Filed under: Comment
Adland is full of ego-maniacs.
Sure, some are more blatant than others – ie: me – but there’s a hell of a lot of closet Bono’s in this industry.
It used to mainly be members of the creative department that thought they were gods gift, but over the past 10 years, the planning community has decided to get in on the act and now you can’t move for people trying to appear like they’re a cross between Steve Jobs and Stephen Fry.
From my observations, it appears the holy grail seems to be to come up with a phrase or definition that the industry as a whole embraces.
In the main, everyone has failed.
Sure, a couple of guys have managed to achieve some short-lived burst of ‘terminology popularity’, but no one has managed to say something that has infiltrated popular culture.
Of course a lot of that is because we either:
1. Talk utter shit.
2. Say stuff that is only of interest to other planners.
3. Take other people’s genius, move the words around and try and claim it as our own.
The reason I say this is because I was recently [name dropping alert] talking to a gentleman who has achieved everything a planners ego dreams of.
More than that, he was able to do this while making not one – but two – social commentary statements that, with hindsight, proved to be scarily accurate.
Far more accurate than the average futurist, planner or researcher could ever hope to achieve.
Who am I talking about?
Trevor Horn.
Who the hell is Trevor Horn?
This man:
Yes, THAT Trevor Horn.
Founder of The Buggles.
Writer of one of the 80’s most epic songs.
The genius behind ‘Frankie Goes To Hollywood’.
The founder of ZTT Records.
The producer behind the Yes mega-album, 90125.
But on top of all that, his work contained two statements that ultimately, captured the essence of the 80’s decade …
1. Video Killed The Radio Star.
2. The Age Of Plastic.
Think about that for a second.
In 1978 – when the song was originally written – Trevor Horn wrote about an impending – and fundamental – change to the music industry.
Sure the signs had been coming [Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody is regarded as being the first ‘purpose made’ music video back in ’75] but only Trevor Horn truly understood the implications that was about to hit.
But more than that, he then called his album – which he recorded between 1977-1979 – The Age of Plastic.
That might not mean much to you guys because you’re all so bloody young, but the 80’s and plastic were the most perfect partnership ever seen.
Before the 80’s, products were made of metal and wood – they were heavy, expensive and ultimately limited in their physical and metaphorical flexibility – but suddenly the 80’s came along, and plastic allowed manufacturers [especially those in Asia] to make all sorts of products … products that previously, never stood a chance of seeing the light of day.
Now compare that sort of commentary to the stuff we see today.
“We are in the age of customisation”.
“Social media will change the face of communication”.
“Digital is destroying the publishing industry”.
You could argue that what is being said is correct – or has some element of truth to it – but regardless, much of is said – especially from the planning community – comes way after the signs have been universally accepted or at least talked about.
Basically we seem to have adopted the philosophy that if we say it louder or more often, we invented it.
We’re not fooling anyone.
Except maybe ourselves.
Then there’s the issue that if someone does say something new, the industries first reaction is to rubbish it, though I would say in my defense, the amount of truly new things being said – versus a new way of saying an old thing – is very small.
For all the talk about our genius, we might have to accept we’re just smart.
There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s something to celebrate and be grateful for – but from now on, if I want a viewpoint on what the future holds, I’m going to turn my back on the planners, researchers, economists and futurists and give a call to Mr Horn.
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youre the opposite of jimmy saville. he fucked anonymous kids while you fame fuck elderly celebrities. both sick bastards but at least horns songs are better.
Comment by andy@cynic July 31, 2013 @ 6:28 amThanks. That’s the perfect antidote to how I’m feeling today. And bizarrely, I mean that as a compliment.
Comment by Rob July 31, 2013 @ 6:35 amwhat the fuck are you doing up? unless you are going to the airport for another fucking freebie holiday, call me now.
Comment by andy@cynic July 31, 2013 @ 6:37 amIs everything OK Robert?
Comment by Pete July 31, 2013 @ 6:42 amNothing that a gun couldn’t fix Pete.
Comment by Rob July 31, 2013 @ 7:35 amI don’t know if I agree with everything you’ve written here Robert, but I can’t argue with the magic of VKTRS.
Comment by Pete July 31, 2013 @ 6:39 amBut I do agree with a lot of it. Great post.
Comment by Pete July 31, 2013 @ 6:40 amJust so you know Pete, using VKTRS doesn’t make you cool.
Comment by DH July 31, 2013 @ 7:04 amThis isn’t news. A piece of shit is better than anyone in adland.
Comment by Billy Whizz July 31, 2013 @ 6:46 amWhat a surprise, you mention Queen.
Comment by DH July 31, 2013 @ 7:04 amI wouldn’t be a post by me if I didn’t do that would it.
Comment by Rob July 31, 2013 @ 7:38 amSorry to break this to you Rob, but this is a case of having inapprpriate horn. Video copied the movie star. Specifically The Graduate (1967)
Comment by John July 31, 2013 @ 7:38 am
I don’t mind, it just fucks up Mr Horn’s legacy … I never had one to ruin in the first place.
Comment by Rob July 31, 2013 @ 7:42 amMust have been the heat of the moment.
Comment by John July 31, 2013 @ 7:51 amOr as I wrote in a song that doffs it’s hat to Trevor Horn’s classic; “Radio killed the Vaudeville star” 🙂
Comment by Adrian Elton July 31, 2013 @ 8:01 amYou may not appreciate me recounting this story Robert, but I believe it was me who introduced you to Trevor in the 1990s.
If my memory does not deceive me, after initial introductions, your first question was something along the lines of “how do you feel being one of the greatest one hit wonders of all time?”
Fortunately he laughed. I didn’t.
This post goes some way to making amends.
Comment by Lee Hill July 31, 2013 @ 8:09 am#classiccampbell
Comment by DH July 31, 2013 @ 8:16 amDon’t worry Lee, I still remember your frown.
Comment by Rob July 31, 2013 @ 9:04 amExcellent work. Timely since I’ve just has a report in the future of automated brands, for some reason sage geniuses believe that because we’re devolving decisions to algorythms, the brands of the future should be more automated too.
Comment by northern July 31, 2013 @ 5:31 pmWhich is a bit like saying that because some people still like Queen, some brands consider trying make cars and develop an army surplus sub-brands.
Cheeky sod.
That said, I hate how some people mistake behavior as advocacy for how things are currently being done.
As I said at a conference once, if JK Rowling had based Harry Potter on the reading habits of kids, her most famous creation would probably be 10 pages long, have no character development and basically be all pictures.
Comment by Rob July 31, 2013 @ 7:10 pm