Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Corporate Evil, Embarrassing Moments, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Technology
I found this photo in my old files.
It’s about 12+ years old.
But based on what the sticker says, it shouldn’t matter should it?
Except it does, because it’s bollocks, especially where technology is concerned even though Moore’s Law is coming to an end.
While I appreciate the World moves so fast that many people just want to have something that they can rely on forever, any brand that promises lifelong relevance is either utterly delusional or a bigger conman than Bernie Madoff.
When will brands learn great marketing isn’t about fabrication but authenticity,
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Comment, Corporate Evil, Egovertising, Embarrassing Moments, Fake Attitude, Marketing Fail
I appreciate me – and this blog – being back, constitutes the worst Monday ever, but deal with it.
Hong Kong was as it always is … busy, noisy, energetic, proud, flamboyant.
Fuck I miss Asia.
Well, I miss lots about Asia, but one of the things I don’t is the bullshit bank advertising.
Where every company tries to convey how prestigious they are and – as a byproduct – how aspirational their customers are, even though what they show is the sort of tacky success you tend to see in a z-grade reality show contestants house.
Case in point this stuff from UOB Bank.
Introducing Singapore’s first diamond embellished, metal card.
No, seriously.
What a load of bollocks.
But what does ‘diamond embellished’ even mean?
Is it that minute square in the card … to the right of the chip?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I think it is, because nothing says success like having a credit card with some cheap ass specks of diamond that even Ratners jewelers would turn their noses up at.
But it gets better …
By ‘better’, I obviously mean worse.
Because not only have they launched a credit card for the most insanely idiotic and egotistical customer on the planet – or at least Singapore – they’ve shown their true tacky colours by making one of the worst copy mistakes I’ve seen in ages to accompany the cards launch.
“For those who value exclusivity in its most extinguished form”.
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Dickheads.
I love it, because nothing says class and sophistication like a lack of basic language skills.
Now while I’d love to extinguish the people who came up with this card and who want this card, I think leaving things exactly as they are is a much better solution … because not only does it make the people at the bank look the sad, shallow, idiotic wankers they are, it also ensures anyone who pulls this card out looks the sort of pathetic, egotistical, insecure and unsophisticated asshole they truly are.
That’s what I call a WIN:WIN in my book.
I will always love and miss Asia with all my heart, but I will always hate the lazy, contrived, aspirational bullshit that the marketing departments of so many companies continue to peddle.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Chaos, Comment, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Imagination, Innovation, Insight, Wieden+Kennedy
So next week, I’ll be in Hong Kong.
For the whole week.
Yes, that means absolutely no posts whatsoever for the next week.
But to make sure you don’t get too happy, I’m going to leave you with one final post.
This is about the importance of mistakes.
Now I appreciate the word ‘mistake’ is often viewed as a negative, but I have a very different perspective on them.
Mistakes create standards.
Mistakes open opportunities.
Mistakes reveal who we can be.
OK, so depending on the mistake, some people may feel very differently about the positive effects of them, but in my experience big, small, life-changing or just momentarily ridiculous … they all have a benefit as long as you go into them and come out of them with the right attitude.
In short, if you’re making mistakes for any other reason than trying to do something great, you’re wasting everyones time and effort.
Making mistakes out of laziness or stupidity doesn’t help anybody, especially yourself. But doing it because you went for awesome … had a desire to push boundaries … wanted to see what other possibilities are possible … then each one of those mistakes should be celebrated and embraced by all.
Unless, of course, you’re just doing things for personal and selfish reasons then you’re a bit of a dick.
But that aside, this attitude is especially important in relation to being able to come out of your mistake with dignity and sanity intact.
Dignity and sanity are big words.
You can’t bullshit those.
For me, the only way you can walk out with either is if you went go your mistake with a clear reason for doing it and come out with a real learning from having done it.
That’s it.
And while others may never understand your reasoning, if you are clear on your motivations going in and your learnings coming out, then what others may call a ‘mistake’ may be one of the most important and valuable things you can ever do … something that has the power and potential to change, shape, reveal and create every new path you take from here on in.
Dan Wieden used to call this ‘fail harder’, he was right because whatever anyone says, mistakes matter.
See you in a week …
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Culture, Daddyhood, Family, Goodbye America, Jill, Paul, Sentimentality
For all the shit America is going through and – let’s not forget – creating for itself, it’s still a pretty awesome country.
The warmth we have receieved from people has been amazing.
Kindness. Consideration. Welcoming.
To be honest, it’s more than we’ve experienced in any of the other countries we’ve lived in – at least in terms of the speed we got it – and so once I got over my initial skepticism, I really started to embrace it.
Of course there’s some things I’ll never get used to.
Not using a ‘u’ in so many of their words.
Calling it soccer instead of football.
Actually using the word “Y’all”.
High-Fiving.
But in most cases I’ve been able to get past it mainly because I’ve chosen to ignore it.
A big part of my ability to do that has been due to the amazing lifestyle LA has given my family.
I have to say, living near the beach, with almost daily sun and cleanish air is an amazing thing to have.
It’s probably as close to paradise as you can get.
However there is one thing I can’t deal with.
One thing I cannot ignore.
That’s right, it’s Otis developing an American accent.
Worse, a Californian accent.
Saying “Mom” will never be acceptable.
Ending the alphabet with “zee” can never be tolerated.
Which is why at the end of August I’ll be leaving Deutsch and on the 5th September, we will be leaving America to go and start a new life in London.
No, that is not a joke.
OK, blaming it on Otis’ American twang is, but the reality of our impending move is not.
It’s definitely not been an easy decision …
The thought of taking my family away from paradise so soon after we got here is horrible.
The thought of moving Otis away from his beloved Elodie breaks my heart.
The thought of saying goodbye to so many people who I now regard as friends, is horrible.
But, for a whole host of reasons, it’s the right thing to do.
More than that, it’s something we’re looking forward to doing.
OK, I admit, when we were thinking about the idea, there were a few moments where I went through a range of emotions I didn’t know were there.
Or said another way, a whole range of emotions I’d obviously been doing a good job of keeping hidden deep down inside for years and years.
Part of it was a sense of guilt about moving ‘home’ after my parents had passed away.
I kept thinking that if I was going to go back, why didn’t I do it when they were alive?
Of course there were many reasons for it – reasons my parents both knew and encouraged – but underpinning them all was this belief I was never going to move back to the UK.
Except I am.
And while it’s been over 24 years since I last lived there – so it will probably feel like a totally new place – I’m excited about it, even though insane stuff like brexit is [allegedly] just around the corner.
Part of this is that I’ll be living in London for the first time in my life. [As opposed to just commuting there]
Part of this is because I’ll be physically closer to my beloved Paul and Shelly than I’ve been in over 2 decades.
Part of it is because it is another chapter of adventure for my wife, son and cat.
Part of it is because I will be closer to my Mum’s sister – my Aunt – in Italy.
And part of it is for what I’m going to be doing, which I’ll talk about another time.
But all that said, I’m incredibly grateful to Deutsch, my [new/old] colleagues and friends and Los Angeles for giving me an experience that has been an honour to experience and enjoy. I’ll write a proper goodbye to them all soon, but what they need to know is they made a huge impact on me and my family.
Both good and bad, hahahaha.
When Jill, Otis, Rosie and I came here, we never imagined we would leave so soon, as demonstrated by the acquisition of houses and cars and a whole host of electronics that will only ever work on US power supplies [the most epic garage sale will be happening soon], but – as we all know – sometimes life gets in the way of our best laid plans and when that happens, it’s better to embrace it than fight it.
So to everyone who has made our time here so memorable, thank you … we will miss you, even if you won’t miss us.
Or – more specifically – me.
London. I’ll see you soon.
Start making your excuses to avoid me now.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Creativity, Culture, Entertainment, Music, Queen
Yes, this is about my favourite band, Queen.
Yes, I know they aren’t really a band anymore and – to be honest – some of the stuff they’ve done in the last 15 years has made me cringe a little bit, but that aside, their music from Queen to Hot Space [I don’t have as much of an issue with it as most Queen fans do] are still albums I hold dear to my heart.
Anyway, as many of you may know, they’re producing a film about the life of Freddie up until the Live Aid concert.
I get why they decided that was the cut off date, because apart from it being arguably their pinnacle moment, he apparently had not yet discovered he was HIV positive so it allows the film to focus on his glory, not his pain.
Anyway, recently they released the teaser trailer for the movie and I have to say, it’s epic.
Not just because of how good Rami Malik looks in the role of Freddie.
Nor because of the bizarrely accurate voice of Brian May.
And not even because of the spectacular stage sets and fashions.
No … it’s because of the fantastic sound design.
Just like when they performed at Live Aid, the band know the best way to get people interested in the movie beyond sad fucks like me, is to remind them how many songs of Queen they know and like.
By mixing some of their biggest hits seamlessly together, they have increased the odds of making a movie about a man who died 27 years ago interesting to people who were born 27 years ago.
That’s pretty impressive, especially for a band that is almost 50 years old.
A band where the guitarist will be 71 years old in a week and the drummer 69 years old in about a fortnight.
[Not forgetting Mr John Deacon, who will be a young 67 in August. And looks it]
Now I know the trailer doesn’t really say anything and – I am still petrified it’s going to end up feeling more like a ‘Lifetime Movie’ than a Hollywood blockbuster [especially with all the issues the production has faced] – but I have to admit I have watched it so many times and been in awe every time … especially the bit between 11 and 16 seconds, where you see the different ‘looks’ of Freddie in concert, because I remember some of them from when I saw the band live.
Oh god, I’m even more pathetic than I thought.