Meanderings
By Mike Woronuk

Math Lesson + Science Lesson = Nicely-Baked Business Lesson

One plus one equals two. 

Counting doesn’t get any more basic than that. Start with one kumquat, add another, and duh, you’ve got two kumquats. Same holds true with pencils. Ottomans. Bowling trophies. And lawn flamingos. 

Math is math is math is math. Except, of course, when it becomes…chemistry.

In chemistry, one plus one can be a whole lot more than two. It can lead to the creation of salt. Or medicine. Or an explosion. Boom!

And even more powerful than that is the chemistry between people, which can generate friction, riotous comedy, or even mellifluous harmonies. Donny without Marie is just Donny. Marie without Donny is just Marie. But Donny with Marie is…Donny and Marie.

As a creative agency, maybe we can come up with a better example than the 70s duo that’s somehow managed to keep performing. How about, Martha Stewart? She’s the decorating, designing and cooking queen who’s long been behind a multi-billion dollar empire (except when she was, er, behind bars).

Say the word Martha and everyone knows you mean Stewart.

(Apologies to fans of Martha Washington, Martha’s Vineyard or Mothra, enemy of Godzilla.)

Like her, love her, or detest her, you’ve got to admit Martha Stewart is an icon.

Okay, she’s person number one in this chemical pairing. Now, of all of the 7.5 billion other people in the world, who’s the most unlikely one to add to form a “Martha Stewart and…” dynamic duo?

You win if you said Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (better known as Snoop Dogg.)

Snoop is 30 years younger than Martha. And unlike her, he’s a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor. And while she’s known for putting good things in the pot, he’s also known for putting the pot in good things. Like, himself.

An unusual pairing, right? You might say it’s the unusualest.

And yet, they’ve been friends for more than a decade, and since 2016, they’ve co-hosted a VH1 show called Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party. Together, they’ve garnered millions of viewers, an MTV Movie + TV nom as Best Duo, and even an Emmy nom for reality show hosting. (They lost to RuPaul, but hey, ya can’t beat RuPaul.) They’ve been joined by guests including The Jonas Brothers, Jimmy Kimmel, Matthew McConaughey and William Shatner, among many others. And they’re working on a slew of projects beyond their VH1 show.

So what if Martha won’t go into Snoop’s dressing room-trailer? And so what if he was turned off when she made Cow Tongue Tacos? They’re a team, with sensational chemistry, and they’re doing great things together.

We’ve covered math. And chemistry. That brings us to…”us”. 

Your company and ours.

We can be Snoop if you’re Martha. We can be Martha if you’re Snoop. We can even be Donny if you’re Marie, or vice versa (though we’d rather skip them). And while we also won’t eat Cow Tongue Tacos, we can promise you that Bartley & Dick is the kind of creative agency that’ll partner with you in eye-opening ways. We’re easy to get along with, and we’re confident that together we can build a relationship that’ll be highly regarded for its ease, effectiveness, and yes, its chemistry.

By the way, we’ll leave you with this: when you spell out the numbers from 1 to 1,000 (o-n-e, t-w-o, etc.), you don’t use the letter “a” until one-thousand.

Why did we tell you that?

Well, it’s kind of a math-like fact, and we like closing these blogs with a callback to the beginning. Fun stuff, right?

Let's explore how the right chemistry can help you reach your goals.

Congrats, now you're a B&D VIP! We'll be in touch soon.

Sorry, there was an error.