The 1998
Trend Losers and
1998 Trend Movers
The 1998
Trend Losers and
1998 Trend Movers
Gerald
Celente, author, Trends 2000 (Warner), compiled a list of candidates
whose actions of the past year are good indicators of what to expect from
them in the future.
The 1998 Trend Losers
1.
Bill Gates: Though no greedier,
more ruthless, or more insensitive than most other billionaires, Mr. Microsoft
stands out for his unfailing ability to present himself as the "Supernerd"
embodiment of these unlovable qualities.
2.
Nike: By mishandling the sweat
shop issue, flooding every corner of the sports market with its product,
dressing up on-air CBS broadcasters with its logos and pushing its famous
"swoosh" into everyone's face, Nike has earned its reputation
as the Microsoft of footwear.
3.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association: These all-beef Texas wieners made the mistake of taking America's
most popular woman, Oprah, to court for insulting hamburgers.
4.
Venator: For killing off its Woolworth
stores selling off its landmark Woolworth building, changing the venerable
Woolworth name to Venator, and then jumping into the already oversaturated
and troubled sporting goods retail market.
5.
General Electric: The company that
"Brings good things to life" brought so many tons of PCB's to
the life of the Hudson River that the government warns that eating its fish
could be life threatening. With 1998 revenues estimated at $100 billion,
GE continues to dodge responsibility for a clean up.
6.
Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap:
Dressing as Rambo to drive home his message, this corporate "turnaround"
specialist earned his nickname by wholesale firings, plant closings and
product line massacres. When his cut-throat strategy failed to turn Sunbeam
around, "Chainsaw" was fired, accused of cooking the books and
was last seen sobbing on CNN, claiming that he "does have a heart."
7.
Good Morning America: A case study
in the Disneyfication of ABC; or "How to ruin one of America's most
successful mornings shows" by making it bland, boring, uncontroversial,
predictable, squeaky clean, and whiter than white.
8.
Jim Pitts: This Texas legislator's
proposal to execute children as young as eleven who commit murder would
ensure the Lone Star state's status as National Death Penalty Champion.
9.
Nabisco: In a desperate attempt
to stop the crumbling sales of its SnackWell cookies, Nabisco pitched them
to women as an ego booster: "At SnackWells," said one ad, "we
like to think that snacking shouldn't be just about feeding yourself, but,
in some small way, about feeding your self-esteem."
10.
Linda Tripp: An obvious winner,
no doubt, but a rare instance of a book you can judge by its cover.
The 1998 Trend Movers
1.
Jesse Ventura: The election of
the ex-wrestler as Minnesota's Governor proved the depth of voter disgust
with the two part system. Ventura was swept to victory because his platform
corresponded to what people want but know they won't get from Republicans
and Democrats beholden to special interest. This "people power"
election is no fluke; Ventura isn't "Man-Mountain Dean;" and Minnesota
isn't Arkansas.
2.
South Park: The hit Comedy Central
show that kids love and parents hate. It brings out the worst in everybody,
ruthlessly exposing the negative truths behind every stereotype and captures
the burgeoning anarchic spirit of the Millennium Generation.
3.
Oprah Winfrey: Though critics attack
her as a TV Mother Theresa, Oprah's "Change Your Life" format
is a hit because she's giving her huge audience positive and practical guidance
otherwise unavailable from main stream media and traditional institutions.
4.
Sterling College: This Vermont
college is the first to incorporate practical physical life skills (no,
they're not bringing back "shop" and home economics) into its
liberal arts curriculum: growing food, tending animals, taking care of the
land, etc. This is the first example of new millennium education.
5.
Germany: It's no accident that
Germany, stereotyped as the world's most scientific/educated/orderly nation
on earth, understands the high probability of a catastrophic nuclear accident
and is the first nation to make plans to phase out its nuclear energy industry.
6.
500,000 French high school students: Millennium
Generation students took the street to protest crowded, ill-maintained,
understaffed and under-equipped high schools. The protesters were treated
with respect by a sympathetic government rather than attacked by club swinging
gendarmes: A signal of both "Generation Blending" and "M-Generation
power."
7.
Marijuana: Once again signaling
that the will of the public runs counter to rules imposed by elected politicians,
the voters in five states supported legalizing marijuana for medical use.
Meanwhile farmers in Kentucky are taking the U.S. Government to court in
an attempt to overturn the Controlled Substance Act of 1972 that prohibits
them from growing commercial grade "high-free" hemp.
8.
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa: For
proving both Vince Lombardi and Leo Durocher wrong: Winning is not
"the only thing," nor do "nice guys finish last."
9.
Daimler-Benz/Chrysler: Of all the
mega-mergers of 1998, this one makes the most sense. It does on a global
scale what General Motors used to do for America: Produce a range of cars
to suit the taste and pocketbooks of everyone from proles to plutocrats.
10.
Noel Godin: This unsung Belgian
hero has devoted his life to the thankless task of "pieing:" Hitting
an international roster of deserving off-trend notables, in the face with
cream pies such as Bill Gates.
Source:
The Trends Research Institute,
330 Salisbury Turnpike, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.
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