Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Complicity, Context, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Innovation, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Teamwork, Technology
I always laughed when people blamed Microsoft Powerpoint for bad presentations.
The idea that this program was purely responsible for you choosing to write 15,000 pointless words on a page in small font.
Sure, it had limitations … sure, it could encourage a certain ‘look’ for what you wanted to present … but fundamentally, that was on you, not it.
Don’t get me wrong, for a tech company … I’m shocked at how bad their user experience is.
If you think their classic platforms are bad, you should see the utter shit show that is a parents account on X-Box.
Or Microsoft Teams.
Oh my god, how can a company that can so carefully and considerately design an X-Box controller for those with disability make such a shit show of everything else.
I literally don’t understand it. Honestly.
Teams is the most user un-intutitive experience I’ve ever had.
Things don’t make sense. Things are unnecessarily complex. Things are hidden.
And yet, instead of fixing this – it seems their focus is to land-grab the video collaboration market, regardless if people like working with it or not.
You can’t go a week without being told Teams now offers a new feature.
Some – as you can see from the photo above – are relatively big things.
Most, aren’t.
A range of tools/functions that seem to only cater to the most niche or nerdy of Teams users.
It all feels like Samsung phones.
When you start one up, you see a bunch of apps that seem to serve no purpose whatsoever other than to be able to say you can do something with it that no one will ever want to do something with.
Ego rather than value.
And here lies the problem with Microsoft …
They claim all they do is about aiding collaboration, but in practice, it appears they have no understanding of how teams – or humans for that matter – actually work together.
For all the efficiency they claim they want us to be able to operate at, they are – arguably – making us more inefficient, either by making things more difficult than it should – or needs – to be, or trying to push us to answers without any capacity for giving the situation some thought to make things better.
And maybe that’s the next gen of their business model.
A desire to make efficiency about quantity than quality … a way to help their corporate clients keep their staff costs lower by not allowing any one individual to rise while also giving them more opportunities to sell tools, like their new AI model which will be incorporated in many of their products.
Yeah … I know, I sound like a conspiracy nutcase and I don’t really believe this is the reason, which means it’s something far worse.
They make for what they wish we did rather than who we actually are.
Or said another way, innovators of control, rather than efficiency.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Communication Strategy, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Distinction, Technology, Wieden+Kennedy
Apple.
One of the best brands in the world.
From product to marketing … everything they do is considered, consistent and distinctive.
A brand voice forged over years, with a clear understanding of who they are.
But what’s interesting is what they used to be …
Or this …
Or worse of all, this …
I know they’re from a time where long copy wasn’t viewed with the same distain as a global pandemic but look at them?
And what’s with their obsession with mythical figures?
It’s ugly, it’s cluttered, it’s got no clear point of view and it’s talking around the product not at it.
And then, there’s a point in their advertising evolution that you feel they took a clear step towards where they are today with work like this …
And this …
Still a lot of copy. Arguably more.
But it just feels more contemporary …
From being product benefit focused to the choice of font to the voice … which talks to adults like an adult rather than the disinterested, casual, general audience tone they had used before.
It’s so strikingly different that you feel this was the moment Apple understood who they were and who they were for.
It’s also an obviously deliberate act … because there’s no way you would get here from the – let’s be honest – horrible historical figure focused campaigns they’d run before.
Which leads to the point of this post.
A while back I got to hear the wonderful Nils of Uncommon talk.
One of the things he said that particularly resonated with me was brands who say they need to ‘work up’ to the creativity you think they need.
In essence, it’s just their polite way of saying ‘no’ to the work you want them to do.
But the funny thing is that in the main, there’s no valid reason for them to say that, other than them being fearful of change or commitment.
There’s a lot of that at the moment.
Work in an endless loop … seemingly because the people who have the right to sign off on something are scared that the moment they do, they will be judged.
So what happens is the entire industry are caught in arrested development.
And what do agencies do?
Well, in a bid to get anything made, they agree to anything – justifying it as “being a bit better than what they did before” – so we end up with bland and boring campaigns that, bizarrely, keep everyone happy as the agency got to make something and the client doesn’t have to worry of offending anybody.
Said another way, everybody loses with this strategy.
Brand.
Advertising.
Customers.
Industry.
Which is why Nils challenges brands on what they need to do the work they could do.
It’s a test of their truth and ambition.
And he’s right to do that …
Because brands don’t get to where they want through time, but deliberate acts and choices.
Even then it won’t happen overnight … but continually and consistently playing to where you want to be is far smarter than playing to where you hope to be taken.
Because to paraphrase Dan Wieden said … you don’t become the brand you can be by discovering the power of advertising … you do it when you discover the power of your own voice.
Filed under: America, Attitude & Aptitude, Australia, Authenticity, China, Content, Context, Corona Virus, Creativity, Culture, England, Environment, Government, Perspective, Social Media, Technology
So I’m back.
I had a lovely time and Croatia is proper beautiful.
I know that’s a big call given I spent 2½ days there, the rest travelling, but it was.
God I miss travelling.
You’d think after almost 20 years of basically living on an airplane, I’d be over it … but there’s something so magical visiting new places and meeting new people.
Of course the environment is even more important – and COVID has shown we can do a lot without having to be in the same room – however being in another country and culture is a powerful and important experience. Especially given all the nationalistic bullshit going on … so having people engage with each other in different environments and geographies – rather than just stay in their own bubble – is probably better for the state of the World than just keeping to your own shores.
Nothing highlights this more than the paranoia regarding TikTok.
All apps are harvesting data, but because the parent company of TikTok is Chinese, governments and business are telling their employees they can’t have the app on their phone.
And yet TikTok, unlike other social media firms, have not – as far as I understand – been caught using the data in illegal ways. And even if they have, I am sure it’s no where near to the level of other companies that have been caught.
But here we go … the classic racism and prejudice towards China.
I know I’m biased.
I also know China has many issues.
But as I’ve said many times, the actions of other governments are equally as bad … they just hide it better, package it better [if that’s what you can call something as sick as Guantanamo Bay] or use the focus on China to distract people more convincingly.
Then there’s the fact some of the stuff the Chinese Government do get away with – and they do – is other politicians wet dream. Specifically the Republican and Tory parties.
Anyway, I don’t know what the problem is because as you can see from the photo above, if TikTok thinks I’m 15, then the data they’re harvesting is nothing to worry about.
Oh hang on, unless that’s my mental – not physical – age, and then we have a lot to worry about indeed.
Sorry for the rambling, jet lagged, post.
I wish I could say tomorrow will be better, but we all know it won’t be.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Australia, Brand, Jill, My Fatherhood, Otis, Parents, Technology
A few weeks ago I went to pick up Jill and Otis from the airport.
They’d been in Australia to see ‘granny’ and had a lovely time.
Anyway, when I saw Otis, he immediately told me about an “amazing cool giant robot face” he’d seen in Sydney and showed me a photo he’d taken.
As soon as I saw it, I realised it was part of project I did with the founder of Gentle Monster.
Telling him this resulted in Good and Bad news.
Good: I’m now [Finally, if temporarily] cool.
Bad: He wants me to bring it home.
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.