During my morning run, (trying to pound out the depressing issues of my life) a Bacardi Rum truck passes me by with the slogan on the back - "Live Life like You Mean It".
Live life like you mean it.
Live life like you mean it.
Live.....Life......Like.......You.....Mean...... It.
As I read it, the words reverberated through my head over and over as my feet pounded the pavement and my breath is labored;
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
That if I drink this rum, I'm living life whole-heartily and mean it? Or is it that if I drink enough of it, I will really live life? Oh.. don't mess with me life, because I'm drinking Bacardi Rum and I'm MEANING it! Drinking and living life! Woo hoo!
What the hell am I supposed to be meaning anyway?
I stop running and begin to walk because I'm about to have a coronary, the thought still haunts me.
What would I do to define that I'm living life like I mean it? The answer escapes me, but I think the person who came up with this slogan must have been a former sneaker or sports drink marketer because the whole "meaning it" slogan would better fit products conducive to strength and determination, not liquor consumption.
I pound the pavement again now that my heart rate is at a safe level, and I've stopped hyperventilating. I realize that the slogan got me to think about my life at this very point, and contemplate the definition of "meaning it". So do I?
Am I living life like I mean it? My answer is, yes. Everything that I do I mean and everything that I attempt are with strength and determination.
So, did Bacardi succeed in its attempt to pique the interest of the public, to challenge them with their own definition of "meaning it"?
I answer with an emphatic yes.
Damn them.
As I finish my run and my conundrum, I am hot and thirsty. I realize that I will forever connect that slogan to Bacardi Rum. However the only drink I need is water, and I "mean it".