ESPAÑOL
Recently, I have noticed some of the ads for the New York Times that have been displayed on the San Francisco BART. This one in particular caught my attention:
The New York Times & Alice
On the small script below the add, they claim that they have more coverage of the Bay Area, every Friday and Saturday. However, the interesting part is the main copy: “The New York Times and Alice.” If you’ve never been to the Bay Area, you may wonder who’s Alice. It isn’t Alice in Wonderland, even with an upcoming movie by Tim Burton. The banner in the picture may give you a clue, but you still need to know about the Bay Area to make the association, specially since the picture doesn’t display the full name on the board. It is about Alice Waters, executive chef, founder and owner of Chez Panisse, a well-known restaurant in Berkeley, attributed with the beginning of the movement for cooking with sustainably and locally grown ingredients.
It is interesting how they opt to just show her first name and a cropped picture of the entrance to her restaurant in the ad. It is as if we were living in a small town, and of course, everybody knows who Alice is. The truth is, most people here do know who Alice is. Hence, the town is still small enough so that one person that makes the right impact can go by her first name only. Our communications have evolved enough so that your name and reputation can go around town with the speed of gossip in a small town. Are you one of the small town people?
well i think it’s one of my favorite things about S.F. Such a cosmopolitan city yet it gives you the sensation of having the advantages of a small town. Places are relatively close (when i lived there i basically walked everywhere), bart and transportation system in general is much more efficient than most U.S. cities and the word of mouth spreading all over as you mentioned. Coming from a small city but loving the hype and diversity a big one delivers i can’t help loving S.F.