Whatever your political allegence, the Guardian recently ran some photos of Gordon Brown’s last hours in office and I have to say there was one in particular that really touched me.
For me, there’s something quite wonderful that one of the most important people in the country – possibly the World – has his kids ‘paintings’ on his wall.
I know this is fairly common – but for some reason, I never imagined the PM would do that and I like it. I like it a lot.
I appreciate it’s highly unlikely, but I just love the idea that there were occasions where a head of state was sat opposite him and his kids scribblings were staring down on them.
In public, Gordon Brown appeared socially awkward.
I know that appearences are important – especially in this media focused World – but what I always found sad was that some people translated this behaviour into meaning he was incapable of his job.
Of course, some will say the current state of the UK shows that to be true – however I wonder how much people’s attitudes would have been changed if they saw the ‘family’ side of him .., or more specifically, the ‘human’ side of him.
Yes I know that shouldn’t be important but the reality is we are all influenced by things like that – even if amongst friends we play the role of clinical critic – but while this might sound a bit weird, I respect him even more for not really playing that card, when it was something I am sure he was encouraged to do time and time again.
I honestly believe if brands stood up for their values and principles to a greater extent, they’d make a more meaningful impression on the public.
Jumping on whatever bandwagon they think is the current trend might make economic sense, but in the longer term, I genuinely believe it starts to undermine the trust and value their core ‘fans’ put in the brand – and whilst this group of obsessives may not be enough to drive the ever-increasing need for ever-increasing profit, the fact is without them you are having to start from scratch pretty much each year and that sounds like even worse economical sense to me.
Of course it’s not just what you believe, but how you express it … which is why I worry Apple, a brand that was built on some fundamental values and principles, are in danger of sowing the seeds of their own misfortune … especially given they now think it is OK to get the police to [allegedly] raid a journalists house, force a comedian to apologise for a stupid sketch and threaten a little girl with legal action simply for writing a letter to Jobs.
As I said, values and principles are hugely important, but it’s important you remember how you express them is as important as what they are … which is why writing a brief, an ad or a presentation should always be crafted, never just churned out.