Making Larry David happy
The Nametag Day Kickstarter ends today, and I’m experiencing a mix of excitement and relief. It’s not very much fun to be in a position of holding your hand out for money. I also would much prefer sending a single message: “Volunteer with us! It’s free!” rather than the mixed messaging of “volunteer and give money.” At the same time, those who have given have done so with excitement, and we are providing fifty people with the opportunity to feel ownership as this idea spreads across the world. It’s continuing to grow bigger than me, which is a wonderful feeling.
I hope to raise $10–20k from grants over the next year to endow Nametag Day, so we don’t have to ask for money and can focus on what we do far better: making a killer event that changes the city.
To celebrate today, I’m sharing an email chain from 2013. We reached out to *SO MANY* corporate sponsors and celebrities, hoping to get some uptick in recognition from their tweets or support (turns out that when we got press and public recognition it didn’t get us as far as I’d thought it would at all, but that’s a story for a different blog post.)
Here’s an email I sent to Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld, which had an episode where a character lost a mayoral race after running on a platform to give everyone a nametag. (I discussed this episode with Kevin Klein on the radio last week.)
You can see from my dreaded double-first-email that I was working rather frantically at this point:
Nametag Day (for Larry David)
From: Michael Morgenstern <michael@everythingiseverything.com>
To: ________@wmeentertainment.com
Date: Mon, May 6, 2013 at 10:25 AM
Hey Andrew,
Thanks so much for our conversation just now.
We’re organizing Nametag Day, where we will hand out up to 200,000 nametags to encourage New Yorkers to talk to each other, be open, and make connections. The best intro to what the city will look like on that day is our video at http://nametagday.com/
It was the front page of AM New York (image of the cover), featured on PIX-11 TV, CBS Local, and 10–10 WINS radio.
We would be so thrilled if Larry were interested in helping to promote it with a tweet, or even being actively involved.
Thanks very much!
Michael
RE: Nametag Day (for Larry David)
From: Michael Morgenstern <michael@everythingiseverything.com>
To: ________@wmeentertainment.com
Date: Mon, May 6, 2013 at 10:27 AM
Hi Andrew,
I neglected to mention that I’m reaching out because in “The Non-Fat Yogurt” episode of Seinfeld, Elaine suggested to her boyfriend that David Dinkins make everyone wear a nametag, a suggestion that cost him the election.
We think Seinfeld was just ahead of its time.
Michael
Re: Nametag Day (for Larry David)
From:________@wmeentertainment.com
To: Michael Morgenstern <michael@everythingiseverything.com>
Date: Mon, May 6, 2013 at 2:50 PM
Hi Michael,
Larry is going to pass, although he’s very happy to see that his idea has finally caught on…
Best,
Andrew
Re: Nametag Day (for Larry David)
From:________@wmeentertainment.com
To: Michael Morgenstern <michael@everythingiseverything.com>
Date: Mon, May 6, 2013 at 2:57 PM
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for letting me know. Making Larry David happy is just about the best thing I could hope for in a day.
Best,
Michael
And it really was!
