Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Focus Groups, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Mischief, Positioning, Purpose, Research, Resonance
Recently I read the story behind Angostura’s strange bottle.
For those of you who don’t know what Angostura is, it’s a bitters used in cocktails.
For those of you who don’t know what is strange about their bottle, it’s this:
Yep, that’s their normal product.
A bottle, hidden inside fucking massive packing.
The story – as told by Abraham Piper – is the business was taken over by the founder’s sons in 1870.
To help grow its awareness, they decided to update the ‘look’ and enter the finished product into a competition in the hope the exposure would drive the business.
They didn’t have much time so to maximise efficiency, one brother designed the label and the other, the bottle.
One slight problem … they didn’t discuss the size.
Another slight problem … they didn’t realise until they brought both sides of their work together and by then, they didn’t have enough time to alter things before the competition was due to commence.
So they decided to enter it anyway.
Unsurprisingly, they lost.
Except one of the judges told them they should keep it exactly as it was because no one else was going to be stupid enough to make that sort of mistake … which means it was unique and would stand out.
So they did.
And that dumbass mistake – the sort of dumbass mistake that captures Dan Wieden’s classic Fail Harder philosophy, perfectly – was the foundation of a business that continues to evolve and grow to this day.
Now there is a chance this is not true.
They don’t mention it in their history timeline on their website for example.
But history is littered with happy accidents … from making Ice Cream to making Number 1 hit records … so there’s just as much chance it is.
And if that is the case, I’d bloody love it.
Because in this world where everything is researched to within an inch of its life, the products/brands that gain a real and powerful role and position in culture – not to mention whatever category they operate in – are increasingly the ones who keep the chaos in, rather than actively try to filter it out.
Whether that’s because they know it’s better to mean everything to someone rather than something to everyone is anyone’s guess. There’s a good chance they’re just lucky-accident dumbasses. Or they might understand the value of resonating with culture, rather than being relevant to the category.
Whatever it is …
The brands with the strongest brand attribution, assets and audience are increasingly the ones who never have to talk about it, let alone spend their marketing dollars trying to create it.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, China, Chinese Culture, Colenso, Comment, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Emotion, EvilGenius, Focus Groups, Insight, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Mischief, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Prejudice, Relationships, Relevance, Research, Resonance, Strategy, Wieden+Kennedy
I’ve written about this subject before, but one of the biggest issues I think is facing marketing strategy these days is the obsession with corporate logic.
The quest to create frameworks and messaging that ultimates dictates and demands order, consistency and control. Not to help clients build the brand, but to help clients feel safe and comfortable.
And while that may all sound great in theory, the reality is – as the owner of the store with the horn discovered – that it often backfires magnificently.
Because great strategy isn’t logical, its logic born from the ability to make sense of the ridiculousness of reality.
Whether that is amateur artists buying a Mona Lisa painting when they really want the frame or
And the beauty of that is it liberates the possibilities of creativity …
Whether that is an actor who lets the paparazzi see them every night to avoid being photographed by them to the Chinese Government adding a mini ‘scratch card’ on till receipts to get customers to ask for it so it forces the seller to put it through the till and the government can ensure they get their tax through to a beer that is an act of love.
I’ve been talking about the power of devious strategy for years … and while I’m not claiming it is anything extraordinary, when you compare it to what so many think passes for good – I’d choose it any day of the week.
Not just because it leads to better work, but because creative ridiculousness is becoming a far more powerful way to drive commercial effectiveness than corporate-appeasing, logic.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Colenso, Creative Brief, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Focus Groups, Honesty, Imagination, Insight, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Membership, Mischief, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Relevance, Research, Resonance, Strategy
When I was living in Shanghai, I met a young guy who said to me,
“I think the Chinese government are rock n’ roll”.
Given I couldn’t imagine anyone less rock n’ roll, I asked why they said that. To which they replied:
“You told me rock n’ roll was about doing whatever you want to do, regardless what other people think. That’s the Chinese government”.
Mind. Blown.
Never in a million years would I consider the Communist Party rock n’ roll … and now that’s all I can think. I say this because recently I had another of these moments.
It was when I read this:
How amazing is that?!
Now whenever I talk to my friends named Tim, I keep imagining them as a moth.
Which brings me to the point of this post.
If you don’t leave space for conversations and understanding, you will miss out on these little gems of opinion. These things that can make you look at subject in a completely different way. That can take you to different place with even bigger possibilities than you could imagine.
And yet we – as an industry – aren’t leaving space for this.
We actually think getting into the real world is a hindrance.
Too messy. Too much time. Too many opinions.
So we actually advocate building creativity and brands from a weird sort of recipe book.
Where equal parts questionable data, brand assets and self-serving logic come together to make something that looks like a cake but generally tastes bloody awful.
Because we’d rather follow what everyone else does than create something everyone else wants.
Valuing attribution more than change.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I get the importance of all these things.
I agree and value their role in brand building and creativity.
But as I wrote a while back, it’s utterly bonkers that as an industry, we value the condiments of the meal more than the steak.
Recently, someone called me irresponsible for demanding my team spend time meeting, talking, listening and understanding people from all walks of life.
They literally used that word: Irresponsible!
Now I don’t mind admitting there’s many things I could be accused of being irresponsible for, but valuing the role culture has in liberating creativity and possibility isn’t one of them.
No wonder society is so bored of what we do.
No wonder brands have had to reframe bribery as loyalty.
Or membership.
Because while we think we have all the answers, culture has the interesting.
Filed under: Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, China, Comment, Communication Strategy, Crap Campaigns In History, Crap Marketing Ideas From History!, Creative Development, Creativity, Egovertising, Fake Attitude, Focus Groups, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Nike, olympics, Planning, Pretentious Rubbish, Relevance, Resonance, Respect, Shanghai, Wieden+Kennedy
Toothpaste.
It’s all kind-of the same isn’t it.
OK, so the manufacturers would disagree – which is why they keep launching different variants with all manner of ‘secret ingredients’ – but to the average person on the street, not only is the product pretty much the same, so is the advertising.
I get it, toothpaste ads must be hard … but even that doesn’t justify this shit from Colgate.
Cop a load of this.
Yep … ‘Made for greatness’.
Not made for great teeth, but greatness.
Hmmmmn … that’s not an over-claim whatsoever is it?
It’s a toothpaste.
For teeth.
TEETH.
And while teeth have a big role in our lives – and culture – THEY HAVE FUCK ALL TO DO WITH YOUR ABILITy TO CLIMB A MOUNTAIN.
Or a flight of stairs for that matter.
Now I appreciate I’m biased because in 2012, we did Greatness for the London Olympics … but have a look and tell me which you think is better … more resonant and more appropriate?
Yes, exactly.
And that’s before you have been reminded about the two lead NIKE Olympic ads from 2012.
God, even now Jogger gives me chills.
As I said, I get how hard toothpaste ads must be, but if Colgate want to do something right and interesting, they should give me a call – as I literally have 3 great ideas they can have. For a price. On the bright side, I promise you that whatever the price we agree on, you wont have to pay with your dignity like you have had to do with this.
Oh god how I’d love it if they did that, even though we all know it’s not going to happen.
So I’ll leave you with this.
Colgate … I am sure this passed all manner of internal research tests.
I am sure you this makes you all feel you’re doing something really important for humanity.
And while healthy, bright, strong, clean teeth are important – and Colgate plays a big role in that – it would be so much better if it helped make the brains of the people who approved this, as bright as their teeth, because maybe they wouldn’t have churned out the advertising equivalent of a root canal without anaesthetic.
Call me Colgate. Seriously. Please call me. I can put a billion dollar smile on your face.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Confidence, Consultants, Creative Development, Creativity, Design, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Focus Groups, Management, Perspective, Professionalism, Standards
McKinsey.
Oh McKinsey.
I’ve written a bunch about them in the past.
Hell, they were the reason one of my tweets went viral.
Scared the shit out of me.
I mean going viral, not the tweet.
And while I appreciate McKinsey have some very smart people working there and there are stories of their bullish confidence that are mildly amusing … let’s not forget they would recommend killing their grandmother if it made them an extra dollar.
Note I said ‘recommend’ … because like a Mafia boss, McKinsey never get their hands dirty, they make others do that. Then they can blame them when it goes wrong … similar to financial institutions who pay out millions to make problems go away rather than face the music in a court of law.
Which is why I found this interview they ran with Jony Ive so interesting.
OK, so Jony Ive is an interesting person so it was never going to run the risk of being bad … but what was fascinating was the headline they ran with it.
Creativity.
Unpredictability.
A great idea cannot be predicted.
Jesus Christ, that must have been like Kryptonite to the ‘everything is a process’ Kings.
I also love how they call it ‘provocations to ponder’.
Why is it a provocation?
Why is it something to ponder?
That’s literally the creative process … except, I suppose, for companies like McKinsey, who would regard that perspective as a celebration of the subjective and the inconsistent, which means it’s seen more as an act of wilful danger than the liberation of possibility.
But because it’s Jony Ive … McKinsey have turned a blind eye. After all, Jony is a global design icon. The driving force behind so many Apple products. Steve Jobs trusted sidekick. Being seen to walk in his circles can only be a good thing, despite the fact he represents the total opposite of what McKinsey do and value.
Oh hang on … someone’s going to say, “creativity is in everything”.
And they’re right of course and – despite what I said a few paragraphs ago – it’s fair to say McKinsey do embrace some elements of creativity.
However the creativity Ive is talking about is not the creativity McKinsey value.
Or practice.
For them, it’s approached functionally and economically, whereas for Ive, it’s about enabling change. An ability to see, think or feel differently. And while they may share similarities, it’s in the same way mathematicians and musician are similar.
Both do things based on numbers … except one uses it to shine a light on problems or solutions, whereas the other is the byproduct of the light.
Both have their value.
Both are about moving forward.
But how they do it are totally different.
Chalk and fucking cheese.
Which is why if I’m going to end this post with anything, it’s this:
Don’t let anyone try to tell you the light doesn’t matter.