Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Cars, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Imagination, New Zealand
I am not a DIY person.
Once, when I was at school, I literally sawed through my finger in a woodwork class and just last week, I stabbed my hand with a serrated knife while trying to cut through some plastic.
With this in mind, it’s fairly obvious that I don’t give a fuck about anything associated with DIY.
Well, I say that, but there have a couple of occasions where I’ve given a damn.
One was the first time I used a drill which – arguably for the first time – made me feel ‘a man’. The downside was I got so into using it, I put so many screws into the fuzzball table I was trying to fix, that the removal men couldn’t take it apart when we kept moving country.
The other was – bizarrely – a ladder, which we bought in the UK.
It was nothing special but like experiencing a smart TV after years of using an old school piece of shit, I thought I had entered a parallel universe given its ability to fold down to a fraction of its size. I know … I know …
But maybe that’s why I was so captivated when I saw this …
Yes, it’s a ladder – a very short ladder – built onto the back of a car.
And while NZ is a rugged land, there is absolutely no requirement whatsoever to ever get on your car roof when you live in Auckland. And yet I love it. It adds a dimension of ‘explorer’ that transcends even the biggest and most modern of SUV’s.
Of course, if that ladder was on its own, you’d think it was the most pointless, shit thing ever. But add it to the back of a car and suddenly you’re Indiana bloody Jones, climbing up on it for any old reason.
Which serves as a reminder that ideas are driven as much by context as need and the more we embrace that, the more we allow imagination to work it’s magic than purely logic.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Auckland, Brand Suicide, Crap Marketing Ideas From History!, Crap Products In History, Creativity, Dad, Experience, Imagination, New Zealand, Packaging, Perfume, Relevance, Unexpected Relevance
Over the years I’ve written a lot about scent companies – both for men and women, both good and bad. Or should I say, terrible.
And while it has been more focused on preposterous nature of their advertising – I mean, who can forget the car crash that was Gerard Butler’s ‘Man Of Tomorrow’ bollocks for Hugo Boss – I’ve covered everything from when Mont Blanc decided to go from ink to stink when Moschino thought the perfect bottle design to convey the sophistication of their scent was a detergent bottle to the absolute insanity of this.
DO NOT CLICK THAT LAST ONE IF YOU ARE AT WORK. INSTEAD GET A – ERRRRRM TASTE – OF WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT BY CLICKING HERE OR IF YOU ARE FEELING A BIT BRAVER, THEN YOU CAN CLICK HERE. BUT YOU PROBABLY STILL DON’T WANT TO DO THAT IF YOU’RE AT WORK.
Now, to be honest, nothing in the universe will ever beat that last example … but recently I did see something that wanted to give it a run for its money. Not in terms of smut, but stupid.
Now I admit, I’m not the biggest fan of the Friday 13th movies – or horror for that matter – but even if I was, I don’t know if I’d like to smell of it.
Though what the smell of it still is unknown.
Is it of corpses?
Is it of blood?
Is it of the desperation of whoever was behind this to try and make a quick buck.
On one hand, I am kinda-in-awe they did it because let’s be honest – the business case for it must be pretty niche. Plus they went all out on the packaging because it comes in a box designed to look like a VHS video tape.
However, if I can find this product in New Zealand – a place on the other side of the planet with only 5 million living here – then the peeps behind this product must have spent pretty big on it, which begs the question, WHO THE FUCK DID THEY THINK IS GOING TO BUY IT?
Well, according to the literature, it’s potential serial killers who think murder is fun. I quote:
Warner Bros Horror Friday The 13th Eau de Toilette is a fun and fearless scent that allows you to discover the safe deeper inner you. Comes boxed in a VHS to bring you back memories as well as scents. Perfect for any special occasion.
And they have the audacity to say it’s ‘perfect for any special occasion’.
Maybe it is if your special occasion is the homocidal murder of people at a kids camp, but for any other occasion, I’m not so sure.
Which reminds me of something my Dad once said to me.
“If you think people on the streets are crazy, try looking at people in the boardroom”
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Cannes, China, Comment, Complicity, Context, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Distinction, Effectiveness, Honesty, Imagination, Marketing, Martin Weigel, Metallica, Nike, Paula, Planners, Point Of View, Provocative, Succession, Uncorporated, Wieden+Kennedy
When Tiger and Nike recently ended their relationship after close on 3 decades, there was a lot written about why.
Hot takes.
Wild ideas.
Conspiracy theories.
But among them all was a post by Tom Bassett – a brilliant ex-Wieden strategist who was there when so much of what became Nike folklore was written.
The reason his voice stood out is because it wasn’t WHY the relationship ended, but why it started.
At the heart of his story was the brief Phil Knight gave for NIKE Golf.
He said: “Get NIKE to be #1 in golf or we get out the category all together”.
Having had the errrrm, pleasure(?) to meet and present to Mr Knight a few times, I can literally hear him saying/barking this … and what I love about it is the stubborn, blinkered ambition.
We seem to live in a world where the majority of conversation is around optimization … efficiency … brand assets … and basically how to get the most out of what you’ve got.
There’s nothing wrong with that, except it’s all about not being wrong than being as good as you can be.
Or said another way, being comfortable with what you’ve got as opposed to being impatient for what you want to have.
Get to #1 is a proper goal. One where the evaluation criteria is very fucking simple.
No hiding behind incremental growth or internal metrics … #1 is a criteria that dictates decisions and investment rather than the other way around.
Sure, there are ways #1 could be reframed in an attempt to look like you’re doing better than you are . Let’s face it, we see this sort of shit in the ad industry all the time, especially around award time … but Phil Knight wasn’t about skewing results but going right at them … which is why he didn’t place any additional burdens on how to achieve goal, other than demand it was true to the sport and how NIKE see’s the athlete.
Sounds easy, but it isn’t.
To do that takes a lot of confidence.
Confidence in who you are … confidence in your team … confidence in what your company stands for and confidence your company is full of people who know what that translates to in terms of behaviour, consideration and action.
And that’s why we often undermine the value of confidence and right it off as bravado.
Of course it can be that, but it is also about trust, experience, knowledge and openness.
As a chef once told me when we were doing Tobasco research at W+K, “the more confident the chef, the less ingredients they use”
And that’s why I love the clarity of Phil Knight’s objective.
He could have added a million mandatories, but he knew that would add a million reasons why his objective would then be almost impossible to achieve.
At least in a realistic timeline.
Which is why, as difficult as the objective was, he increased its chances of success by being clear as fuck and – to a certain degree – open as fuck. Enabling the team to not just tackle the project head on – rather than tap-dance around politics and restraint – but to also place responsibility back on the company in terms of what it needed them to do to help make it happen.
Not just in terms of money, but action and change.
It is one of the many reasons why I loved my time in China … why I loved Branson’s brief for the Virgin lounge … why I love working for Metallica and Mr Ji.
Sure, in China’s case, it was often more the ambition and scale than the clarity … but for the others, it is/was the single-minded, stubbornness of their objective, the trust they placed in the people they were asking to help them do it, the commitment of the whole organisation to give it the best chance of making it happen and the willingness to walk away rather than accept a poor substitute of what they wanted to change.
We need more of that.
Creative work would be more amazing for that.
Effectiveness would be more powerful for that.
But sadly we’re in a world where it’s all about hedging bets, outsourcing responsibility and managing internal politics rather than being focused, fierce and open on creating change.
Proper change.
Real change.
Massive change.
It all kind of ties in with the ‘Strategy Is Constipated, Imagination Is The Laxative’ talk Martin, Paula and I did in Cannes last year.
The obsession with playing to the process while being continually outsmarted by those who are focused on enabling the possibility.
And while some claimed we were being irresponsible, unrealistic and even unprofessional in what we were saying, the reality is we have – and are – in the incredibly fortunate position of working with brands/people who prove the most responsible way to create powerful and lasting change is not by hedging your bets, but being willing and open to fight for it all.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Birkenstocks, Brand, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Cannes, Communication Strategy, Context, Creativity, Culture, Dysgraphia, Empathy, EvilGenius, Fear, Holiday, Imagination, Marketing, Martin Weigel, Otis, Paula
So I’m back.
And after an October where I went to Fiji, Australia, China and America … November is wonderfully static.
Don’t get me wrong, I love travelling … but that was ridiculous.
For all the talk of how COVID would change the way companies would work and interact, I’m meeting more and more people who are travelling more than they did pre-pandemic.
And that’s scary for a whole lot of reasons.
Personal, environmental, commercial.
Scarier than the that day where ghosts and ghouls are supposed to come out and haunt us. Also known as the day kids keep coming to your door demanding sweets.
Yes … that’s a terrible link to the point of this post, but I wrote it to originally appear on Halloween, but then I went to the US and missed my chance, so here we go.
Halloween in NZ is definitely less full-on than the US.
Oh my god … they love holidays and Halloween is one they embrace full-on.
When we lived in Manhattan Beach … it was like a community event.
The whole street would basically come out, all dressed in god-knows what, embracing the mood and the moment.
Obviously I hate that level of sociability … but even I got caught up in it, buying a ridiculously sized baby head from a shop, which I tried on in the car before casually looking to my right and seeing [1] I was next to a bank and [2] I had a security guard looking at me as if I was going to rob the joint.
Good times. Ahem.
Anyway, to keep with the ‘scary’ mood, Otis recently became the proud owner of these …
Yep … Crocs.
Fucking Crocs.
I know we talked about them recently in our ‘Strategy is constipated, imagination is the laxative’ talk … I know I have some sort of grudging respect that they are cool with charging $8 for each ‘personalised attachment’ you can add to the shoes … I know, with Otis’ dysgraphia, they are much easier for him to put on than many others … I know I can’t talk with my love of Birkies … but, but, but THEY’RE FUCKING CROCS.
Seriously, compared to them, Birkenstocks are liked pieces of art.
And yet they continue to live.
To thrive.
Like cockroaches of the footwear category.
Which means I have to salute their brand management and imagination.
Which is better than 99% of brands out there.
Which is why we put them in our Cannes talk.
And why I felt scared enough to put them in a post that was supposed to appear on halloween.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, China, Chinese Culture, Comment, Content, Context, Corona Virus, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Design, Differentiation, Distinction, Effectiveness, Emotion, Entertainment, Environment, Fashion, Imagination, Individuality, Innovation, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Metallica, Perspective, Point Of View, Positioning, Resonance, Respect, Shanghai, Strategy, Technology
I appreciate the title of this post sounds dodgy.
Not to mention that photo. Let’s face it, me and fashion are hardly bedfellows.
But that photo [which is real, by the way] is to celebrate that next week I’m in China to attend the WWD World Fashion Summit.
I know … I know … it all sounds like I’m making something up so I don’t have to write any blogposts next week, but it isn’t.
I am an invited guest at one of the fashion industries most important conferences.
Of course it’s not because of how I dress, but for the work I do for one of my clients … the godfather of global street culture and the founder of the most successful, progressive and innovative luxury [contemporary and street culture] retailers on the planet: SKP and SKP-S.
I wish I could talk more specifically about the work I’ve done for him over the past 3+ years … because it has been some of the most creatively rewarding, commercially informing and artistically collaborative times of my career.
Put simply, he is one of the most audacious people I’ve ever had the privilege of working with.
Even François-Henri Pinault – the CEO of Kering – calls him one of fashions greatest pioneers.
And he is …
Hell, when I met him, one of the first things he said to me was:
“I want people to get used to living on another planet, because one day – based on how we keep treating this one – they’re going to have to do just that”.
Sure, it’s the words only a billionaire can say, but who wouldn’t be captivated by that?
But he’s not crazy …
In fact, the more time I spend with him, the more I recognise his genius.
I could write a 1000 blog posts about what I’ve learned from him …
What real entrepreneurship is.
What true conviction in your beliefs means.
What category disruption and innovation really looks like.
What you do to ensure luxury embraces the influence of street culture.
But that’s maybe for another day. What I will say is that despite being one of the most important and influential figures in fashion, he also loves his anonymity – preferring to make statements through the work he does … from pretty much every up-and-coming street culture brand you can point a stick at … to helping build the next-gen of fashion icons like Fenty and Gentle Monster through to building the most brilliantly bonkers [and most profitable luxury store on the planet] SKP and SKP-S.
[To give you an idea of how bonkers, their new offering in China, features a tapestry of gardens – designed by the architects of The High Line, in NYC – that is ¾ of a mile wide. And the reason they were able to do that is because all the infrastructure has been placed beneath ground, so it’s invisible to the naked eye until you are in the place. And if you think that’s bonkers, every location is wildly different in look and theme … but connected by a unifying story that’s more Marvel than BusinessWeek.]
But if that wasn’t enough, I get to go back to China.
The last time I was there, was Jan 3rd 2020 … just before COVID closed the World.
I think everyone knows what China means to me. It is the most special place in my life.
Yes, I know there’s a bunch of fucked up stuff that happens there, but there’s a bunch of fucked up stuff that happens everywhere … and in my 7+ years of living in Shanghai, I can honestly say I was blessed with generosity, friendship and acceptance.
It’s why I am proud Otis was born there.
It’s why I will challenge any prejudice or ignorance spoken about there.
It’s why I am so happy that I get continue to work with clients who are based there.
Of course, I know a lot will have changed in the intervening 3 years.
We used to say that the speed of China was so fast, that it was like a new generation was born every six months. And while it’s not anywhere like that now, it’s still more dynamic than most countries … which is why it makes perfect sense to hold one of the most important global fashion conferences there.
For all the ‘superficiality’ people say about fashion, I can honestly say that the more I’ve spent deep in the industry, the more inspiring I’ve found it.
The craft.
The imagination.
The focus on society, art and design.
The openness to different influences and ideas.
The desire to continually explore, imagine and challenge.
Or said another way … the stubborn commitment to allowing creativity to thrive, wherever it may take you.
Like with Metallica, this client has invited me to places I never even knew existed, let alone ever imagined I could be.
Magical people … imaginative ideas … insane possibilities …
But what’s made it even more amazing is they have asked me collaborate with these people and ideas … to find new ways to allow creativity to flourish – be it architecture, robots or writing stories that unite different worlds in different ways.
I appreciate it sounds like I’m bragging.
I guess I am.
But the reality is it’s more shock and gratitude.
I do think I am good at what I do, but to have all this – especially at my stage of career – does feel like I’ve won some sort of creative lottery.
And in some ways I have.
But the prize is not simply the work – or the cash – but the reminder …
Because the ad industry often sees creativity only through the lens of ads.
Oh sure, we’ll talk about craft and design, but it tends to always be in the context of communication.
Hell, we bang on about ‘big ideas’ when all we’re really talk about is big ‘advertising’ ideas.
There’s nothing wrong with that … advertising is creative and important.
But creativity is more than ads.
It has the power to shape and influence.
To create new meaning to old things and ignite deep emotions in the new.
It values culture and imagination far more than media channels and eco-systems … which results in the work being far more than ‘packaging’ for selling stuff, but creating the things that are worth buying.
I love the industry I work in. It has given me a life richer than I could ever have imagined. But somewhere along the line, it seems we love everything but the thing we’re supposed to love. Distracted by terminologies and techniques that – ironically – makes more things the same than different.
But fashion isn’t like that.
My client isn’t like that.
Which is why – you will understand – I’m so happy I won’t be here to write any posts for another week.
For once, your gain … is also mine.
So until the week after next, have fun. I know I will be.
