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

We arrived in Shanghai on Thursday and as moving goes, it was quite a breeze.

After getting up early to hand Rosie over to the animal transporter people, we had one final check of the apartment and then we were off.

Within 12 hours of shutting our door for the last time, we were sitting in our little apartment in Shanghai, bags all around us and a very nervous little cat going around sniffing everything she could find.

And it felt good.

The reality is all our ‘stuff’ … the computers, furniture, DVD’s, robots … will stay in HK for at least a couple of months, but as much as we like having our possessions around us, we know the really important things are the ones that give our emotions a workout – which in most cases means a living, breathing thing.

What do I mean?

Well, as we all know, love is a weird thing.

Whilst some in the marketing World would claim some individuals ‘love’ certain brands – I would say that in the main, to use that word as a definer of the relationship between an ‘individual and a brand’ is utterly and totally wrong.

Of course it’s not that surprising given love is probably the most overused word in history … but true love isn’t about single dimensional interactions, how fucking boring would it be if that was the case?

I love my wife when we row.

I love my wife when she forgets to pay the Visa card off.

I love my wife when she wants to visit old English castles.

I love my wife when she plays Elvis too long and too loud.

I love my wife when she buys me naff birthday presents.

I love my wife when she chooses shit films to see at the cinema.

I love my wife when she orders takeaway food that even pigs would turn down.

I love my wife even though she has the ability to make me feel angrier or more upset than the Incredible Hulk because she also has the ability to make me happier than Peter Pan on ecstacy … that is her power because that is what love can do …

Love isn’t always about being “happy, happy, joy, joy” …

Maybe it would be nice if that was the case, but I doubt it.

For me, the best thing about love is that underneath it all, you know the other person genuinely and deeply cares about you … they want to see you succeed … they want to do things that mean something to you … they want to grow and experience things together … which is why when I hear brand managers – and adfolk – claim people ‘love’ their work, I doubt they really understand the meaning of the word because offering a [contrived] moment of single emotion experience isn’t really love, it’s temporary escapism and whilst there is nothing wrong with that, there’s nothing better than being in love with someone that has pissed you off because that means that experience is real and in our plastic World where we spend so much time being politically correct, not saying what we really mean and pretending to be someone we’re not … having someone be able to give your emotions a real work out is a pretty amazing thing.

I do believe there are brands out there that have managed – over time and with a strong commitment to specific causes or values – to develop a relationship with society that, at a push, could be described as having the attributes of love … but far, Far, FAR less than the amount of brands that claim to.

Love and loyalty are very different things … but for me, one element that unites them both is the ability to fuck up.

I don’t mean it in the sense of selfishness … I mean it in the sense of trying to do something for the right reasons but not quite getting there.

Of course they need to have built up some ‘credits’ previously – to demonstrate their words are true – but once you’ve done that, failure can create stronger bonds which is why I believe if you keep investing in the relationship [ie: it can’t be one failure after another] and are open and honest about your situation [are you listening Mr Jobs and your iPhone IV?] you can create something that touches people on a number of levels which is far more meaningful and valuable than a single dimension experience.

As I have mentioned previously, Steve Henry once asked me what I loved most about my Mum.

Before I could answer, he said if I could define one single thing, she would probably be quite disappointed .