Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Colenso, Colleagues, Confidence, Conformity, Respect, Si Vicars, Wieden+Kennedy
One of the most overused words in advertising is ‘confidence’.
It’s a characteristic that tends to fail in 2 key ways:
First, it tends to represent who the brand wishes was their customer, rather than who is.
Second, too often its presented in superficial, contrived and over-the-top ways … as if the brand is scared their audience won’t be able to tell what they’re trying to convey unless overt.
Thirdly, a lot of the time it ends up reeking of a brand insecure in who they are and what they believe.
The result of which is that the work often ends up bring a repellent to audiences, rather than a beacon.
There’s an obvious reason for this and that’s real confidence is expressed – and felt – in the small stuff, not the big, which is why one of the best true expressions of confidence was this brilliant Southern Comfort spot from WKNY back in 2012.
I still remember seeing it for the first time.
I was visiting WK Amsterdam and Martin Weigel showed it to me.
Didn’t need any explanation.
Didn’t need over-the-top behaviour.
Didn’t even need any bloody words.
Confidence oozed out of every moment, by nature of it not trying to.
Now, I appreciate being half Italian, I saw these men on the beaches of Pescara, every year that I was growing up – so it could be argued I was ‘pretuned’ to comprehension. But truth be told, whether you’re from Italy or Iceland … everyone got it.
Not just intellectually, but emotionally.
And that line, ‘Whatever’s Comfortable’.
How good was that? The embodiment of confidence, without having to say it.
Just a way to acknowledge some people are at ease with who they are. That they have a belief in who they are. That they are accepting of who they are, regardless of comparison or competition.
No delusion.
No arrogance.
Just a comfort in who you are, rather than pretending to be who you’re not.
And frankly, there hasn’t been anything that has come close to that piece of work since that piece of work, because all I see these days is either more blatant try-hard shit – which reveals a brands lack of confidence, rather than an abundance of it – or manosphere, toxic bullshit.
That was until recently …
The photo above is Simon Vicars, our CCO – also known as the nicest man in advertising.
He is the living proof that ‘good guys’ don’t always come last. He is also proof that being a good human doesn’t mean you’re not talented. Because he is, sickeningly so.
But as I wrote before, he is also a bit of a cheeky bastard. Never with malice, but with a slight mischievousness that somehow, you can’t help finding endearing.
And how does he pull this off?
Well, because he may be the most confident man since the Southern Comfort man.
Sure, he’s whiter than the Dulux Dog.
Sure, he has a nose that Concord would be jealous of. [and I’m hardly one to talk!]
Sure, he has the upper torso you would imagine a slight gust of wind could knock over.
But this just proves my point because how else can you explain him going to a pub [with me] to interview a potential job candidate … asking if they were hungry [it was lunchtime to be fair] and despite them and me saying ‘no’, goes ahead and orders a fucking massive Chicken Parm before proceeding to scoff it down in front of both of us.
To be fair, he looked a bit sheepish as this photo captures – but he still did it – and frankly, it may be one of the most incredible and understated acts of confidence I’ve ever seen.
Partly because he is so nice that I know he did it because he was starving with hunger and was going to be starved of time. Partly because I got a kick of staying quiet at different moments of the interview so I could watch him have to swallow massive pieces of chicken so he would be able to respond to the questions with no massive pause. And partly because – where so many would deny their truth so that they ‘fitted in’ – he did what was good, right and comfortable for him … which, when you come to think of it, is one of the greatest acts of self-respect and transparency you could receive from someone.
So here’s to Si Vicars. He may not look it, but he may be the most confident man in the World.