Filed under: Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Bank Ads, Brand Suicide, Creativity, Culture, Education, Finance, Management, Marketing, Money, Premium
OK, so Friday’s post was an April Fool joke.
I say that because some people seemed to believe it until they got to the very last line. Which obviously made me very happy … no doubt helped by the fact April Fools Day started upto 20+ hours before some parts of the World.
But today’s post is real, even though it’s even more of a joke.
It starts with a tweet I saw a few weeks ago …
I don’t mind admitting, I laughed my socks off when I saw it.
Because it’s true.
The amount of people – read, men – who talk about crypto like it’s a guaranteed money earner despite [1] not looking into how it actually works [2] realising there are a vast amount of choices that are out there and [3] all have experienced incredible and – in many cases – huge losses, is amazing.
But I also kind-of get it.
Because the sniff of winning big can be intoxicating.
Especially if you don’t think you otherwise have a chance.
And for many people they don’t …
Not because they’re not smart or talented or capable … but because life is unbelievably unfair.
Which is why for all the questions that need to be answered about the role, legitimacy and even legality of certain crypto, the reality is many people think the chance of making it big on what is essentially a giant wheel of roulette is still better than the chance of doing OK following ‘traditional’ paths.
I get it. I was in that situation.
I was living in Australia, broke … with a seriously ill Dad and a Mum who couldn’t pay the bills.
I didn’t know what I was going to do when someone I knew asked if I wanted to get involved in a pyramid scheme.
Out of desperation – and a belief I didn’t think I had anything to lose – I said yes.
Of course that is mad, because I did have a lot to lose, from the initial ‘investment’ to the chance to get out of my situation within a year.
I ended up being very lucky.
Because I got in very early. I made back many times my initial investment within 2 weeks.
[I should point out that while I was able to help my Mum and Dad out as soon as this happened, I never told them what I’d done. Part of this was because they’d have been fuming and part of it was because it was hard enough to get them to accept presents from me, so if they knew, then I’d never be able to financially help them out again]
And while the time between ‘investing’ and ‘vesting’ were some of the most exciting, intense and scary weeks of my life, the minuscule chance of making something sizeable out of it drowned out the highly likely chance of losing all of it.
Would I do it again?
No. I am in the incredibly fortunate position to be in a good position now. But I get why people would do it and why crypto is so tempting for so many.
Nothing brought this home than some information Natwest Bank sent me last week.
It was their interest rates.
I say ‘interest’ but what I mean is arrogance.
Have a look at this …
What the hell?
Seriously, what the absolute hell?
Do they think this is good?
Do they think this is going to make people want to invest with them?
Even with their ‘bonus’ percentage, their ‘best’ rate is 0.05%.
And that’s their best. The rest are 0.01%.
ZERO POINT ZERO ONE PERCENT.
Not just many times less than inflation.
Not just many times less than the amount you’ll be charged in fees.
But less than fuck all.
Why would anyone choose to invest their money with a bank?
And I mean anyone … from someone with one pound to one million.
Seriously, you somehow manage to get a million quid and Natwest will reward you with 100 pounds in interest.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
So much for all their talk of ‘caring about your future’.
Of course, they think they can get away with it because they think they hold all the cards.
And right now they probably do.
But for all their advertising claims that are seemingly designed to make the board of directors happy rather than their customers, the vast majority seem to have failed to grasp the one thing that could undermine them all.
People go where the chances are.
Doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect. Doesn’t matter what the research says. If what’s on offer is dramatically better than what the establishment offers – and it’s ‘generally’ legal even if it’s highly risky – then they’ll explore it.
I never imagined I’d be the sort of person who would be part of a pyramid scheme – but circumstances of desperation meant I did. Which means I am pretty sure there’s a hell of a lot of people you’d never imagine would be into crypto, who are.
Not because they’re money hungry assholes – though there’s definitely a bunch who are that – but because with banks taking the piss out of their hopes and dreams with a miserly 0.01% interest rates, suddenly the risk of crypto looks like the most sensible investment for the future they can make.
And then, it’s not just the banks who will be screwed, we all will be.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Brand Suicide, Comment, Communication Strategy, Crap Marketing Ideas From History!, Creativity, Culture, Egovertising, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Zealand
Love it or loathe it, but Wordle has captured the world’s attention. Whether it will continue to do that now the NYTimes has bought it, is anyones guess, but right now, it’s peak popularity.
Hell, even I love it and I HATE word games.
Crosswords? Hate.
Scrabble? Hate.
And yet whether it’s the last thing I do before I go to sleep or the first thing I do when I wake up, I’m playing the days challenge. And I’m brilliant at it. Hahaha.
Anyway, I was on Twitter when I recently saw this from Air New Zealand.
Look, I get it’s a competitive world.
I get brands are looking for anything that can help them stand out.
And I get ‘hijacking culture’ is a cheat way of doing this.
But there’s 2 reasons why this approach is tragic rather than magic.
First is it’s Air New Zealand.
Of all the airline brands out there, they are a pioneer. An innovator. A leader.
They’ve created, influenced and changed the airline industry in ways few have come close.
From being the first to make ‘in-flight safety videos’, entertainment to creating economy seats that turn into beds.
Ripping off Wordle doesn’t represent any of this.
If anything, it does the opposite.
But then, when I see the work they are putting out these days, maybe it all makes sense.
When a nation that prides itself as explorers and adventures has their National Airline promote their role in a post-covid world as being ‘we fly for you’ … you have to question if they realise what they’ve done or if they made a conscious effort to ditch the approach that made them great and forward thinking in favour of the sort of bland, contrived, unrealistic and meaningless twaddle of big corporation 90’s advertising.
Like this.
From 1991.
God I hope not. They are better than that and NZ needs them to be better than that.
Which leads to the other reason.
Hijacking culture.
What’s interesting is that so many brands do it.
As I said, I get why … but 99% of them have failed to understand how it really works and so we now live in a world where the approach is so common, it doesn’t surprise anyone.
If anything, it un-hijacks culture.
So how does it really work?
Well having worked with the brand and agency that arguably created the approach – or at least mastered it – the secret is to do something that adds to culture, not just steals from it.
Which means having an actual right to be there.
Then do something that opens things up, not just repeat what’s already happened.
Adding a point of view to the situation not just adding more noise and clutter to it.
Of course, even with all that, it still doesn’t mean it will work … but its definitely going to be better than the desperate amateur hour that so many brands favour.
Who think it makes them look cool but forgetting if you’re trying to be that, you’re definitely not ever going to be that.
Filed under: Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Comment, Confidence, Content, Context, Creativity, Culture, Insight, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Relevance, Resonance
A few weeks ago someone sent me this picture …
Yes, it’s funny, but it’s also right.
At least to a certain audience group.
Which seems to be a thing we’re increasingly forgetting.
Quite a lot of the time, it feels like we experience some sort of group deliberate ignorance. Preferring to suggest ideas will appeal to everyone because we live in a world where the slightest whiff of ‘niche’ is immediately dismissed by clients.
It’s why we have target audiences that are 25-54.
It’s why we have ads that are about people rather than for people.
It’s why we pretend entire generations THINK AND ACT EXACTLY THE SAME.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. Especially when think about the huge amounts of money being spent on research to ‘know our audience better’.
Great brands sacrifice.
They want to mean everything to someone rather than be something for everyone.
Which is why they know who they are. Know who they matter to. And know what to focus on.
That doesn’t mean they are limiting their success … they’re growing it.
Valuing who they are as much as what they earn and building scale from leading change rather than blindly chasing popularity.
It’s the foundation of why they charge more, sell more and are desired more. Especially compared to the product amoebas who spend their millions communicating to anyone about absolutely nothing..
So while people in our industry may smugly question the intelligence of the people who wrote that sign on the back of the ute … if we were to invite them to look at what our industry says and does, I’m pretty sure they’d think we’re the bigger joke.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Honesty, Management, Marketing, Relationships, Research, Resonance, Respect, Trust, Truth
I recently saw this very disturbing video.
When I say ‘disturbing’, it’s not bad … in fact the person in it has CHOSEN to be in this situation … however watching it absolutely freaks me out.
I find it hard to watch.
I find it hard to breath.
I find it hard to comprehend.
In fact, every time I watch it, I start jiggling my arms and neck because I need to feel I am free to move rather than be trapped in the most contrived of spaces.
Have a look at this …
However after forcing myself to watch it a few times, I realised it could be seen as more than just a deranged man wanting to increase the odds of death. It was a perfect metaphor for so much of working in the modern creative industry.
Yes, we could talk about the quest for craft and rigour. The painstaking approach we take to find an idea that will unlock a whole world of change and opportunity. The commitment to doing the right thing rather than the easiest.
I could talk about that, but …
1. I don’t know if that is true for a lot of what goes on these days.
2. It feels far more a reflection of dealing with corporate politics, committees, toxic positivity, arrogance and ego or – worse of all – workshops, specifically those designed to let people ‘feel part of the process’ despite the fact they created the problem you’ve been asked to solve.
I know all this sounds massively arrogant of me.
It’s certainly not the case all the time.
But the fact that when it isn’t, it’s like a revelation means it’s far more present than many like to admit. And that’s horrific. Not just in terms of the wasted energy and time … but in lost opportunities. Which is why the best relationships are built on people who want the same thing.
That doesn’t mean they will always agree on how to achieve it … but it does mean you trust and respect each others opinion, talent and expertise rather than thinking the other party is out to screw you over. Though the way the procurement process is often handled, it’s not hard to see why that happens.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Not if you really want something to be great.
Not if you truly value the work the other party brings to the table.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about costs – of course not – but as I wrote a while back about how Metallica’s management dealt with me when we started working together, their view was when you pay someone well, you’re not just showing respect for what they do, you’re ensuring they want to give you their best in all they do.
Which makes an even more cost effective arrangement.
A more trust-worthy relationship.
A more productive partnership.
Who knew?
Oh yes, the people who understand the value of living up to quality, not purely down to a price.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Comment, Communication Strategy, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Environment, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Relevance
The commercial exploitation of the environment crisis by brands makes me ill.
For all their claims of doing things to ‘save the planet’, the reality is:
1. It’s not.
2. It’s focused more on how they can make money from it.
Putting aside the fact many of these conglomerates have actually added to the environmental crisis rather than taken it away, many are now trying to burden the general public with the blame and the responsibility to sort it all out.
Now of course the general public have to shoulder a huge amount of responsibility, but seeing companies try to look innocent when they have resisted – and continue to resist – major change is revolting.
From a personal point of view, one of the companies who I feel have been one of the worst for exploiting situations for profit is Unilever.
While there are some amazing people who work there … while the company talks a great game about being a ‘purpose’ driven company … you don’t have to look too far to see the organisation have profited from promoting racism, sexism and exploitation.
A few weeks ago, I got sent this:
As you can see, the bottom shelf holds a bunch of Persil Automatic washing powder.
Now Persil has long had a role in British society that has transcended the category. Their iconic ‘dirt is good’ campaign helped celebrate the benefits of kids getting dirty in life.
Of course it was self-serving, because the dirtier they get, the more washing powder you need, but it was deftly handled and had a point of view that resonated deeply.
However over the years, they’ve tried to evolve that message to have a more ‘purpose driven stance’ and things like the environment have become a focus. Which explains why they have written USE LESS in massive letters at the top of the box.
However – and hilariously – it seems no one realised, or cared, that at first glance it says USELESS … which is probably a far better description for how Persil are really dealing and committing to the climate crisis.
So to whoever did this – or didn’t realise this – I salute you.
Not just for your mischief/stupidity, but for proving there is still truth in advertising, even when they’re trying to say a lie.