November 18, 2004

Clotaire Rapaille is an evil genius marketer who cracks psychological "codes" while delivering crazy-sounding quotes. Did I mention he lives like a king in a Castle in upstate NY? Well, he does. Frontline interview here.
"And what was the key element of safety when you were a child? It was that your mother fed you, and there was warm liquid. That's why cupholders are absolutely crucial for safety."
posted by skallas 20 years ago
  • Thing is, he's right. This is how fucking stupid human beings are. And he gets to live in a big mansion with lots of money.
  • I'm basically just in awe of his name. Any guy who's willing to wear a big sign on his head that says "Clotaire" has my qualified admiration. Of course, if his name was "Clotilde", my qualified admiration would shade over into the "impressed" band.
  • Well, yeah. People who want to sell you something are going to find the best way to do it. And, if you're going to buy something, you'll need a reason for your choice. You can be someone who buys cupholders, or not. Up to you, or to soccer moms, or guys who think huge tires on pickup trucks make them look really cool. Apart from the fact that I hate driving behind behemoth vehicles with darkened windows since I can't see far enough ahead for my comfort, why would I care what car someone else buys? Or, what brand of coffee, or toilet paper, or whatever? It really isn't required of us to have an opinion on everything. Choosing not to have an opinion on ephemera can be a very liberating experience. I like to save my outrage for bigger stuff. On preview: Wolof, I guess I could go find what the significance of "Clotaire" is, but since you're such a giving sort, I do hope you'll educate me.
  • Thank you, skallas! That was a fascinating, and enjoyable read.
  • That was one seriously interesting interview.
  • That was an absolute and utter piece of shit. The guy is a hack. I know you all hate SUVs here but buying into this misguided pseudo-psychological bullshit theory about cupholders and reptilian-brain thinking makes you all look stupid.
  • Plus this is about the fifth time I've seen this on Monkeyfilter.
  • I don't know about hack. I think the guy is out there, but he seems to nail things closer to the head then most. The part about cupholders being important to the sale, I would agree, but for different reasons. Cupholders are good because lots and lots of drivers eat and drink in their car. Having to look for a place to put your cup or sandwich is not safe while driving, a fact that becomes painfully apparent the first time you nearly swerve off the road. Placing the cupholders high, btw, is not a totally new discovery. As I recall, when the designers of the first redesigned Dodge Ram were designing, they scoured parking lots looking into trucks to see what truck drivers liked and did. And what they found was that people were putting their cups up on the dash, and not in the cupholders, which were all placed low, like below the stereo. Again, I think this is a convenience issue, more then mother and warm liquid and all of that crap. Although I might be swayed otherwise if the new Ford baby bottle insulated coffee cup starts taking off.
  • I thought he made an elegant metaphor regarding the perception of cheese in France (alive, so it doesn't go into the fridge) versus the perception in America (pasteurized and dead, so it's in a "body bag" in the "morgue").
  • You mean to say that I've got Zombie cheese in my fridge? No wonder the green furry stuff keeps on spreading.
  • Did somebody pee in Rocket's Cheerios this morning? Anyway, I've got to go restock my glove compartment--we're out of cheese.
  • No, I think they took a whizz on his 4WD.
  • I am not an SUV owner.
  • Rapaille's quote on the FPP site is excerpted from Malcolm Gladwell's NYT article "Big and Bad: How the S.U.V. Ran Over Automotive Safety" [archive of Gladwell articles - reg not req]. Interesting stuff, but I, too, lean more towards the theory that people like cupholders because they want places to put their drinks.
  • Haven't you ever wondered why cars are stereotyped as phallic symbols? I think that's quite wrong. Cars are actually wombs, wherein we are protected, take nourishment, enjoy warmth, hear comforting white noise and feel insulated from a hostile environment. The driver's position mimics the curled foetus. This is why people are so angry about minor accidents and scratches, and so reluctant to get out of the car (drive throughs!). We even have an appropriately named marque: Volvo.
  • Volvo is Latin for "I Roll".
  • I guess I could go find what the significance of "Clotaire" is Sorry, no great secrets to reveal. It's a bit like being called "Cuthbert", or "Cedric", or, for girls, "Dorcas". Old stylee.