Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Cars, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Resonance, Respect
Once upon a time, I got called ‘too emotional’ by a senior member of an agency I worked for.
It came about because we had just witnessed a client of ours, basically destroy 2 years of work we’d done – even though he had been on the journey with us all the way, including a huge offsite meeting 2 weeks prior with all his reports. But when we were presenting to his boss – and he was very vocal about some issues he had with our work – we watched our client basically turn on us to protect themselves.
That’s when my ‘too emotional’ side decided to came out and play because in front of everyone, I said:
“I find the response very confusing given you were all behind it when we went through it a fortnight ago”.
Cue evil stares, and a mass of pointed fingers and excuses.
Or said another way, a huge clusterfuck of awkwardness permeated the air.
Now of course I knew my comment wasn’t going to go down well … but neither was their attitude and behaviour.
They’d been part of this work.
They’d been advocates of it.
And yet the moment it required them to step up and defend it, they stepped away …
While we did end up losing that account, it wasn’t because of that moment. It probably didn’t help … but other things happened that resulted in us parting ways. And all being happy/relieved for the fact.
That said, I was kind-of nervous for what was going to happen to me post-meeting.
I didn’t give a fuck the client was upset – frankly, they’d done it to themselves – however I was a bit concerned about what was going to happen to me with my bosses.
Which leads to the ‘too emotional’ comment.
Amazingly, the senior member of the agency wasn’t mad at what I’d done – in fact I think he was quite proud I stood up for the work and the agency – however they were not too impressed in how I’d done it.
On one level I understand and was grateful they had been able to separate how I did it, with why I did it … however, saying it had happened because I was ‘too emotional’ was a shit way to refer to it.
OK, so they were the sort of person who considered eating a packet of crisps too loudly as an act of hysteria … but what they inadvertently were telling me was that regardless of situation, I should be emotionless in my response. Or as the Brits say it, ‘maintain a stiff upper lip’ come rain or shine.
Now this person was good to me and still is, and we’ve talked about it over the years … but it bothers me that ’emotion’ is still viewed as a negative in business. That giving a fuck is an act of weakness.
Well what about the people who obviously don’t care about doing the right thing?
Who don’t care about respecting the people who have put their blood, sweat and tears into trying to do something to benefit everyone … brilliantly?
Why are those people not challenged or questioned about their lack of emotion … about their lack of will or fight … about their inability to respect and value the person who cares deeply about what they are doing?
I get there are good and bad ways to express yourself, but it is kinda bullshit that any expression of emotion is often viewed as someone lacking control when it is actually someone showing they give a shit.
Of course, the people who are often the recipient of this sort of comment are women … a way for certain men to try and assert control of a situation by undermining the other persons validity or professionalism. Hell, even Hillary Clinton experienced this.
My view has always been that as long as it’s not personal … as long as it relates to the issue … as long as it is objective rather than subjective … as long as it is expressed with respect rather than red-mist recklessness, emotion is not a weapon but a gift. A way to unite, connect, engage, drive and define ideas, possibilities and concepts.
Emotion is never a weakness, it’s a power and I’d rather deal with someone who cares enough to show it than a fucking robot.
As Andrew McCarthy said in the utterly terrible 1992 movie, Only You …
“If you want boringly consistent, go marry a beige Volvo”.
Seems there’s a lot of car fuckers in business these days.
OK. I feel much better now. Thank you.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Airports, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, British, Business, Cars, Corporate Evil, Crap Products In History, London, Luxury
Recently, while walking through Heathrow Airport, I saw this:
Put aside the fact these airport shuttles seem to be for either the elderly, the late or the self-important … why the fuck do they need to have one that looks like the bastard lovechild of Liberace and Elton John’s cars from the 1970’s?
Is it a special edition thing?
Is it an business class, collab thing?
Is it a alarming lack of taste thing?
Or is it a tourist thing?
I could kinda understand if it was for tourists as I can imagine it would be very appealing for Americans of a certain age.
But even then, it’s still pants – exemplified by the fact it has a number plate that represents the name of the company who made/drives it.
And that’s before I point out the British Car Industry – that this thing is probably trying to leverage – is, at best, on its knees or, at worst, owned by everyone other than the Brits.
For fucks sake, is there no end to what we will make ‘status’?
What next … lifts?
I’d rather have a lifetime flying Ryan Air than one trip in that pile of gold shite.
Hell – to paraphrase a very old joke – I’d rather be seen coming out the back of a sheep than the back of that, which not only captures just how ridiculous I find an ‘upper class’ milk float at an international airport but also how too many companies confuse charging a ‘premium price’ with being a ‘premium product’.
Or as my friend, George, calls it, ‘corporate status delusion’.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Ambition, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Auckland, Brand Suicide, Brands, Cars, China, Communication Strategy, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Egovertising, Environment, Italy, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Money, Positioning, Premium, Shanghai, Wieden+Kennedy
On one of my daily walks, I passed this …
For those who don’t know what the car is, it’s a Lotus.
Now once upon a time, this was a car brand whose name was synonymous with power, status, style and flair.
A marque of British engineering excellence.
However, for a whole host of reasons, it has fallen from the highs of being James Bond car of choice [The Spy Who Loved Me], to now being a small player in the Chinese conglomerate, Geely’s, staple of brands.
That said, if anyone is going to help it rise again – it’s them.
The reality is the Chinese car industry is incredible.
Innovative. Progressive. High standards and high quality.
This is not by accident, but design …
The Chinese Government see the car industry – specifically the electric car industry – as not only the pathway to securing China’s next chapter of China’s economic power, but also a way to reinvent how the World see’s China.
That and a powerful way to help address the environmental concerns of the country … which, despite what many Western nations like to say, has been a priority of China for a long time, which helps explain why they have been the biggest investor in green tech for years.
Anyway, all it takes is a notional look at the vast range of brands and models made by Chinese manufacturers and you’ll see how companies like Tesla are nowhere near as innovative as their Chinese competition – acknowledging, Musk’s mob are still innovative.
For example, because BYD makes the batteries that power their cars, it has enabled them to innovate in ways companies who have to buy batteries from other companies cannot hope to compete with … for example their new 5 minute ‘zero to full battery’ that they’ve just announced. Or you could look at Nio who have created a system where someone can drive their car into a change station – located across China – and have their low battery automatically changed for a full one in a matter of minutes.
Add to this that Chinese brands can offer their cars at prices that are often a fraction of the price of their inferior, Western counterparts – thanks to the scale they serve and the way they organize their operations – and the category is far more innovative than certain people would like to admit. [Or at least they could before Trump introduced his insane tariff ‘policy’]
I say all this because when I saw that Lotus – or should I say, Lamborghini Urus wannabe – I couldn’t help but feel that for all the innovation of Chinese car manufacturing, they are making a major mistake with how they are approaching the marketing of this car.
Sure it looks pretty good inside and out.
And sure, Chinese manufactured electric vehicles represent incredible value-for-money – at least in comparison to their Western equivalent counterparts – but I am not sure if painting ‘0% interest’ on the side is the best move for what they are trying to do.
Sure, they have to let people know about it.
Sure, 0% interest is a great selling point, especially in these financially challenging times.
But not only is the car still the equivalent of US$180,000 – which, by anyone’s standards, is a fuck-load of money … driving around with that message on the side basically is saying, “this is a car for people who want to look rich, but aren’t”.
Yes, I know rich people get rich by not spending money so 0% may be initially attractive, but this car isn’t designed for them.
If you’re truly rich, you’ll likely buy a Lamborghini or Ferrari … a brand synonymous for its craft, heritage and performance.
No, this car is aimed at the people who want to look the part without waiting or doing things to actually be the part.
The Andrew Tate brigade … the people who never want to be seen to be making ‘financially responsible’ decisions.
Not because they want to be broke, but because they don’t want to look like they have to worry about the money.
For them, life is all bravado, attitude and overt acts of power …
But what this smacks of is a brand who either doesn’t know who its audience is or doesn’t want to admit who they really are.
We had a similar situation at Wieden when we were working with Alfa Romeo in China.
We got fired when instead of reaffirming who they said their audience was, we told them who they really were.
They didn’t like that at all.
For them, they wanted to be driven by the young, rich and successful who were bursting with flair, style and a glamourous life. So you can imagine how they felt when we told them no one knew who they were and their biggest opportunity was to appeal to the ‘wannabe’s and fakers’ … individuals without the time, money or patience to do the right thing, especially when the illusion of it was available to them at a much lower price.
Of course we weren’t going to overtly position the brand that way, but it did mean our approach was going to attract those who chose to live that way.
Or it would have if they hadn’t dismissed us.
Similar to how the people of China went on to dismiss Alfa Romeo.
Which is a good reminder that in these days of increased competition, the biggest threat isn’t who you face … but the ego you’re constraining yourself by.
Filed under: Audi, Birkenhead, Cars, Comment, Communication Strategy, New Zealand
There’s been a bunch of relatively heavy posts on here this week – at least by my standards – so I’m going to round things off on a more light-hearted note.
Of course, given no one reads this blog anymore, no one will even notice let alone care … however, as [1] we get our puppy, Bonnie, this weekend and [2] I immediately head overseas for all of the following week for work – I feel a more humorous post may help offset the dark cloud that will hang over my home when my wife realizes she has to look after the dog all by herself while her husband is out having nice dinners, even though I will be working very, very hard. Honest.
Anyway, this also explains why there will be no blog posts next week because I’ll be spending whatever free time I do have apologizing to my family or something.
So back to the post …
A long time ago, I was asked in an interview with an ad mag, ‘what would your personalized say?’ My response was something along the lines of, “if I had a personalized number plate, it would say I was a dick”.
I still stand by that, but I have to say I’ve seen a few in NZ that has made me almost consider changing my view.
Not because they’re smart.
Not because they’re cool.
But because they’re blatantly assholey.
Back in 2023, there was the Slayer plate … on a Suzuki Swift … which was an act of either pure fandom, or total delusion.
Then, just down the road from where I live, there’s this …
TOPGUN!!!
Let’s be honest, if it was on a supercar it would still be tragic, but on an Audi, it’s criminal.
I’ve never actually seen the owner drive it, but I hope to God they wear Aviator sunglasses when they do.
But maybe there’s something about Audi drivers – not to mention people who live in Birkenhead, where I live – because I recently also saw this …
While I give them extra marks for writing D3VL in red – is there anything actually devilish about an Audi beyond the standard of driving that their owners typically demonstrate on the roads?
But all those are – let’s face it – still pretty tame, which is why I saved the best for last.
A car whose owner doesn’t give a fuck.
About anyone.
Who proudly announces to anyone in front or behind them, they are being judged.
Negatively.
Who could probably start a road rage incident in an empty car park.
No doubt an empty car park located in Birkenhead because – you guessed it – that’s where I also saw this.
Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Let me introduce you to the winner of the best assholey personalized number plate of the year …
Offensive.
Aggressive.
Judgmental.
Memorable.
It’s absolutely brilliant … made better that:
It’s a fair assessment of 99% of Auckland drivers.
it’s on an old Toyota Corolla, making it the equivalent of the grumpiest of old men … on 4 wheels.
I love it.
It made me laugh out loud.
And while I’m sure that would deeply upset the owner of the car, for me it’s the perfect personalized plate.
Because what’s the point of having a plate that says who you are, when you have the opportunity to say what you think of everyone around you.
See you in a week.
Unless my family has killed me or our dog has chewed through our internet router.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Ambition, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Cars, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Consultants, Context, Corporate Evil, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Egovertising, Emotion, Empathy, Experience, Focus Groups, Grifting, Logic, Love, Luck, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Perspective, Planning, Point Of View, Process, Relevance, Research, Resonance, Respect, Standards, Status, Stupid
We’re surrounded by processes and systems.
Each and everyone proclaiming to be ‘the right way’ to do something.
A way that claims effectiveness … efficiency … accuracy and performance are all but guaranteed.
And while it is true that in many cases, they increase the odds of good things happening … that’s all they do.
Sure, many have a ton amount of data accompanying them to back things what they say … but as we all know about data, when used right [or wrong] you can make it say or prove anything you want it to.
The reality is our industry, pretty much all these systems are less a shortcut to wealth and prosperity, and more an insurance policy against failure and destruction.
Nothing wrong with that other that it does the opposite of what many claim and instead, champions conformity more than liberation. But then what do you expect when many of the people doing the spouting of systems and processes have a vested interest in everyone using those very systems and processes.
Again, I’m not suggesting you ignore all these things. As I said, many play an important role in developing products and brands … however when someone suggests they’re ‘the secret to success’ and must be embraced to the letter – then you need to think about whose success are they really talking about.
It’s why I bloody loved this interview with Marc Andreessen – the businessman, venture capitalist, and [former] software engineer. Specifically the bit about ‘why hyperlinks are blue’.
OK, so he tries to rationalize it at the end, but fundamentally what he says is: “blue is my favorite colour”.
That’s right … the colour of our hyperlinks were chosen.
By a human.
Because he liked that colour.
Kind of reminds me of the ‘wings’ on a Cadillac.
There was absolutely no functional reason for them to exist other than the fact the designers just thought it looked better with them.
That’s it.
And with that, they turned a car into an icon. And here lies a key lesson …
Sometimes, the things we like are simply because we like them.
There may be many alternatives.
There may be other possibilities.
But at the end of the day, some choose things for no other reason than it works for them.
And at a time where everything needs to be justified … rationalised … reviewed and tested … I think those people deserve credit for backing their belief, judgement, vision and preference.
It’s easy to do what a system tells you to do.
It’s easy to follow what others tell you is right.
But it takes confidence to embrace what you believe is the right thing to do. And while I acknowledge some will suggest this approach is an act of ego and arrogance … when you consider how many of these ‘dot-to-dot logic™ systems and ‘researched-to-within-an-inch-of-their-life’ campaigns/brands/products fail to perform [often because the impact or output they create is deemed secondary in importance to the adherence of every step of whatever system or logic process you have committed to using] you could argue the person who backs their judgement is no less an idiot than the person who outsources all their responsibility to someone else?
Whether we like it or not, sometimes the best things are a product of someone doing something they preferred.
They will justify it.
They will rationalize it.
But underpinning it all, is their acknowledgment that before they can think about satisfying others, they need to satisfy themselves … and frankly I find that a pretty honourable act.