Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Brand Suicide, China, Chinese Culture, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Insight, Marketing, Nike, olympics, Resonance, Shanghai, Sport, Wieden+Kennedy
I have now had time to get over the Euro finals.
While my Italian/English heritage meant I was going to ‘win’ regardless of the result – and while the result, at least to me, was probably fair – I was gutted for the England team.
Ironically, the disgusting behaviour of the fans after the match – fired up by the equally disgusting behaviour of the British government – kind-of made me happy they lost.
It’s at these moments teams – or brands – can fall away and so what happens next becomes unbelievably important.
It reminded me of 2008 when Chinese hurdler – and gold medal contender – Liu Xiang, broke China’s hearts by injuring himself during the race.
Remember, this was the year the Olympics was held in Beijing and in many ways, it was the governments ‘coming out’ party to the rest of the World. A chance to showcase the nations abilities, talent, skills and sophistication. A declaration a new superpower was here.
While that might have been news to the rest of the World, for the people of China, they had known this for a long time which is why when Liu Xiang faltered through injury, people – like in the UK – started to turn on him.
While he did not face the disgusting and disgraceful racist abuse certain members of the England team have encountered, he did face claims that by pulling out mid-race, he had not tried hard enough, had embarrassed China and sold the people false hope.
Because Liu Xiang was a NIKE athlete, overnight W+K Shanghai created an ad that aimed to reframe the loss for the people across China.
To shift emotions from anger to pride, love, support.
The next morning, this ad ran in most of the papers …
It is still widely acknowledged as one of the pivotal pieces of communication.
Not just by the industry.
Not just by NIKE.
Not even by Liu Xiang.
But by people across China who woke up to that ad the next morning.
Turning anger to sympathy.
Turning abuse to respect.
Turning sport into culture.
I say all this because on the day England finished runners-up in the Euro’s, the English FA released – what I consider – the modern version of our Liu Xiang ad.
I hope it works for England and their players.
But mainly the players.
Because they did bring something home …
Every one of them.
Pride. Unity. Hope.
Until those racist fucks robbed it off them … off the rest of us.
And while the media may like to suggest those responsible are a small minority of hooligans, the reality is it’s not a small minority and hooligans are not some cartoon villain.
In fact the problem is these pricks live amongst all of us. They are invisible because they look, live and work like so many of us. They’re fathers. Sons. Brothers. Uncles.
They’re also racist scum.
Exemplified by their hate towards the 3 England players who missed their penalties.
These 3 brilliant and inspiring men are young.
Hell, Bukayo Saka is 19.
NINETEEN.
At that age I couldn’t even ask out a woman who worked on the till at Asda, West Bridgford … so anyone who gives him shit when he’s playing for the England national football team, in the final of the Euro’s, at the most intense and pressured moment of the entire tournament, with billions watching can just fuck off.
Winning FIFA 2014 on Playstation doesn’t make you a winner, it makes you a fantasist.
And to them I am glad football didn’t come home.
I just wish football could take them far away from it.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Confidence, Consultants, Content, Creativity, Culture, Digital, Fake Attitude, Innovation, Management, Perspective, Planners, Point Of View, Professionalism, Relevance, Resonance, Respect
I used to think it took a lot of hard work to be simple.
A lot of thinking.
Evaluating.
Sharpening.
Changing.
But maybe I was wrong because I literally cannot imagine how much time it took to create this:
It’s a masterclass in nonsensical.
A blueprint for showing a company who doesn’t know what they actually do.
A celebration of the buzzword bingo bullshit that permeates so many organisations.
Basically, imposters talking to imposters with words they’ve so bastardised the meaning of, that you’d be hard pressed to recognise their original definition if you were left alone with them in a bar overnight with only a dictionary for company.
The verbal equivalent of Mickey Rourke.
Or Lara Flynn Boyle.
Hence now …
Innovation means ‘we’ve made something average a little bit better’.
Revolution means ‘we’ve never done this before though others have’.
Experience means ‘we offer our customers boring and average’.
Transformation means ‘we’ve caught up to everyone else’.
[hence ‘digital transformation’ is simply code for, ‘not being left so far behind’ as opposed – as many in the industry also like to position it – as reinventing the whole category]
And while adland is the cause of a lot of this bullshit, the consultancies – or worse, the wannabe-consultancies – are taking it to a whole new level. Continually creating nonsensical language and definitions in an attempt to feel intellectually superior to those around them. Believing this sort of language acts as a sort-of ‘code’ that helps identify other delusionists, wannabe’s and/or victims … so they can revel and reward themselves with their Emperors New Clothes bullshit.
Until they can’t.
What is particularly amusing is these companies still celebrate the old adage of ‘quality over quantity’ … even though they show up with a level of excessive vulgarity that would put Donald Trump to shame.
Talking in plain English – or plain any language – is not a bad thing.
If anything, it is the most powerful.
Not just because it is easier to communicate and relate to.
Nor because it shows you can identify the core problem that needs addressing.
But because it captures something my old man used to say to all his young lawyers:
“If you want to show how intelligent you are, you’re not that intelligent”.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Culture, Mum & Dad, Prejudice, Racism, Relevance, Resonance
It’s easy to think some people can have whatever they want.
That they have the money to buy whatever they choose.
Or the business empire to create whatever they desire.
And while it’s no doubt easier to have things when you’ve got things … the reality is everyone – rich or poor – needs someone at some point in their life.
My Dad always said if you know people, you’re rich … and while mortgages can’t be paid in Linkedin contacts, I do understand what he meant.
When I look at my career, I realise so many of the opportunities I have enjoyed have come because of people I worked with or met along the way.
That doesn’t mean I had things handed to me on a plate – or no more than any other white, male has had that as an advantage – it just means because of the breadth of people I know, I’ve been able to do things that others may never have had the chance to experience.
While I think I’m pretty good at what I do, I am under no illusion I’m special – and yet I’ve been able to do so much that were beyond my expectations, whether that’s living around the World or working with Metallica – which highlights how much of life is down to luck.
In my case, while I didn’t go to a private school or a fancy university [or any university for that matter] I was born a white male … which means I was already hugely advantaged with ‘luck’ where life was concerned.
While this could easily become a rant about how fucking unfair this is – especially if you’re a Person of Colour or a female or gay or someone who does not identify themselves by male/female identity – I’m going to be writing about that next week, so I’ll end this week with the point this post was originally meant to have.
Recently I came across a letter from the writer John Steinbeck to Marilyn Monroe.
While it reinforces my point about the value of knowing people, the reason I’m writing about it is because it’s just beautifully written and shows a side of celebrity rarely seen.
Somewhere along the line, we seem to think all celebs know each other. Hanging out in each other’s pools and houses. Well, while it may be true now [it’s not] it certainly wasn’t true then – as this lovely letter to start your weekend by, clearly shows.
Have a great one.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Devious Strategy, Finance, Money, Relevance, Resonance, Respect
The picture above is a well known internet image that reflects the value of using professionals.
It’s right.
But where it’s not entirely accurate is that in the real world, what’s happening more and more is that rather than ending up with an image of a horse drawn by a blind, drunk, 5 year old … clients are getting a beautifully image because the professional has been forced to lower his price to get the work.
It’s shit.
What’s worse is that many of these highly talented, exceptionally trained professionals have been made to forget their own value.
It doesn’t happen immediately, it’s often a slow, drawn out process – but the end point is the same, they treat their craft as a commodity. Not because it is, but because they’ve been made to think that way.
When I started working with Metallica, their management asked for my rates and costs.
I gave it to them.
They told me I was a fool and I needed to triple it.
Let me be clear, I thought it was a fair cost – I wasn’t knowingly lowballing myself – and yet here I was being told it wasn’t just low, it was THREE TIMES LOW.
I said I couldn’t do that, it was in-line with market rates and I felt it was fair … to which they asked me a question that changed the way I value what I do.
“Do you think your work and your experience is better than the market?
I knew if I said no, they’d ask why they were working with me, so of course I said yes.
I have to admit, I felt a bit weird saying it, but there were 3 reasons that pushed me to do it.
1. I really wanted to work with them.
2. It was obvious they thought I was worth that amount.
3. Without being arrogant, my experience is pretty huge.
Now the reality is my fee was still a fraction of what many people in the industry charge, but for them to do that when they could have just accepted my fee and said nothing – especially as they knew I wanted to work with them – is something I will forever be grateful for.
It also means I work harder for them, to both repay their faith and keep justifying my rate.
Clever sods.
Since this moment, my relationship with charging for what I do has literally done a full 180.
It’s why I was able to take on a procurement department when they tried to position me as ‘just another supplier’.
It’s why I enjoyed doing it.
It’s also why I was happy to do it in such a mischievous way.
For people who worked with me before – especially at cynic – this shift is amazing.
I was always George’s worst nightmare.
Agreeing to any price if the opportunity excited me.
It’s why I was banned from my own company when dealing with clients about money.
It’s why I still apologise to George for what I did.
Because I was not just undervaluing my talent, but everyone else’s too.
I know it’s hard, but the only way we will educate clients to pay what creative talent deserves – which, let’s not forget, it still a fraction of what they happily pay consultants who don’t ever do the work they recommend – is to give them the standard their budget actually should pay for.
For example the horse at the top of this page.
Because craft is not an expense but an investment.
An investment that doesn’t just lead to better work, but work that lets your client achieve more from it. Whether that’s charging a price premium or simple making more people more interested in what they do.
As Harrison Ford said, the most important thing we can learn is the value of value.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Consultants, Culture, Empathy, Management, Relevance, Resonance
It’s August.
Month 8 of 2021.
Month 17 for so many of my mates working from home.
It’s quite interesting sitting in New Zealand and reading all these companies releasing reports about ‘the future of work’ when they are doing it from a position of semi-blindness.
Yes, there are many, many benefits from working from home.
For a lot of people, the hours saved on commuting are incredible.
And there’s definitely a lot of benefits for companies having people work of home.
The savings on office space alone do that.
But the reality is after a year of that, being back in an office – albeit in a country that has dealt with COVID better than anyone – the impact has been huge on me.
It reminded me of the thrill of working with other people.
Debating ideas.
Discussing issues.
Talking bollocks.
There’s a camaraderie that you don’t get on a video conference.
In addition you don’t have to always be ‘on’.
Always look like you’re busy.
Always look like you’re paying attention.
Always look like you’re on top of everything.
That doesn’t mean you can be a slack bastard in an office, but it means the pressure of ‘being on’ reduces. That may seem counter-intuitive in an environment where you are always seen, but it is because of that you let your human side come out. The different forms of your energy and presence.
What all these companies banging on about having fixed ‘the future of work’ are actually saying is what is the future of THEIR work. What they want THEIR environment to be. What THEIR individual category allows them to do.
They can put out as many survey monkeys as they like to their employees, if doesn’t mean they know the future of work.
It’s also laughable these organisations are proclaiming they have all the answers when they were often the ones who encouraged/forced people to come to their offices every day … and would then actively fight against anyone who wanted to operate under slightly different terms.
If we want to learn what the future of work is, we’d be far better off listening and learning from companies or organisations who operated this way since before COVID forced change than anyone else. Which means I’d trust Mary Kay Cosmetics or even Anonymous more than many of the big talkers out there right now.
The reality is people can adapt more easily than companies have ever given us credit for. But what the future of work is for them and us is going to dependent on many factors … of which one is remembering what it is like to be in an office again.
At the end of the day it will likely be a balance – something that works for the 3 main parties of people, clients and company – but what I’ve found interesting from the people I’ve spoken to who don’t want to go back to the office, is they’re not just saying it for financial/commute reasons, but because they hated how the company made them feel constantly oppressed and judged when they were inside their 4 walls.
In fact, having spoken to a number of people on Corporate Gaslighting … many have said that working from home would have saved them from the worst of bad management.
Which is the real lesson about the future of work for companies post covid.
Do you have a culture people want to be a part of or want to stay away from?