Filed under: Comment
From Reuters News Agency: Nicole Kidman was Hollywood’s highest-paid actress in 2006, nudging Julia Roberts from the top spot for the first time in five years. Kidman, an Oscar winner for her 2002 portrait of Virginia Woolf in “The Hours,” commands an estimated $16 million to $17 million (8.2 million to 8.7 million pounds) per movie, entertainment trade paper The Hollywood Reporter said on Wednesday.
In everyday business, you seem to get paid the really big cash for doing one of 3 things …
1. Founder [the originator of the idea]
2. Expertise [a specialist in a particular area]
3. Responsibility [the key decision maker or sharing the ‘risk’]
… however, if you fail in the area you have been charged with – you tend to end up being sacked, sued or ridiculed.
Not in Hollywood however … oh no … there it seems that regardless of how a movie ‘performs’, there is always someone else to blame [script writers / marketing / director] … so with stars salaries continually escalating to ever-obscene levels and Hollywood believing in a policy of quantity rather than quality, is it really any surprise that Mr and Mrs Public are buying more and more pirate DVD’s?
If the industry really wants to get a grip on this issue, they need to take a long, hard look at the factors driving it because lets face it, their current ‘guilt trip’ strategy just isn’t working – especially as people are [rightly or wrongly] able to justify their ‘theft’ by comparing their level of income to the outrageous salaries paid to these ‘stars’.
Of course it’s a crappy excuse … but that’s not the point … it is how we can do something we know is wrong and not feel too bad about it. Infact, in some cases, we almost feel like we’re clever – as if we’re beating ‘The System’.
Hmmmmmn, anyone else notice a distinct similarity to the issues faced in the Ad industry?
Sure people in Adland aren’t as well paid as film stars … but in a lot of cases, they are paid more than the clients they deal with and how do you think that makes the client feel?
Many clients [especially the junior ones] think all people in Advertising do, is sit in a room laughing and joking while ripping off scenes from famous movies which we then shove their logo on – all the time while they are working and toiling under immense pressures to achieve the business goals of their ‘real job’.
Is it any surprise that they treat creativity with such distain? Are we shocked that they are becoming more and more dictatorial as to what we do for them?
Sure, money isn’t the only issue here … but it is a big factor … because if people believe someone else is getting paid dramatically more money than them for a role they believe is far less demanding, then their level of loyalty and moral conscience will surely be open to compromise.
So what do we do?
Well if I knew that, I’d be rich too … however I do feel that if movie stars and ad people were seen to share some of the upfront risk [either interms of upfront salary / costs] then people are less inclined to begrudge them if they then go on to reap massive rewards. Infact, doing this may even earn respect and value from ‘outsiders’ because they’ll be able to truly recognise what the other party has ‘brought to the venture’.
Will it work?
Probably not … because apart from people being massively risk-adverse, the film and advertising businesses are – as much as we pretend otherwise – ridiculous ventures where success is never possible to be guaranteed and where reasons-for-failure can always be attributed to someone else but this issue is going to grow and grow … not because the public are demanding the Wealth of the World to be spread [like Bono is claiming with his RED venture – see my ‘Champagne Socialism’ blog entry], but because the thing many people want most, is access to the lifestyle only afforded by the ‘rich and richest’.
Which leads me to my next point … The Rise Of The ‘FUCK YOU MONEY‘ Culture.
Filed under: Comment
In advertising today, tons and tons of brands try and sell ‘status’ … ‘Buy This And You Will Be Part Of An Elite Group Of People’.
The only problem with this is that often the brands are so frightened of alienating potential customers, they end up using crappy ideas like ‘Only Those In The Know, Know’ … because it helps them feel like they’re conveying status but in reality, they’re still being ‘accessible to the masses’. [Yes, I know this sort of defeats the objective, but I never said marketing people are the sharpest knives in the drawer]
We now live in a society where so many brands offer ‘status’ [even toilet paper for Christsakes!] that it’s ability to appeal to the ‘social climber’ is being diluted. Maybe these wannabe brands should take a leaf out of the ones who really get what ‘status’ is all about … the brands who unashamedly celebrate and ooze cash, arrogance and exclusivity!
Have a look at the ad below for the YELLOWSTONE CLUB – the World’s ‘ONLY Ski and Golf Community’.
OK, so that already conveys unbelievable pompousness [you should check out the ‘Owners & Management’ section on their site, it’s amazing], but the best bit is when you read the small print at the bottom of the ad …
“CLUB MEMBERSHIP REQUIRES REAL ESTATE. APPOINTMENTS FOR ENTRY MUST ME MADE IN ADVANCE.”
Hell, when even a postman needs to make an appointment to deliver a letter, you know you’re talking ‘seriously posh’ – and then there’s the fact YELLOWSTONE offers both skiing and golf facilities – 2 of the most opposite [and expensive] outdoor activities that you can get!! I wouldn’t be surprised if their golf course was underground heated or their snow was flown in specially each day!
Everything about this place exudes an air of keeping the ‘riff-raff’ out … or keeping the ‘super rich together’ … and whilst that is splendidly revolting, I do have to applaud their arrogance to quite happily and openly turn their noses up at the masses. Infact you get the distinct impression that unless your family name has been celebrated for at least 5 generations, you won’t get within 100kms of the place – even if you have untold riches and are arriving by private Lear Jet! [Still sounds like that place Yogi Bear lived though!]
I call this the ‘FUCK YOU’ effect … where the ‘status’ being offered is the most exclusive of them all, the status of not having to care what others think of you as you’ve made it, and don’t need anyone’s help ever again.
Like the words, ‘Revolution’, ‘Fun’ and ‘Exciting’ … Advertising has changed the meaning of ‘status’.
It’s no longer about exclusivity – it’s about belonging to a group of people who want to feel they are moving up the ‘ladder-of-success’ … even though in reality, many of them are getting into massive debts in a desperate attempt to fill the hole of work/life boredom and under-valued emptiness.
OK, I’m being especially harsh … but when you look at who is/was driving the sales of plasma televisions, cable and even BMW’s [in the UK, they outsell the Ford Mondeo!] – you have to admit, alot of people are subscribing to ‘living a lifestyle’ rather than a ‘life’.
Anyway, if brands really want to make ‘status’ valuable again in their advertising [ignoring the financial ramifications they are having on people/cultures] they should embrace the tried and tested concept of the ‘super-elite’ – the concept of alienation, because nothing demonstrates ‘status’ like an ad showing arrogance – best demonstrated by the ‘finger’ one from Bentley. Genius!
Filed under: Comment
Very, very soon I’m going to write about the background to the Walkman campaign we’re about to launch – but in the meantime, you can click here.
[Actually there’s little point checking the site as there’s hardly anything there – but if you can ignore the blatant product push, it might tempt you to find out more in a week or so]
Filed under: Comment
… and it’s all thanks to the very lovely Max @ Virgin Atlantic who ensures I continue to experience levels of luxury that I don’t deserve [or pay for!]
Of course it could have something to do with the fact Monsieur Branson is one of my business partners best mates … or it could be that he loves his agency … but I like to think he just appreciates having my ‘sort’ on board his planes. Ahem!
Anyway, check out who it is by clicking here
So why is this bloke my hero?
Well because apart from the fact he is funny … he also seems to be a firm believer in the concept of ‘Anger Being An Energy’ – something I discussed with [name drop] Bob Geldof, and something I am going to write about in detail very soon [mainly because it’s going to form part of our overall planning philosophy. Oh God, what am I getting us into???]
Filed under: Comment
Remember how a couple of days ago I wrote about my Singaporean bank putting a ‘Welcome Santa‘ mat outside their branch door and that I was wondering whether it was a nice or ultimately evil gesture on their behalf?
Well, unsurprisingly, they have revealed it was all part of the normal ‘evil bank service’ we’ve come to expect from 99.27% of financial organisations.
Why?
Because yesterday, when I popped in to get some cash, there was a sticker on the door [above the ‘Santa’ mat], saying that ‘DBS Credit Cards Are All You Need To Be ‘Santa’.
So apart from the fact DBS are encouraging consumers to increase their spending … latching onto a festive season to maximise their potential to earn even greater high-interest payments annnnnnnd making kids pester their parents for bigger, better pressies because they know their Mum and Dad’s can simply put it on ‘credit’ – the fucking banking shits have also ruined the myth of Santa for all the little tykes who still believe in the Coca-Cola sponsored St Nick … and that is about as low as any bank can go!
Hey DBS … why not go the whole hog and steal the pressies on Christmas Eve and then demand a ‘ransom’?
For just one moment, I thought I was seeing a bank trying to truly improve its image and morals – I should have known better!