Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Craft, Creativity, Culture, Experience, Positioning, Resonance, Standards, Status, Stubborness
Over the years I’ve written a lot about the importance of craft.
About taking pride in doing the right thing, not the easiest.
Sweating the details, not just the obvious stuff.
Caring about how you do something as much as what you do.
And yet, despite so many companies talking big about how they’re a ‘premium brand’, it is amazing how a closer inspection, their actions and values reveal something else.
At least where craft is concerned.
Instead, everything they do is evaluated purely by their ability to design, manufacture and scale down to a price point rather than up to a definitive and differentiated standard.
It’s like their attitude is craft is vanity, cost is sanity.
And while the cost element is important, the irony is craft attracts profit, rather costs it.
Even more ironic is that it can do this without needing to make a big deal out of it … because to the people behind it, it’s not a big deal. For them, it’s simply about living up to the standards their brand deserves/expects through the professionalism and passion they live by.
Now I appreciate that may sound – at best – counter-intuitive and – at worst – pretentious as fuck. But the reality is that to the people who buy what they make, they can sense it.
And I say ‘sense’ because sometimes it’s literally a feeling.
A feeling everything has been deliberate, considered and fussed over.
It might be the materials.
Or it might be the packaging.
It may even be a tiny detail they don’t even see until someone else notices it.
A great example of that last point is this from PlayStation.
I love this.
I love it with all my heart.
Many would never know it. Many may not even feel it.
But when they eventually discover it … it will change how they feel about it.
Reinforcing what makes this brand special. How much it cares about standards. And who it is.
But even if that doesn’t happen, it is OK.
Because often this is not done to benefit the end customer, but to satisfy the values and standards of the creator.
And far too often, that attitude is viewed as an indulgent expense when the reality is, it’s the greatest investment you can make in helping create who you can become.
Which is why Steve Jobs talked about the importance of ‘painting behind the fence’.
Or in the case of Playstation, texturing behind the controller.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Respect, Revenge
I appreciate the last couple of posts have been quite heavy – especially for the start of the new year – so I thought I’d lighten the mood with an act of mischievous revenge.
As many of you know, I am quite a big fan of this sort of thing.
In my time, I would like to think I’ve done some stuff worthy of note.
I don’t mean the stickers at W+K or the badges at Deutsch or the mountain of other shit I’ve done over the years, because in all those cases, they were a sign of the love I had for the company and/or the people at the company.
No, what I’m talking about is some other stuff that some may view as petty, but I see as a way to give a little poke back to people/companies for previous shitty behaviour – whether to me or others – without ever being malicious, damaging or hurtful.
And no, I did not write that last bit to protect me from any legal implication.
Probably.
That said, compared to stuff I’ve seen others do, I admit, I’m a massive amateur.
Things like the guy who brought an ’emotional support clown’ to his redundancy meeting …
… or the guy who recorded telling his boss the reason his performance had declined over the past year – from being one of the companies top rated performers – was because he’d decided to only put in enough effort to match the salary he had been kept on for over two years.
But recently I came across something that, for me, is evil genius.
Evil in its brilliant mischief.
Genius in its ability to hurt without leaving scars or evidence to lead back to them.
Or at least until they posted about it under their name.
It’s this:
Amazing. Effie and Cannes gold worthy amazing.
Daniel, I may never hire you, but I’ll always salute you and be in awe of you.
Filed under: Comment
Happy 2024.
Did you all have an amazing holiday?
Given I’m writing this on January 15th and broke up for the holidays on December 21st, 2023 … it’s fair to say I did.
Different to one’s we’ve had in the past in NZ, but given those involved hospital visits, death and copious amounts of rain … I was here for it.
As I wrote last year, I made – and kept – a resolution. However this year I just have hope.
Not general hope, something specific so we’ll see if it works out. That said – being a superstituious idiot – I’m not going to fuck up its chances by saying what it is, haha.
So let’s start with year 18 of this blog.
EIGHTEEN.
An adult … that is more manchild … that is also the oldest of old people, given blogs stopped being relevant somewhere around 2014.
About the last time I wrote a relevant post.
But then this is less about that and more about me having a dumping ground for what’s in my head. Good, bad, stupid.
It’s also so when I’m gone, something of me hangs around.
Not for my ego, but for my son.
A place to stay connected to his Dad – and Mum – throughout his life.
Of course, whether he wants to do that is up to him … but I’d rather he has the choice than none at all.
Personally, the idea of having a place I could go to hear my parents voice – literally or through their words – would be wonderful for me.
In many ways, I ‘feel’ them more than hear them, and as comforting as that is, the reality is I would love more. Much, much more.
Of course, I am sure if I had that, it would raise a million questions.
Questions for more information.
Questions for deeper understanding.
Questions for more knowledge and advice.
And maybe the inability to get answers to these questions would ignite pain that it has taken me years to get past …
Or stop me being able to keep moving forward …
But I don’t think so. I think it would be more comforting to know they are still – in some way – part of my physical present.
That I am still able to engage with all their wonderful, silly, provocative, passionate and considerate and compassionate ways.
Oh how wonderful that would be.
Which is what I hope can happen for Otis.
And his Mum.
Or at least know it’s there for them should they want it to be there.
Because while blogging may be out-of-date, the reality is I wouldn’t care about the platform, just the access.
Now I appreciate this is not the usual comeback post.
Especially at the beginning of a new year … full of possibilities and hope.
But not only is death a topic we don’t talk about enough until we don’t have a choice … tomorrow will be 25 years since my Dad passed, so you’ll forgive me for my sentimentalty.
Besides, he’d secretly love that he is still so important in my life, even though he’d never want it to stop me living my life.
And he hasn’t.
Which I’ll let him – and you – know about tomorrow.
If this post hasn’t made you want to miss it, hahaha.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Family, Hotels, Technology
A long time ago, I was working on an innovation brief for a prestigious car brand.
As I sat there, listening to all the engineers talking, I realised their focus was more on optimising and evolving rather than innovating.
By that I mean, they were more focused on what they do and how they could make it better and more useful than embracing issues that were bigger than just the industry that they’re in.
So I said it.
Silence and incredulity.
“So what would you suggest?” one of them asked.
Now in these situations, it can only go one of three ways.
1. You go blank.
2. You say something they’ve already done/thought about.
3. You say something that makes them stop and think.
In the vast majority of cases – let’s be honest – it tends to be numbers 1 or 2, but on this occasion, I said something that fell into the last bracket.
“What if you made the car the most private, personal space they could be?”
That shut them up.
They weren’t expecting that.
To be honest, either was I … but while they came back at me with all sorts of technological and legal reasons why this couldn’t be done or wouldn’t be wanted – from car data through to our desire to be always contactable through our digital devices – the chief engineer was suitably intrigued for him to ask me to work with them on exploring what it could mean and who it would appeal to, most.
Which led to a year of one of the most interesting projects I ever worked on.
I should point out that when I talked about privacy, it was not about ‘isolation’ … though there is a value in that … I was talking literally about privacy.
Or said another way, ‘what goes on in your car, stays in your car’.
And while there was a bunch of fascinating research and explorations that went on in the quest to see where this could end up, it never got to where I hoped it would. And it certainly never manifested into an actual product I thought it could become.
Which is why this graffiti I got sent recently, hit home:
To me, this encapsulated where my head was at.
The desire to have a place where we are assured privacy and/or solitude.
A cross between a hibernation and a cultural vacuum, if you will.
To be honest, this was all influenced by work we did for Taj Hotels back in 2007 … where we blocked all mobile access at certain Taj resorts.
Back then, it was less about social media and more about the intrusion of work on family holidays … but the premise – and benefit – was the same.
[For the record, it was only possible because of where technology and the law was at back then. Plus all customers opted into this experiment with the acknowledgement there were alternative contact methods available, even if not as convenient]
Of course, I appreciate that was slightly different to what I put forward with the car idea. That was more about having a ‘social kills switch’ when the car was more a mobile ‘black hole’ … but I do believe the value of privacy – even momentary privacy – will soon rival that of FOMO.
We’re already seeing it.
From VPN’s to quiet luxury.
Not because we don’t want to be connected with the world around us.
But because we want to feel we have greater control over it.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Childhood, Comment, Context, Emotion, Friendship, Love, Mum, My Childhood, Parents, Paul, Television
I know, the title of this post must freak you out.
Frankly, it freaks me out as well.
Seriously … what is going on?
First I have lost a ton of weight.
Then I have started wearing shoes. AND SOCKS. COLOURFUL SOCKS.
And now I’m being positive? What the absolute fuck?!
The good news is all you have to do is look at the posts of last week and see that my default remains a sentimental, sarcastic, mischievous piece of shit.
Thank God.
But today is about being nice … and let’s face it, we all need it on a Monday.
So as a kid, I grew up watching the TV show, ‘Happy Days‘.
Many of you who read this blog – if there’s any of you – may be too young to know what the hell I’m talking about, but if you recognise the picture at the top of this post, or the name ‘The Fonz’, then that’s what I’m talking about.
While Happy Days was set in the 50’s, it was from America [which immediately made it cool in my eyes] and bridged the gap between kid and adult entertainment.
I used to watch it with my Mum and I still remember one episode where she laughed at a scene in the restaurant to the point tears were rolling from her eyes.
For that alone it would always have a place in my heart … but the reality is, like The Wonder Years that came along later, it was about relationships.
Relationships with family … friends … maturity … individuality … responsibility and life.
Sure, it did all this in a more light hearted, less poignant way than Wonder Years … but it was still there and I loved it.
The reason I am saying this is because of this …
That picture features one of the characters from Happy Days called, Potsie.
He was a funny character … good natured, enthusiastic but also undeniably naive.
Anyway, the photo shows him – aged 73 – getting married.
If that wasn’t lovely enough, he had recently beaten cancer, so it was a double celebration.
But even those 2 pieces of brilliant news aren’t the reason I love this photo so much.
The reason is that the other man in the photo, is his best friend Don Most … who was also his best friend in Happy Days when he played the character Ralph.
This news made me happier than I ever imagined.
Sure, I’m a sentimental old fart … but I was quite emotional reading this.
Maybe it’s because I am about as far away as I have ever been from my best mate, Paul.
Maybe it’s because the conflict in every aspect of life is starting to get me down.
Maybe it’s because it connects me to the times I would watch that show sat next to Mum.
Or maybe it’s just because it’s lovely and reassuring to see that good, gentle and long-lasting things can still happen – but whatever the reason, seeing ‘Potsie’ happy in love, life and health has also made me very happy.
Especially for a Monday, when it’s needed most.
Now let’s hope tomorrow sees me getting back to my usual cynical-bastard-self … because I can’t deal with this sickening level of positivity either.