Occasionally, in the course of nurturing passion in my children, and being passionately engaged in marketing as a profession, this creates humorous moments at very random times.

Like today on a drive to school this morning. We were chatting about this and that before we each got into our day. I have no idea why…but at some point, I referenced the Jolly Green Giant. When that happened, a dead silence kind of fell in the car. My husband was driving. I was in the passenger seat. The three boys were in the back. I then immediately sang “In the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant…ho, ho, ho!” thinking that would surely be the best hint ever, but quickly realized “Oh! you guys have no idea who the Jolly Green Giant is, do you?” Of course, I got the collective “Nope.”

No problem. In savvy, resourceful Mom mode, I take out my iPhone, tap the YouTube app, search “Jolly Green Giant” and proceed to show them this commercial from the 1960s…

My life and work are so integrated, that even my kids (ages 6, 11, and 13) know what branding is. I mean not in the way most kids articulate ‘who they are’ and ‘what they like’ much earlier than I ever did kind-of-way… “I only wear cool Gap jeans, and Adidas F-50s on my feet” says my super-selective, consumer-minded 6-yr-old, or “I just ordered Fifa 12 for Wii, but I think it would be awesome to have it for my X-box 360, and Madden 12 for my 3DS” says my gamer 11-yr-old — or, “I love my white iPhone 4, and now with this latest OSX Lion update, I can sync all my content to my iPad and my MacBook, plus get my Reminders on ALL my devices!” shrieks my tech-and gadget-savvy 13-year-old.

I’m saying that my kids know what their mom does for a living, often participate in it, and with that comes a lot of perks that I cherish. They organically have picked up on it in their own little lives in striking ways: they notice and point out great logos to me; they make and edit content on the fly, share it with me and my husband, and we happily comment on or discuss it; they will use their communication skills to shape behavior (once when we refused to buy our then 10-year-old the newly released iTouch, he was in a productive fit and focused on how he could get it, so I recorded a video of him on my iPhone talking about why he wanted it, how he would earn money to pay for it, and how he would recycle his old one to his younger brother — he executed his campaign, earned the money, and paid for it himself…his little brother was stoked). They turn their passions into output — whether it’s physical or creative. My 13-year-old has created his own production company complete with a logo, website, blog and marketing campaign…not to mention actual productions where he wrote or adapted scripts, cast actors, held rehearsals, and put on the play or filmed the movie. That spawned other websites he created on his own for other passions and causes, as well as productions of all types: he’s made animated and claymation shorts, reality TV segments (not good family moments) and invites his friends over where he will produce “cooking shows for the Food Network”…(my kids’ current show favorites are Restaurant Impossible, Sweet Genius, and Cupcake Wars - they act out and film their own versions of these too.) My 6-year-old knows every sport team, their team logo and colors, probably top stats and all the players. My 11-year-old knows the features, benefits and pricing of every game device, as well as key strategies for beating any game he is currently interested in, or actively working on. They are each wonderful storytellers.

I want to point out that I am not bragging in the least…but rather that what I have come to notice about my kids is they are not afraid to take risks with their creativity, their causes, their opinions, or finding solutions to problems on their own. By including them into the fabricate of what Mom does when she isn’t being Mom (something that kids think only happens if you are physically with them), they understand if you live life true to your passions and with purpose, that is a path to a happy, productive life.

Was this morning another marketing Mom’s teachable moment? Perhaps. I wonder if the kids were humming that little Jolly Green Giant jingle as they sauntered between classes, or will they have an extraordinary craving tonight for more vegetables with their dinner? Hmmmm. Until then, the lines of marketing, branding and life will creatively clash for me and my family. And that’s ok with us.