Blue Collars are America’s darling.
		Does a free trip come with my health benefits package?

ESPN heads to high school

TypeRacer is competitive fun for your fingers

Japanese technology takes on underage smokers

Blue Collars are America’s darling.

Have you heard? Blue Collars are red-hot. Today, a presidential candidate’s worthiness is gauged by his or her attitude toward regular hardhats. In dozens of ways, Blue Collars are being celebrated in American culture, politics, clothing and even food and beverage. Just recently, Pabst Brewing announced that it is bringing back Schlitz—the legendary working-class Milwaukee brew that was shelved in the late 1970s. The retro suds will even be bottled in longnecks. And it’s not just beer and beefsticks. A recent Slate.com article commented that hybrid automobiles, once thought to be the domain of latte-sipping white-collar liberals, are being embraced by regular working-class folks—in part because blue-collar blue chips like UPS and Wal-Mart converted their trucking fleets to hybrids. Companies that service working Americans are pioneering a new wave of marketing to celebrate working-class values. In April, Wolverine clothing and the Working Person’s Store announced an upload contest called “The Toughest Jobs in America” and Duluth Trading Company launched its “torture testing” campaign to prove the toughness of its working clothes. Work jeans from Carhartt, boots from Red Wing and Dickies workshirts are back in fashion among people whose idea of hard work is crossing Lexington at 50th.

Real live Blue Collars are suddenly back in demand in the workplace, too. As Boomers age and retire, and many “middle-skilled” jobs return to the U.S. because of the weak dollar, there’s a dramatic need for workers like carpenters, plumbers, forklift drivers and other trade professionals. ISM finds that “blue collar” today is more psychographic than demographic. Upper-class Millennials and white-collar Gen Xers alike have embraced the Blue Collar trappings, from Carhartt jeans to Red Wing boots to feed caps. But the real Blue Collar worker is still here and at the center of the national identity: They exemplify hard work, semi-skilled physical labor, populism and an-honest-day’s-pay pride. Consumers across all categories and demographics are still in a serious get real mode. Consider it a positive facet of the backlash against super-affluence and conspicuous consumerism. Hard work and honest dealings balanced against love of family and country—Blues are a favorite flesh-press in an election year. But with the economy in a tailspin, and working-class values resurgent, 2008 is shaping up to be bluer than blue.

ISM has written about the burgeoning business of medical tourism, but here’s another sign that its importance and acceptance is growing, and that it’s a market segment increasingly worth contemplating. As overseas medical attention appeals to more Americans, U.S. employers are adding offshore treatments to their employee benefit incentives. Maine-based supermarket chain Hannaford Bros. offers its 9,000 employees the option to have hip and knee replacements in Singapore, yielding cost savings of 75%. Travel expenses and up to $3,000 in out-of-pocket expenses are included. Driven by employer requests, more insurance companies, including Aetna and Cigna, are evaluating overseas partnerships with healthcare providers. The lure: top-quality doctors, high-tech equipment and low costs make for an easy green light. However, savvy consumers (patients, employees) are accustomed to doing their research and will expect employers to have answers to some tough questions on safety, follow-up treatment and legal ramifications.

ESPN’s Rise sports coverage sets up bleachers for high school sports fans. Scheduled to begin in August 2008, it will feature social networking, a magazine, web and live TV coverage of high school events and athletes, as well as segments on ESPN’s regular shows. This is the first national reporting dedicated to high school sports and aimed at the 12- to 17-year-old. Sports Illustrated for Kids and its website target a younger fan and cover the same pro sports as SI for big people. Private coaching, traveling teams, eight-day-a-week commitment—high school sports rule the lives of many participants, fans and parents, and the inhabitants of the high school sports world want to keep current and informed. ISM knows that youth sports and the related travel is big business and this could potentially make it even bigger as more money and a pro-like limelight shine on high school sports.

Consumers live and breathe on the keyboard, but really, how many know their average words per minute (WPM)? TypeRacer (www.typeracer.com) is an online game that invites contemporary typesters to race against themselves, their friends or random opponents in real time. In addition to upping their WPM, competitors can improve their knowledge of pop culture: Typing challenges are quotes from popular movies, songs and books. For those who want to brag about their basic typing skills, TypeRacer is linked with accounts like MySpace. For most citizens of the electronic age, typing comes as naturally and easily as, say, breathing. Put personal skills against a standardized measure of speed and accuracy, and voilą — you’ve got a competitive sport. ISM sees it as a great example of how you can help people learn something and improve their skills simply by turning it into a game.

No fine lines or wrinkles? No smokes. It’s that simple. In an effort to fight underage smoking, some 570,000 Japanese cigarette vending machines will install digital camera systems that determine age by evaluating facial characteristics. Fujitaka Co.’s system will compare features like eye wrinkles, bone structure and skin sags to determine whether a potential customer is at least 20, the legal age for smoking in Japan. The company anticipates 90% success rates; a 10% “gray zone” might include “minors that look older or baby-faced adults.” While we’re all for anything that helps stamp out underage smoking, ISM is anxious to see the creative ways today’s youth find to outsmart the technology and still get what they want. Stay tuned.

© 2008 ISM and Iconoculture, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published monthly by ISM in partnership with Iconoculture.