I was recently having a chat with a very talented friend of mine about how P&G ‘miss the point’ interms of branding and communication.
He said that despite all the claims coming out of the organisation, the reality was they still favoured over-researched, rational products with over-researched, rational communication.
Now of course it is easy to agree with him, however I also said that there was a counter point of view …
For all the talk adland does regarding the importance of new ideas, creativity and single message communication … the fact is P&G probably launch more new products per year than the entire advertising industry has managed to come up with in 50 years which you could argue, demonstrates they are braver and more confident about creativity than the entire advertising industry could ever dream of being.
Not only that, but in terms of how that organisation speaks/thinks/acts, they are more aligned [regardless of seniority and/or geography] than almost any other company I have ever come across … hell, even their ads follow this approach, with the majority of their brands focused on delivering one key and consistent message to the masses … a key and consistent message that is maintained for decades as opposed to revealing a new direction every 12 months like many agencies do interms of their ‘brand philosophy’.
So here’s the thing …
It is all very easy for adland to slag off the big and the boring, however when it can be argued the big & the boring are the living embodiment of what adland claims are the attributes of a great brand, then it’s either time to get a new argument or start practicing what we preach and showing the masses how it really should/could be done, because as it stands it’s little wonder companies rate P&G more highly than adland and if you’re anything like me, that opinion will stick in your throat.