Filed under: America, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Cars, Corporate Evil, Design, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Technology, Twitter
Tesla.
When they launched, they were a glimpse into the future of mobility.
A way to combine technology to drive sustainability while keeping all the excitement of performance. Something that had previously been seen as impossible to create.
But they did and with it … it positioned Elon Musk as a modern day genius.
Edison x Einstein x Jobs. Maybe.
He added to his legacy when he launched a self-landing rocket.
The first time I saw that, it was – similar to sitting in a Tesla for the first time – like living in a sci-fi movie, such was it’s impressive impact.
But now?
Not so much.
Elon – through his actions, behaviours and attitude – has demonstrated that either he was trolling us or his immense success has resulted in him believing he is better than the rest of us.
The purchase of Twitter.
Accusing innocent people of pedophilia.
His treatment and attitude towards members of his family.
Claiming ‘freedom of speech’ except when it revolves around him.
There’s been so, so many moments of him revealing his ugliness.
That doesn’t mean he’s not very smart – he obviously is – but sadly where once we hoped it was to help lift everyone up, it’s apparent his focus is about lifting himself up. It all feels like he is seeking revenge for all the girls at school that turned him down and all the boys that wouldn’t let him play in their game of soccer.
We can’t say we weren’t warned.
His ex-wife’s interview in Marie Claire back in 2010 was a major red flag … which we collectively ignored because back then, he was still making headlines for good things more than satisfying his immense ego.
But now, his true character is fully on display and nothing sums this up more than the design of his cyber-truck … also known as the ‘middle-aged, white republican male, steroids-on-4-wheels-mobile’
Recently I read a designers review [@no_commercial_value] of the Cyber Truck aesthetic and it was the most perfect description of the philosophy and attitude of it’s creator … and the people who seem to love it the most.
It was this …
Paramilitary Cosplay is the most perfect description I think I’ve ever heard.
And the other definitions aren’t bad either.
It reminds me of the time Cynic did some research for Hummer and heard from interviews how the ‘feature’ many owners aspired to have was a ‘gun turret’ … I kid you not.
I also remember one person complaining about glove boxes you could close, because that was ‘pandering to the weak’.
I suppose none of this should come as a surprise because apparently when the iconic movie ‘Die Hard’ was first shown to test audiences featuring American men, many saw John McClane/Bruce Willis as ‘a coward’ as they interpreted his actions as ‘running away from trouble and that’s not what America does’.
Kind of explains a lot doesn’t it … including the rise of Trump and – getting back on subject – Musk.
Yes, I know Musk is South African, but his behaviour is pure Americana. Or should I say, 80’s Americana, as depicted in movies featuring Stallone, Schwarzenegger and van Damme.
Which all feels like the ‘theme’ behind the Cyber Truck.
A futuristic vision of a totalitarian regime. Where the rich are powerful and intimidating [and white] and the poor are disposable and weak.
Paramilitary Chic … as it were.
No doubt we can expect to see Putin, Trump and every other right-wing leader wearing 80’s style, Hugo Boss suits with massive shoulder pads soon … looking like some cartoon general with a metaphorical chest full of [fake or self-anointed] medals.
In many ways, they are a perfect example of a powerful brand … where society either loves them or hates them, but rarely apathetic towards them.
This revelation initially petrified me because this is kind-of what our industry is here to do.
I was going to point out that we should be careful what we aspire to.
But then I looked at what we’re producing all over the world – and what clients think is edgy – and realised there’s absolutely no danger of any of this happening, which might be a tragic indictment of the state of our industry but a relief that we’re not adding to a world of egomaniac, dictator-fantasist fuckwits.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Confidence, Creativity, Culture, Law, Marketing, Marketing Fail
Whenever I am in the US, the thing that always shocks me – regardless how many times I’m there – are the pharmaceutical and lawyer ads.
Pharmaceutical on TV.
Legal on billboards.
They’re everywhere … forcing themselves on you like double glazing salesman who senses a moment of weakness in your resolve.
And while you tend to ignore the pharmaceutical ads – because they’re boring as fuck, long as hell and then filled with disclaimers that try to write-off ‘death’ as a casual side-effect – I am transfixed by the lawyer billboards.
Loud. Egotistical. Blustering in confidence.
They’re almost a parody except they’re deadly serious.
My Dad hated the US legal system … because according to him, it made a mockery of the law. Designed either to ambulance chase for quick wins or keep big cases going to maximise fees.
Anyway, recently on a trip to LA, I sat behind a bus with this:
On first glance, I just saw the URL and thought ‘Lemon Daddy’ may be a euphemism for some sort of sugar-daddy dating service. [I know, I know]
Then I saw the line ‘why are you still driving that piece of shit’, and it made me properly interested … especially when my taxi driver told me the guy in the pic was the basketballer, Austin Reaves, who plays for the Lakers.
Soon after that, I saw the name of the law firm ‘Drake’ and it all made sense – or should I say more sense – and by checking out the URL, I saw it was an ad for a law firm who specialise in taking on cases relating to faulty cars.
Frankly, the website reinforced what my Dad thought about a lot of American law … it’s a hard sell masterclass, but I still couldn’t work out why the NBA player was there unless:
1. It was just another way to try and get noticed.
2. Austin had a financial interest in the company.
So I did a bit of digging and – to be honest – the answer was more complicated than the most complicated law case. Have a read of this.
Now for someone who has been in this industry and worked in a lot of countries – including LA, where they’re based – but I’ve never heard of Black Llama creative. But that means fuck all. However – and I appreciate the snobbishness of this comment – I have been in this industry long enough to know what good work is and frankly, I have opinions about the claims they make about themselves:
Black Llama, a renowned creative advertising agency recognized for its innovation and expertise in brand development, played a pivotal role in the inception and execution of Lemon Daddy. Black Llama’s exceptional creativity, coupled with their strategic prowess, ensured that the Lemon Daddy campaign resonates with consumers, captivating their attention and generating engagement.
To be fair, they definitely achieved the latter part of their claim … but not by their innovation, expertise in brand development or exceptional creativity, but because they put a swear word in the headline and – for me – some random dude holding a basketball.
Look, I’m all for people having a go – and I appreciate everyone thinks they have something to offer that no one else has – but confidence means little when it’s so obvious you live in a bubble where you are the only one who judges what is great.
[One look at their website may highlight this is the case with them]
Good on them for making this happen.
Good on them for getting an NBA player involved.
Good on them for working with a client that seems to have a good idea.
But if I was Austin, I’d be online looking for SueMyManagementForBadEndorsementDeals.com
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Fans, Relevance, Religion, Resonance
I’m back.
And not away for ages. OK, about a week.
But that means we have the next 5 days together, so take a look at this …
That’s pretty full-on isn’t it?
Hell, I’m not religious annnnnnd have an alarming lack of taste, but even I wouldn’t wear that.
But that’s not what is the most shocking to me … it’s the price.
$60.
SIXTY DOLLARS!
For that piece of crap.
As someone who has bought A LOT of shitty stuff over the years – and I include hundreds of t-shirts in that statement – I can honestly say I would never, ever pay that much for that rubbish. Which begs the question, who do they think will?
Add to that, that the rest of the stores merch seems pretty straight-laced and you’re wondering what the hell they’re thinking.
Though I bet if they had a sign that said, ‘all proceeds go to the local church’, someone would buy it. After all, there’s a shit load of people in America who’ll vote for that racist, lying prick because he ‘claims’ to be a bible-thumping Christian and that is all that matters for them to turn a blind eye to his behaviour.
Which reminds me about one of great horrifying documentaries. This …
I remember watching it when it came out in 2006 and just starring in disbelief … because like Trump, the motivation felt far less about doing good and far more about power and control.
One bit that stood out was when they proclaim Harry Potter is the devil … though it inspired me to be a mischievous shit because we were doing a campaign for South Park and at the end of the online films, I got them to ask one question.
‘DO YOU FIND THIS OFFENSIVE?’
If people clicked ‘no’, it took them to Comedy Central, the distributors of the show – where you could watch episodes.
If people clicked ‘yes’, it took them to a fundamental Christian website who tried to ban Bambi for ‘inappropriate imagery’.
As you can tell, it was another time when that seemed a perfectly acceptable idea.
[Talking of Harry Potter. When the first film came out, I wanted to prove to a client how fan culture can be myopic, obsessive and lacking objectivity. To do this, I went on an online Harry blog – populated with young fans – and wrote, “if Harry is so good at magic, how come he doesn’t use a spell to stop being a 4-eyed geek?”Within hours, my comment had hundreds of the most violent, rude and threatening comments you’ve ever read. Real offensive stuff. could ever imagine. Point proved, hahaha ]
… as it’s Monday and I am basically a Saint, cough cough – I want to give you a present which is the ability to watch the whole movie , which I assure you, will be less wasted time than you reading this post.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Crap Products In History, Food
As you know, I like gadgets.
I’ll go further … I like shit gadgets.
My bank history is littered with decisions of madness. From robot balls to pens that can write in any colour imaginable to stupid badges and cups for colleagues to a bloody windmill.
Part of it is because I just find weird shit, fascinating … part of it is because I’m a fucking idiot … but believe it or not, over the past few years I’ve got much, much better grip on my ‘stupidity spending’. Even Jill said so – which is the ultimate proof, because she’s been an innocent victim in so much of it.
But what’s even more amazing is that I’ve started to gain an objective viewpoint, which is my way of saying that not only would I never buy this item, I acknowledge it’s fucking pants.
What item? This item …
A one handed pepper mill.
A ONE HANDED PEPPER MILL!
What the absolute fuck?!!
Yes, I appreciate there may be some people – like the elderly or those who deal with disability – where it has merit, but the photo doesn’t show that.
In fact, based on the pic, it’s been designed for middle class, psychotic males who need to control every aspect of their wives lives … right down to how much pepper they can put on their food, even though they made it themselves because their husband won’t let them leave the house IN CASE THEY TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE IN THE STREET AND THAT WOULD BE AN ACT OF DISRESPECT.
It’s not just over-engineered … it’s over-thought … the equivalent of a planner who has convinced themselves they can position cereal as the family antidote to the economic crisis.
Or should I say, a multi-millionaire, delusional CEO.
Look, I’m all for over-engineered nonsense. My car is a perfect example of that. But over-engineered nonsense for the ‘psychotic bully in your life’ is another thing altogether … even though I can see a perfect partnership with the re-release of Sleeping With The Enemy.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Comment, Creativity, Effectiveness, Lego, Marketing Fail, Media
Today is a special day for me.
A special day because of a birthday and an anniversary.
Not mine, but people who are important to me …
I had written a long post to them that went on a tangent to talk about investing in your own relevance.
That however young you are today, you’ll become an old fuck one day.
But I couldn’t wrap it up so I have left it for another day … instead, I am writing a post about the importance of your relationships.
Have a look at this …
At first glance, what do you see?
A Lego ad campaign?
Yeah … me too.
But then, when you look again, there’s that weird-as-fuck headline.
“Super Sweet And Fake Tasting”
What the absolute fuck? Has Lego gone rogue and decided to make social commentary on their own product?
Well obviously they haven’t … it’s simply an alcohol ad that has been stuck on the end of those 3 posters that – because of the colours of the poster frames – looks like it’s all part of the same campaign.
Now on one hand it’s funny. But I wouldn’t be laughing if I was the Lego client.
Putting aside their choice of headline colour – with the B&W image – makes it look like a Sainsbury’s ad [albeit Sainsbury’s aren’t in NZ], I’d be VERY disappointed the media team and/or the billboard company did not see the problematic nature of this linkage.
I mean, it’s pretty obvious.
Lego … kids, wholesome, creative. Alcohol … errrrm, less so.
Look, I get we all make mistakes, but what this says to me is that no one asked – or cared to ask – the right questions.
The client.
The media agency.
The billboard company.
Fuck, the only one who gets off here is the creative company, because they’d be as pissed off as the client.
Of course I’m not really surprised this has happened because in the quest for the lowest price possible, there seems to be more focus on having a programatic, optimised and systemised system and process than actually giving a fuck about your brands contexts, craft and associations.
It blows my mind how few clients care about ‘placement’.
They’ll argue till they’re blue in the face over the size of their logo, but rarely go into depth about the placement and contexts of where they appear.
And yet many clients think media agencies are professional and creative are the children.
Now of course there’s some amazing media agencies out there … agencies who think in terms of communication rather than media.
But the market has become so fixated on price, they’re forgetting – or not valuing – one vital element about brand building.
It’s not just about who you are, it’s about the company that you keep.
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PS: If anyone from Lego reads this, this post is because I love you. And you know this because I told you that when you invited me to talk at your global conference thing. Plus you’ve been very good and kind to me – and Otis – over the years. But the fact is, despite this being an isolated incident, you deserve better than this. You should demand better than this. So hold people to standards, not just price points and please don’t ask for any of the freebies you’ve sent me to be returned. Please!!!
PS2: It’s Easter holiday tomorrow and Monday so there will be no blog posts till next Tuesday. In the meantime, I’ll be looking longingly at the Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs I won’t be eating and wishing April Fools was on a Tuesday, rather than a Monday. Have fun.