Playgroup | Helping brands build genuine brand equity

As I write I’m in Las Vegas. I’ve never been before and wasn’t sure it would be my cup of tea. But I guess its one of those places everyone has to see. 

We have a core value at Playgroup of ‘genuine’. It’s something we all believe in. In fact, we wrote it into our mission – helping brands build genuine brand equity.

As far as I can see there’s absolutely nothing genuine about Vegas. It is the antithesis of Playgroup.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any moral objection to the hedonistic pursuits that go on here. It just feels a bit sad.

Everything is larger than life screaming for attention. The lights on ‘The Strip’ of course, the fountains, the false statues, false boobs and false smiles – all a facade to the truths that lie beneath the surface.

Everything is temporary. Nobody in Vegas is from Vegas, relationships are transient, nothing is real. Buildings come and go like the seasons but I’ve never felt further away from nature in my life.

All in the name of 24/7 ‘entertainment’. But is this really what we want?

Well, apparently, it is. The new CityCenter www.citycenter.com development is costing in the region of $8bn. It is truly, truly enormous. The Bellagio was a snip at just $2bn. According to our cab driver CityCenter will then be dwarfed by a new development that will cost in the region of $30bn. And this is supposed to be a country in recession!

As far as I’m concerned, Las Vegas is essentially off-brand for Playgroup. Elvis sang ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and look what happened to him.

Posted by Tim on 24 Mar 08, at 8:23 pm

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