Filed under: Comment
So last night, Jill and I listened to the radio.
The radio!!!
Who does that?
Well, according to independent radio sales results, quite a lot of people … however in my digitally connected, don’t-want-to-miss-a-thing, attention deficit World, I rarely do – or should I say I rarely did – because after last night, I’m going to make sure I spend a hell of a lot more time doing exactly that.
It’s important to note I’m not talking about podcasts.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re wonderful too, however I’m talking about something where you don’t know what is going to happen … where you don’t know what is going to be talked about … where you don’t know where it is going to go or where it will take you.
Of course it helped that we were listening to things that were both insightful and entertaining, but more than that, radio helped me relax and use my brain at the same time.
With no visuals to distract me, I found myself more focused on what was being said.
Because they’re no images, my imagination had to paint the picture to complete the story.
With only sound as its weapon, the focus was more on the story than on the style.
Radio might be old.
Radio might not be cool.
Radio might not even be – by television and internet standards – popular.
… but it ensures you don’t just hear what is being said, you listen.
Every word.
Every pause.
Every breath.
Every sound.
Simple. Pure. Intimate.
It’s utterly, utterly lovely.
You should try it some time.
Filed under: Comment
Remember a while back I wrote about Sydney agency, Three Drunk Monkey’s allegedly changing their name to ‘The Monkeys’ to win the Diageo business?
Well guess what, they no longer work together.
Apparently the reason is that the agency didn’t want to adapt global work – which is all very admirable, but surely they should have discussed this before signing any contract and definitely before [allegedly] changing their fucking name to seal the deal.
So now they’ve lost their client and [I’m assuming] a sizeable pot of revenue to go with their credibility.
This isn’t about gloating – far from it, I really like The Monkeys – this is about remembering the value of values.
That said, if The Monkeys are ever tempted to be so [allegedly] generous/stupid to a client again, I suggest they read the words of Harrison Ford as regards [1] self respect and [2] career longevity. It will save them a lot of money, respect, credibility and face.
Last point.
A lot of Aussie agencies rightfully gave The Monkey’s a lot of shit for changing their name to win a client … and while they were right to do that – especially for being so shameless in doing it – they should not ignore the fact they’ve been whoring their values for a few dollars more over the years.
By all means name and shame, but remember to also look in your own mirror.
Filed under: Comment
Last week I wrote about the lack of agency folk on magazines ‘most creative people’ lists.
I asked why this was the case and what the hell we were going to do about it.
Then I came across a quote from Albert Einstein and it’s made me think, maybe I’m completely wrong.
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources”.
What if adland has never been about original creative?
What if it’s always been about reconstituting other peoples ideas for their own purpose?
After all, in the old days, when there was no email, internet or youtube … we lived in a much smaller, more isolated World.
What happened in – say – America tended to stay in America and if it did eventually cross overseas, it would take years for it to happen.
Not only that, but because there was no quick or easy way to investigate it’s heritage, people were left with the impression that everything they were exposed to was the work of original genius thinking.
Sure, sometimes it was, but maybe less than we have been led to believe.
Advertising today gets a lot of stick.
Apart from people openly questioning it’s effectiveness, it is often criticised for being nothing more than an ‘interpretation’ of other people’s creativity.
Quite often, people have discovered – thanks to their access to technology – that what is being praised as original thinking is nothing more than a rehash of some clip that appears on Youtube.
Or a photo that was on Flickr.
Or a thought that was on Twitter.
Or a book that is available on Amazon.
While I don’t like that our industry is currently being viewed as the Magpies Of Creativity, maybe it always has been that way … so instead of creating commercially focused ideas that infiltrate and impact society, maybe the best way to get us on Fast Company’s ‘most creative people’ list is simply to learn how to hide our sources better.
Like our predecessors did.
Possibly.
Of course there’s an alternative …
Maybe we could be original and use technology to create change rather than to fake it.
Of course that would rely on some fundamental change in how the industry operates – from remuneration to objectives to the timelines we are given to achieve our clients goals – but if we get it right, we would prove how valuable our industry really can be, which is much better than the current ‘strategy’ which seems to be selling ourselves on an hourly fee to deliver a process rather than a result.
Obviously some agencies are living this.
Sadly, it’s not enough.
It’s up to us.
Filed under: Comment
So a while back, I wrote a post about the Commonwealth Bank in Australia and how they were at their most polite when they were sacking Goodby’s.
Anyway, the first work from their new agency, M&C Saatchi, has just been launched and while it’s basically an updated version of TSB’s ‘The Bank That Likes To Say Yes’ campaign, the thing that really grabbed my attention was when the press release stated that after many decades, the bank has updated their yellow and black colour template to include blue because – according to self promoting CMO, Andy Lark:
“We discovered women don’t respond to black and yellow very well.”
This sort of comment makes Andy Lark look like a fool.
Don’t get me wrong, colour plays a subliminal – and in some cases, substantial role – in influencing choice, however it’s rarely the dominant determining factor in decision making, especially where choosing a bank in concerned.
I’d say the reality was ‘women’ probably didn’t respond to dealing with a bank that offered bad customer service, charged them for every single interaction they made and were constantly being made to pay more for their mortgage.
Andy’s justification for updating the ‘logo’ highlights how egotistical and deluded marketing can be.
It’s like when Tropicana, the orange juice, changed their logo and received a huge backlash from their customers.
When they changed it back, the marketing director claimed it proved how passionate their customers were about the original brand design, but Professor Byron Sharp from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science gave a much more realistic explanation:
“People couldn’t recognise the new packaging so didn’t see it on the supermarket shelves anymore”.
When approx 10% of all brand sales come from genuine brand loyalists – in other words, 90% come from casual or occasional purchasers – you start to realise the ‘truths’ the marketing and advertising community like to bandy about are not the same truths that exist in the real World.
A long time ago, people respected their bank.
A long time ago, people probably believed that a bank could ‘help you progress in life’ … however given the way financial institutions have been – and continue – to behave, it’s not exactly surprising why the public now view them as the enemy rather than the compatriot, which is why I think Commbank are going to have to do a damn sight more than change their logo and agency before people start to believe the words they’re spouting.
Filed under: Comment
Yes, I really did use that overused – and let’s face it, crap – sales promotion statement for the headline of this post because:
1. It IS my birthday.
2. I am off on holiday for 2 weeks.
… so you don’t have to put up with ‘blog posts’ till I’m back – the ultimate present or what!
Today I am 42.
That’s 8 years off 50.
EIGHT YEARS!!!
So it’s weird that I still feel – and probably act – like I’m 28, but then …
I have a desk that looks like this. Or worse, this.
I still go out and buy mentalness like this.
I still go to concerts like this.
I wear offensiveness like this. And this.
I still want to buy pointless rubbish like this.
I do occasionally start acting like this.
I still get stupidly excited I’m going to spend time with people like like this … and these.
So all in all, it’s OK getting older – because whereas I once used to think it meant wearing ‘slacks’, talking about ‘the garden’, talking about wine and wearing ‘sensible shoes’ … it means none of those things, it just means you have the confidence to not really give a fuck about what others think of you and you can spend your time and focus on what interests, intrigues, excites and fulfills you which is why I’m glad it’s my birthday today, even if I’m not going to get the sort of presents that used to make 12th June, truly stellar!
Have fun during the period of blog bollocks freedom, because like Arnie, I’ll be back.
Bad luck.
________________________________________________________________________________
PS: Special birthday hugs and kisses to the wife & Paul – whose birthdays are on June 15th and 16th respectively. I’m so glad I’ll be able to spend it with you, even if that’s possibly the worst present you could think of getting from me.