The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Hello folks … I am doing a little project and was wondering if you could help me.

Basically, I am trying to find out what ‘love’ smells like.  Or more specifically … what ‘falling in love’ smells like.

I appreciate this is very ambiguous – but if there are any smell/s that specifically reflect that emotion to you, could you be so kind to tell me.

I guarantee no one will ever see/read/know what you have written and if you prefer to keep your thoughts private, you can email me them instead.

Thanks so much in advance … 

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By the way, the above visual is from the brilliant Singaporean blog, Stickgal.

Go check it out because apart from proving Singapore is not a creative wasteland … it reminds us how a picture – when done right – can truly say a thousand words!  

Before I start this post, I have an important message for my Mum …

WHATEVER YOU DO, PLEASE DON’T WATCH THIS CLIP.

I’m serious Mum, it’s not ‘your sort of thing’ … and it’s not the sort of thing ANY child should show his/her Mum.

Right … onto the post.

First, take a look at this …

Hahahaha!

Except it isn’t. 

Oh yeah, it’s something I’ll watch and probably pass on to a few mates … but then I occasionally read The Sun and watch Jerry Springer but that doesn’t mean I regard them as ‘homes for truth’.

While this is obviously not a ‘real ad’, the issue is that too much communication is still focused on using the old ‘shock entertainment’ strategy rather than doing something entertaining yet ‘interesting’.

But what is ‘interesting’ I hear you cry? 

Well as far as I am concerned, that’s where planners come in. Or should I say where REAL planners should come in.

As many of you know from all my whinging, I’ve been in a conference for a couple of days and while I was there, I was mortified to hear many so-called-planners …

1 Don’t work with creatives

2 Don’t have any part in the creative process

3 ONLY rely on data

4 Never question clients briefs or make hypothesis on situations

5 Never know how consumers think about life … only their fucking category habit

What the fuck is that all about?  I mean, I knew the planning discipline was getting bad, but I didn’t realise it was getting THAT bad.

What these guys are doing isn’t planning … it’s reading.

You wouldn’t call someone who reads design books an architect, just like you wouldn’t call someone who administers band-aids, a doctor … so how the hell these people have the audacity to call themselves a planner is beyond me.

Of course, you also have to question the company/boss that allows or encourages this kind of behaviour – but then you also have to wonder why these people would be happy to rely on out-of-date, category specific data to make choices [never a decision] worth millions and millions of pounds/dollars/euros.

Is it lack of confidence … lack of time … lack of rigour … or just plain laziness?

This isn’t about slagging off data because as any good planner knows, it can help liberate or validate great ideas/insights … however if all you do is look at the figures and [1] don’t understand what the insight BEHIND the figures is and [2] don’t go out into the real World and see how LIFE is currently for people [rather than focus on their category habits] then you are about as much of a planner as an accountant is an inventor.

As far as I am concerned, the ‘above ad’ does the industry harm …

You see sex is the lowest form of communication ‘idea’ – it’s disposable advertising, you watch it then throw it away.

And while some people would claim this spot would ‘raise awareness’ [amongst other things] the reality is that awareness is a bullshit metric.  It was ‘invented’ by the ad industry to justify so much of the self indulgent rubbish they produced over the years.

That doesn’t mean sex as a ‘communication idea’ always means cheap and nasty … nor am I saying effective advertising requires boring and rational executions [I think we all know that’s not the case] it’s just this sort of cheap wank joke makes society [and industry] believe advertising is populated by a bunch of immature tossers which not only affects our credibility … but stops the next wave of talent wanting to come on board.

Of course there are tons and tons and tons of fuckwits in adland … but there’s are also a bunch of smart, interesting, decent people around the place – and it saddens me that often these guys don’t get nearly as much acclaim as the idiots behind crappy executions like the one above or the ‘planners’ who talk and act like they are fucking big business management consultants.

Planning IS a creative discipline … sure it is about solving business problems, but we do it by findings way that motivate the masses rather than ‘reducing the costs’ … and the sooner certain agencies/bosses and individuals remember that, the better for us all.

I like using my brain … admittedly it’s not particularly great … but with the brilliant people around me, it’s ‘kept on its toes’ so doesn’t get overly tired, lazy or boring.  

Why am I saying this?

Because I am sad about how little ‘thinking’ is going on in adland these days.

No, I don’t just mean from planners [more of that in a future post] but in all areas of the industry … including suits, creatives and researchers.

Maybe it is luck or attitude, but over the years – as part of our solution to clients business problems and/or specialist projects – we’ve been involved in such things as the design of jumbo jet interiors, creating [non-harmful] military weaponry, identifying new distribution channels, creating the positioning for an international space agency, imagining how televisions of the future could look, developing food* and beer brands, dreaming up television content and making toys to name but a few.

And unashamedly I am proud of that fact because while many agencies talk about creating media neutral, business problem solving ‘ideas’ – I can say we’ve done it and continue to try and do it.

I’m not slagging off traditional media channels/solutions – far from it – I am just saying that too often ad agencies think the solution IS traditional advertising when in reality, it’s what you do to communicate your ‘motivating idea’ to the masses.

Anyway I’ve gone on and on about this issue in the past, [quick recap: move culture not categories] so I’ll get to the point of this post.

 “I am brilliant”

Today we got a brief that ‘Mr Self Proclaimed Idea’ would probably wet his knickers over to even touch, let alone work on ….

“From the ground up, create a motorbike [for country ‘X’] that will create mass consumer demand”

Now THAT is a brief … that is a fucking exciting and brilliant brief [no I can’t tell you who it is yet Arun!] … and it demonstrates that if you live by what you say rather than say just what is fashionable, then great opportunities will come.

This is what advertising and planning should be about – using your brain to make great things happen because of insight, imagination and bravery. It’s not that hard to do … it’s just a matter of mindset and collaboration … yet in many companies, it seems splitting the atom with a hammer would be easier!

So if your brain is in danger of turning to mush where you are working, then I ask you to fight for it … because not only do you, your clients and society deserve it …  but because you’ll help stop Network CEO’s like big Kev [above] from crying at night as the smaller agencies around the World continue to humiliate them and with their screaming PR machines of hot-air.

🙂

… just thought you should know.

Please can someone buy me this for my birthday!

There were a few of things at ‘the conference’ that left their mark on me …

First up was this wonderfully and carefully crafted food description at the restaurant buffet …

Oooooooh, I bet that makes you salivate doesn’t it? 

And you have to admire the brave use of the word ‘item’ don’t you!

While locals couldn’t shove the ‘Pork Item’ down their throat fast enough … I am sure most of you won’t be too surprised to learn most of the Westerners in the room [including me] carefully avoided the thing like the plague.

Though no one came out and said it, I am sure it was because we were worried it would turn out to be pig cock or something equally revolting! Ha!

Not that pig cock would stop many local Asians from eating it.

Oh no – out here there’s a real ‘waste not, want not’ mentality regarding food … and if any of you are going to Russell’s “Interesting Conference” you will see a short film I’ve cobbled together to explain what it’s all about.

Look at me … “short film” … the reality is it’s a badly edited, 3 minute clip of me running around food courts like a total tool! Haha!

And if eating EVERYTHING of an animal is an Asian trait, then it seems giving things crappy, rational names must be a Singapore ‘thang‘. 

OK … the second thing from the conference that left its mark on me were the mints.

Yes … the mints.

Not because the conference was that bad [as I said, it was better than I was expecting, but still had a lot to be desired] but because the mints were these …

Yes, Fox’s mints.

Do you remember them?

You’d probably have to be from the UK and over 30 … but the ads were iconic, featuring a Polar Bear and a wily old fox.

The sweets weren’t particularly great – and when they created ‘Fruited Fox’s Mints’ there was national outrage – but seeing these brought back the same rush of happy emotions as I got when I scoffed those Jammy Donuts in Thailand.

The fact some people truly believe emotions aren’t as powerful as rational facts in influencing purchase/association, astounds me … but then maybe these poor people come from a land [and a time] where individual thought and opinion was frowned upon and you simply did as you were told, despite every fibre in your body screaming you to do otherwise.

The brain is a powerful instrument … the problem is many of us are not using it nearly enough … which funnily enough, I’ll be talking about tomorrow!