I’ll Know It When I See It
“It just felt right.” Although we can’t define it, we do know when come across it. And “it” is exactly what we were lookong for. Similarly, when we use a search engine, sometimes we aren’t exactly sure what we are searching for. Probably why Google does 3 billion searches a day. Many are searching for “it” and want “it” to be real. We want that so much that just appearance of authenticity rings our bell enough to hit the “buy” button without a second thought. Comes as no surprise that when the product doesn’t reflect what we expected, it leaves a bitter taste in our mouths. Trust walks out the door. And so does the chance for alchemy.
We Are Hardwired
Finding we what have been searching for gives us a hit of pleasure and accomplishment. It’s in our hardwiring. The harder what we are looking for is to find, the bigger the hit is when we do. So, when it comes to finding our personal holy grails, we are willing to roll the dice. We will continue to endlessly search on google until we find the real thing.
Will the Real Butterfly Please Stand Up
Viceroy butterflies look identical to Monarch butterflies. Except there’s one very big difference. Unlike Viceroys, Monarch butterflies are poisonous to birds. Which is a drag if you’re a hungry bird that eats the wrong one. No wonder Viceroy butterflies have evolved to look like Monarchs.
However, a discerning bird can tell the difference between them. There is a slight variation in wing markings. That’s how experienced birds can tell when a Viceroy is the real deal. And the second they can tell the difference they’ll snap it up before you can say Viceroy Robinson.
Birds of Different Feathers
In the late 1970’s the proliferation of new soda brands created an intensely competitive beverage category. Coca Cola, the megabrand leader of the pack, found itself in the unfamiliar territory of fighting for market share. The cavalcade of new colas diluted the competition and put Pepsi hot on the heels of Coca Cola..
Meanwhile the tumultuous times of change in the 19070’s were giving birth to a major cultural transition of the younger generation. For them traditional views and behaviors was not who they were. They had begun migrating in droves towards the unconventional in searc of what felt real to them.
This major cultural shift was not lost on the cola companies battling for a slice of the burgening population of baby boomers . Pepsi positioned itself as “The Pepsi Generation”, 7Up was the “Uncola”, and Dr. Pepper was “Misunderstood”.
But the bigger picture of the 70’s was that unthinkable was happening. Our president had turned into a deceitful liar. We were fighting in a war in Vietnam that we didn’t understand, All we knew wat that thousands of young men were coming home in body bags, There was the Cold War accompanied by a buildup of nuclear missiles. To top it off, there huge social upheavals sweeping across the country.
Coca; Cola’s “The Real Thing” were the magic words to a nation of of disparate generational needs. The older generation needed to feel the solid ground of things they knew. Coca Cola was something they could count on to taste just as they remembered from their childhoods. Coke’s classic taste never wavered.
Coca Cola and the “The Real Thing” also spoke to the younger gernerations need to truly be themselves as opposed to paying what they saw as lioservice to the expections of tradition.
Either way Coca-Cola’s message of being The Real Thing was something the entire countryn could relate to.
Authenticily is at the heart of Alchemy.
A fortunate thing about alchemy is that you’ll get a head’s up if you’re messing it up. Coca-Cola jepordized it’s alchemy with “New Coke”. In trying to compete with the Pepsi they changed Coke to New Coke which had a sweeter taste like Pepsi. It was a signifiant departure from the profound cultural meaning held by the original Coke. The change was met with outrage in the form of thousands of angry letters and phone calls, protests, and boycotts. Realizing they had made a colossal mistake, executives quickly returned to the original formula and 3 months later New Coke was history. What does the Viceroy and the Monarch have to do with alchemy? A lot more than meets the eye.
