In 1994, New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Ciattarelli led a ban on swearing. Are you f#*king kidding me?
Nope.
The measure actually passed the Raritan borough council in a 5-0 vote.
Did this sh*t ordinance get enforced?
Nope.
The local police chief opposed the measure and decided the department would not enforce it because it violated free speech rights.
Fast forward 27 years and Ciattarelli is facing incumbent Phil Murphy today.
During the run-up to the election, the New Jersey State Democratic Committee created a “man on the street” commercial about the swearing ban. See video below. They asked New Jerseyans if they knew about Jack and the silly ordinance.
The reactions are hilarious. “Are you sh*tting me?”, “What an a**hole!”, “What the F*ck!”
The last one is classic with an indignant tone, “This is f*cking New Jersey!”
New Jersey may not have invented swearing, but its residents have elevated it to an art form.
As David Rendall and I shared in Pink Goldfish 2.0,
“Swearing is a way to attract people who align with your approach and repel the people who don’t. Look no further than Gary Vaynerchuk.”
For Jersey-born and bred Gary, swearing is about being who you authentically are. “I’m not cursing to disrespect anybody. This is how I’m comfortable in communicating.” And he is unapologetic, “I am willing to deal with the ramifications of me being my full self.”
New Jerseyans are not afraid of telling you how they feel.
Will Ciattarelli be successful in his bid for Governor? It doesn’t look promising. A recent poll has Murphy leading by 11 points. If he wins, Murphy will be the first Democratic governor to be reelected in New Jersey since Brenden Byrne in 1977.
Takeaway – Know your audience and don’t take things personally. I’ll never forget a lesson I learned while working in New Jersey for three summers in college and grad school. My boss Jim Poling asked if I knew what a New Jersey compliment was. I shrugged my shoulders and he enlightened me,
“When someone from New Jersey doesn’t tell you that you’re f*cking up, you know you are doing a good job.”
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Stan Phelps walks the walk. He stands out in the sea of sameness by modeling his own Differentiated Experience (DX) message: Differentiation isn’t just about what you say, it’s about what you do and, more importantly, how and why you do it. Stan leverages his unique collection of 5,000+ case studies on customer, employee, and brand experience to engage audiences with informative learning-based experiences. He believes purposeful DX wins the hearts of employees and customers, and differentiation ultimately boosts loyalty, retention, referrals, and results.
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