations (and eat Spoon Me at the wedding) in less than 8 hours. Spoon Me is the name that Eat My Words is the most proud of creating. Ryan and his partners David and Wayne have built a cult brand that transcends frozen yogurt and has become one of the hottest franchises on the planet, with projections of 100 new stores within the next 18 months. Spoon Me is a stellar example of how a brand can take a name and run with it. (That's why we call them names with "legs".) From the best-selling "Shut Up and Spoon Me" t-shirts to the "No Spooning on Sundays" hours sign, to the Spoon Me movie quote graffiti ("You had me at Spoon Me") in the bathrooms, there are endless ways to extend the brand through wordplay. Here are photos from my afternoon visit to the original store in Salt Lake City and my late night visit to one of the new super mod locations in Sandy, Utah. Thanks to everyone at Spoon Me for treating me like a celebrity. Can't wait to come back!

With this ring, I thee spoon.

I spent a fun weekend in Salt Lake City, where I was a guest at the wedding of my good pal and Spoon Me founder, Ryan Combe. Great to finally meet Ryan in person, as well as his business partner, David Jaynes, who was one of the key decision makers in choosing the Spoon Me name, which of course was created by Eat My Words. I met so many nice Spoon Me peeps including the infamous Bub and Craig, as well as some of the key franchise owners including David and Ryan's dads. Ryan and his stunning bride, Alicia, are the international poster children for spooning. (And yes, Spoon Me frozen yogurt was served at the wedding.) Check out these photos from the reception... dig those sexy blue stiletto heels, Alicia!

Did you see me "slumming it" in the SF Chronicle's Travel Section?

Gerald Miller and Alexandra Watkins use the iconic Taj Mahal

as a backdrop for a postcard-pretty photo from their vacation.

I'm just now getting around to posting this... it's somewhat work-related as I was taking a vacation from work.

Two Sunday's ago, the San Francisco Chronicle featured this photo of me and my boyfriend, Gerald, in front of the Taj Mahal (yes, the same one from Slumdog Millionaire), along with some highlights of our India vacation. I sent the photo to the paper in hopes that they would print it to show people that India was still very safe for travelers... Here's the link to the whole feature. Want to see more? Here are two pages of spectacular photos of my trip to India.

What's really cool is that the "On The Couch" writer, Louise Rafkin, saw the feature and interviewed us last week for her column on interesting couples. That one should be really fun.

Wake up and smell the Amsterdam Coffee House.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal talks about fragrance trends in consumer cleaning products. The scents of pine forests and lemon groves have been upped by "a wildly varied bouquet" including mandarin-lime detergent, lavender vanilla disinfectant and eucalyptus mint toilet bowl cleaners. Although we can't find any mention of it online, the article says a new deodorizer which hit store shelves last month, promises a "Moroccan bazaar."

Have you ever been to a bazaar in Morocco? I haven't, but I have been to bazaars (also known as "souks" or "markets") in Libya, Egypt, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and countless other countries, and I can assure you that the overwhelming scents of these bazaars, should simply not be bottled.

Here are some of the more memorable scents from my travels, and what I would name them:

Egyptian Camel Breath

Zanzibar Fish Market

Vatican Tourist

Fiery Ganges Breeze

Amsterdam Coffee Shop

Indian Milk Market

Rustic Serengeti Jeep

Peruvian Llama Spray

New Zealand Hostel

Mildewy Rain Forest

Durban Bunny Chow

Smokey Chinese Railcar

Okay, I can say it. But please don't spray it.

Alexandra featured speaker at City Club of SF "Secrets of Success" series

Next Tuesday afternoon. Alexandra will be the featured speaker at the City Club of San Francisco for their "Secrets of Success" series. She was invited to talk there after someone on the board heard her speak on how she broke into the naming business through some quick thinking on a Match.com date. Alexandra will be telling this hysterical story and many others (writing letters to prisoners in high school, launching the first line of retro greeting cards with Paper Moon Graphics, a juicy story of poetic justice for a boss who fired her 23 years ago, and more). Below is the copy from the announcement that the City Club sent out...

Alexandra Watkins is the creative visionary behind Eat My Words, an innovative naming firm known for developing brand names that generate buzz and revenue. While she started out specializing in things that make people fat and drunk, her clients quickly discovered that she also had a talent for naming things you don't put in your mouth. Since then, her firm has generated countless evocative names and taglines for clients including Frito-Lay, Altec-Lansing, Guthy-Renker, Glu, THX, Clorox, The Sydney Opera House, Del Monte, and Stanford University. Her recent successes include a chain of frozen yogurt stores called Spoon Me, a home cleaning robot named Neato, a social networking site for investors called Cake Financial, and a nationally-advertised bacon cheeseburger, which ironically must remain nameless. (Hint: it was inspired by a Schwarzenegger movie.)

Throughout her colorful 20+ year career in branding and advertising, Alexandra, whose education includes an entire semester of community college, has used her unabashed creativity, charm, and fearless attitude to open doors, scale walls, and create endless business opportunities for herself. Her highly entertaining stories of success and perseverance will inspire you to tap into your own creativity and try bold and unexpected approaches to any personal or professional challenge you face.

$35 for members/$45 for non-members

San Francisco City Club
155 Sansome Street
The Stock Exchange Tower
San Francisco, California 94104

RSVP to 415.362.2480 or reservations@cityclubsf.com

Oriental Mildew - a taste of Zimbabwe

If you have ever sucked down a mouthful of African river water like I did in Zimbabwe, where I nearly drowned in the Zambezi and ended up in Zambia, you will be delighted to know that that delicious taste has now been replicated (or at least it sounds like it has) in a new Zimbabwe juice brand, ORIENTAL MILDEW. The product has already flooded most of the retail outlets in Harare where it is high demand. (Okay. And Mugabe won the last election.) I can't track down a photograph of the Oriental Mildew bottle, but the taste sounds so hideous that surely dictator Mugabe's mug graces the packaging. I know all of this sounds adventurous and exciting, but by all means, do not go to Zimbabwe, which from what I've seen is the most corrupt country on the planet. If you must see Victoria Falls on your way to the Okavango Delta, do it from the kinder, gentler Zambian side. And if you just want to live vicariously through me, here are photos of the mighty Vic Falls, the churning Zambezi below and what it looks like when your raft flips over on top of you in a class 4 rapid.

Ghana: Heaven for Namers

Before I went to Ghana, I had read that I could expect to see the country's passion for Jesus reflected in the names of their businesses, but I didn't expect 75% of shop names to have some kind of religious reference. Some of the more unusual names included included Blood of Christ Restaurant, Holy Canteen, and Jesus Loves Fashion. Unfortunately, while Ghanaians love the Lord, they hate cameras, so I didn't get photos of most of the signs I saw as we whizzed by. Here are some snaps of some of my faves... there's more in the official album.

Back from Ghana with a new name: Borley Atiaku

Little did I know when we booked our trip to Ghana and requested to take part in an African naming ceremony ($125 per person), that it would be a serious all-day affair that the entire village showed up for! We were adopted into the Royal Borketey Larweh family of the Ga tribe. My Ga name is "Borley Atiaku." The naming rites were performed by the Head of Family-Dr Sam Bortei-Doku (on right) who is a dead-ringer for Nelson Mandella. (Despite looking like my groom, the man in blue is our guide, Sam.) We spent a few days with the family and even went to church with them on Christmas where we danced by the collection box. Twice. More colorful photos here in the official trip album....

Ghana be closed during the holidays.

Alexandra is off to Ghana to adopt a baby monkey, bang some tribal drums, and eat every meal with her hands. The whole Eat My Words crew is taking off to recharge our batteries so we can start 2008 with a bang. We'll be back the week of January 5th, 2008. Thanks to all of you who have made this such a fantastic year for Eat My Words. We couldn't do it without loyal clients and cheerleaders like you.

Warm regards and happy holidays,

Alexandra and The Team

Eat My Words

Alexandra returns from China

Alexandra is back from a month in China. Here are some of the photos... there's more in the official album.

Jelly Belly Class Field Trip

My copywriting students have been working on ads for Jelly Belly Sport Beans, so naturally we had to go to on the Jelly Belly factory tour (about an hour from SF) to see how they are made. In addition to getting free samples, we enjoyed looking at the Jelly Belly portraits of Ronald Reagan and the Pope. Here I am with some of my students in front of the Jelly Belly VW bug.

No One Ditches My Copy Class

For the second year in a row, every Monday night this Fall I'm teaching Copy I at the Academy of Art University. My 18 students have already shown great promise, even those who want to be art directors. Right now we're working on ads and taglines to get tourists to come back to The French Quarter in New Orleans. (Best tagline so far: "Do you really need a reason?") I have lots of fun surprises in store for my students including a field trip to a real client (Mani Pedi Nail Spa), and guest speaker Sherry Treitler the hot shot 24-year old with a killer NYC agency pedigree and portfolio who I now use as my sous chef on nearly every naming project.

What... No Chocolate River?

Joyce Guan from Charles Chocolates invited me to a tasting at the factory in Emeryville, where founder Chuck Siegel wowed journalists with his confections including a sublime lavender honey truffle. I asked Chuck to talk about his retail test store, which I thought was a brilliant concept... he had the opportunity to test a retail space in Laurel Village for 7 weeks. In that short time, they:

• established the brand & created a loyal following
• learned what sold best & got ideas for new products
• gained valuable insights from speaking with customers
  

This crash course taught them A LOT and if and when they do decide to take the plunge and open a permanent retail store, they'll know what to expect. Smart! Read about what we tasted that evening in Shuna & Kim's delicious behind-the-scenes report on KQED's Bay Area Bites. Above photo of Chuck (with me taking copious notes) by Jason Jao.

Food Addiction: Top Chef

If you missed the awesome reality series Top Chef, the "Project Runway" of the culinary world, check out the reruns on BRAVO. Every week the contestants are challenged with everything from a preparing a gourmet meal using only convenience store items, to catering a gay wedding overnight, to to having to make monkfish appetizing to picky school kids. The contestants run the gamut from uptight to unwound and the villian of the show is beyond redemption. If you're already a fan, the best line on the show, "I'm Not Your Bitch, Bitch" which Dave "Crying Chef" Martin says in his cattiest voice to Tiffani "The Snake" Faison, is now available as a t-shirt. And if you already know who the final Top Chef is, here's the Food & Wine article on the winner. The series was filmed at restaurants all over San Francisco from Aqua to Fleur de Lys and is hosted by the charming Tom Colicchio. It also features celebrity chefs including Hubert Keller and Elizabeth Faulkner. Let me know if you become hooked.

Back from Bali

I'm back from my second trip to Bali and have fully recharged my batteries by playing with naughty monkeys, eating 100% organic food for two weeks straight, and indulging in no less than six massages and facials including one on the beach with a free sand exfoliant. Ouch. Check out my slideshow featuring beautiful photos of vibrant green rice fields, giant paper mache monsters, and my cheeky friends in the Monkey Forest.

Strange Things I've Put in My Mouth

See a fun slideshow of some of the strange foods I've encountered on my trips abroad including banana beer, barbequed squirrel and camel meat . WARNING: Not for the faint of heart or vegetarians.

New Gig: Copywriting Instructor at The Academy of Art

I'm now teaching a Copywriting class one night a week at the Academy of Art's School of Advertising. My 15 students are incredibly creative and fun. So far I've assigned ads and taglines for Jelly Belly Sport Beans, United's Red Carpet Club, and a campaign to get tourists to come back to New Orleans. Here's a photo of me with my class clown, Colby, from the class we had on Halloween.

Field Trip to COPIA

After a successful ideation session today with Made in Napa Valley, (who we hooked up with at the Fancy Food Show in Chicago last week), Cici and I took a little field trip down the road to COPIA. For those of you who haven't been yet, COPIA. is "a non-profit, interactive center where you can investigate the fascinating cultural intersections of wine, food and the arts." My favorite exhibit (as always) was Forks in the Road, which explores the roots of wacky American food culture - from Pez to packaged foods to squeeze packets of mustard. It's very interactive - lots of things to see and smell and test your knowledge. And you've gotta love Julia Child's copper cookware collection. Can't wait to go back.

Highlights from the Spring Fancy Food Show

Cici and I had a sucessful trip to the Fancy Food Show Show in Chicago. There was so much to see, it was overwhelming. FMI was like shooting frozen fish in a barrel. (We sure did charm those sales guys!) Here are some of the highlights:

• Saw the Chiquita Banana lady fixing her lipstick in the ladies room
• The House of Blues Hotel guide list the drug overdose hotline #
• The HOB Gospel singers opened with "Nobody Does Me Like Jesus"
• I ate my body weight in Real California Cheese
• We ate the edible paper appetizer menu at Moto
• No one mistook Cici for my adopted Chinese daughter like they did in Tanzania
  

Can't wait for the January show in SF - let us know if you're coming so we can send you an invite to our party.