The name Strawberry Road is an amalgam. It’s a blending of Abbey Road and Strawberry Fields. Pretty simple, but it means a lot to us. We don’t know the etymology of how a storied racehorse from Australia got the same name, but we were thrilled at the potential of the cross-branding of our work with the successes of this equine wunderkind!
When the first google alert for ‘Strawberry Road’ revealed the existence of this fabulous horse, we immediately booked a flight (Qantas of course) for Australia to meet with the horse’s owner.
We jetted out to LAX to pick up our Qantas connection. We got on the luxurious 747 and strapped in for the umpteen hour flight over the pacific. Somewhere between Hawaii and Australia, our plane crashed into an island. There was a whole cast of characters on the plane with us and a bunch already on the island:
Ben
This dude was crazy on nerd power. Jennie and I could tell he spent many-a-day jammed in a locker in grade school. He was shooting people, telling everybody what to do (although we suspect he really didn’t know much of anything). He was like a hall monitor drunk on power. Strangely, he claimed to have been on the island long before we crashed… and he wasn’t even tan.
Then there was this guy Dan:
Daniel Faraday
He was a nice enough guy but really flighty. Every time I saw him I’d say, ‘Loved ya in Saving Private Ryan!’ He’d flip out and get in my face yelling, ‘I don’t even know what that is, I’m from the past!’ or some nonsense. Whatever dude.
Everybody was constantly trying to get off the island. It was like Gilligan’s Island with guns. Jennie and I found a nice little Motel 6 type place about a quarter mile down the beach. Her room was ocean side near the ice machine while mine was poolside but a little bigger. The trade off was fine by me as this allowed me to sleep in and she could enjoy the sunrise.
Every morning this guy Hurley would drive down in a VW micro bus and raid the continental breakfast.
Hurley
Heck of a nice guy and just sweet as can be. He occasionally gave us rides if we needed and in return we would give him an assortment of hostess products.
Every once in awhile Jennie and I would venture up the beach to see all the folks from the crash and the ‘others.’ Nice enough group to hang out with but after awhile the drama would get to be too much and we’d head back to the private beach at the hotel.
Speaking of drama, there were also these two:
Jack and Kate
It’s like high school with these two! Fighting and kissing, on again, off again, we just washed our hands of them by the end of third day or so.
So with Lord of the Flies still playing out on the other side of the island, Jennie and I were please to receive free tickets from Quantas and a flight that left at a reasonable hour. I think had the other folks on the island known it was this easy to leave they would have. However seeing as they all seem to be a bunch of raging co-dependents they’re probably happier there.
Upon landing in Australia Jennie and I made our trek over to the farm of the magnificent Strawberry Road. When we arrived at the stable a delightful young woman took us on a tour of the premises while she gently explained to us that Strawberry Road the horse, had passed away some years ago. Jennie and I looked at each other and after the moment of shock had worn off, we realized that something had happened to the time space continuum. Our opportunity for cross branding had passed. At the same time, in the same whispered tone, we both uttered, “the island…”
We had a ton of fun! I think I might even use the term cajoling to describe our tongue-in-cheek, albeit impromptu shoot. Thanks guys, I had a blast. PS, the last image is my favorite…
