Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Awards, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Zealand
Free newspapers.
Yes, they’re free.
Yes, they’re made of paper.
But news?
Most of the time I take them from the letterbox straight to the bin. And then I saw this …
A local, free newspaper that called itself ‘a rag’.
And do you know what I did?
I went and got it and then read it cover to cover.
15 years ago I talked about ‘unplanning’ … which is basically, the power of truth.
[Though in 2006, I also wrote a post about the commercial value of a single banana at Starbucks, so maybe the idea of ‘product loneliness’ had something to do with me picking up a copy of the paper. And you thought my posts were bad now, hahahahaha]
It was my reaction to an industry drowning under the weight of it’s own bullshit terms, techniques and approaches. Well you know what, it’s got worse.
So while calling a local newspaper a ‘rag’ is hardly a strategy … it makes more sense than so many of the strategy submissions I judged around the World over the last few years.
Oh my god the claims.
An item of food that reignited a culture.
A sales promotion that brought families together.
An alcohol company that inspires artistic diversity.
No … those examples are not a joke, they were real submissions … so with that in mind, a local, free newspaper that made a bloke pick up a copy, read it cover-to-cover then blog about it because they labelled themselves ‘a rag’, should be considered a Grand Prix winner.
Or in submission speak:
How a small plucky local, free newspaper become the most influential entertainment channel for international tourists.
Transformation. Disruption. Purpose. Blah, blah, fucking blah.
OK, I think I need to go and have a lie down … and lucky for you, it is going to last 4 days as I’m off to Melbourne so there’s no post till Wednesday.
You’re welcome.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Imagination, Insight, Marketing, Planning, Wieden+Kennedy
A long time ago, I met a prospective client who absolutely loved Wieden.
They were besotted with them.
I was at W+K at the time and asked them what it was that they liked about us – expecting them to talk about NIKE or some other global work.
Instead they said this:
“Any agency that can make me care about a brand of milk is genius”.
The ad they were talking about was this:
Now while that was nice to hear, there were 2 things that led to them that point of view.
1. They worked in a different market and category to milk, so the fact they saw this, reinforced the stretch of great creativity.
2. They looked for the brand of milk in their local supermarket … which reflected the stickability of great creativity.
Of course, what they were really saying was the secret to great creativity … and that is it changes how you look at the world.
I say this because I recently saw a great example of it.
It may not have the charm of If Cats Had Thumbs.
And it certainly doesn’t have the budget.
But it’s up there with making you stop, think and reassess.
Isn’t that great?
A simple statement that has changed what I think of door handles and the importance of door handles.
Or said another way, it’s made me care – possibly for the first time in my life – about something I use every day of my life, without fail.
When you consider the ad is simply a photo of a bloody door handle, you not only realise how brilliant the idea of equating it to a ‘good’ handshake is, you realise how shit so much advertising must be when they’ve got tens of millions to spend and they still can’t make something you remember.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Creativity, Culture, New Zealand
I recently had to go to a DIY centre.
On a Sunday.
For anyone who knows me, this is literally my idea of hell.
Fortunately I asked Jill to go inside instead of me to avoid having to kill myself.
I know that sounds like a shitty thing to do, but she LOVES DIY – and is amazing at it – so it was really a gift.
Anyway …
While I was waiting in the carpark, I saw their sign. This was it …
I don’t know about you. but when I looked at it, I didn’t notice the 15% off price guarantee, I noticed they had designed it to look like it had been done by hand.
Oh I get it, DIY store = DIY sign.
But …
Apart from this falling into the ‘cheeky Chappy’ tone that Uncommon destroyed with their [still] best work for B&Q, I can’t help thinking that if anywhere should have perfect signage and store interiors, it’s a DIY retailer.
Sure, there’s something ‘human’ about the imperfection of creation, but faking it doesn’t make me connect to the brand more, it makes me look at them and wonder what the fuck they were thinking.
Yes, it’s a minute thing.
Yes, Mitre 10 are pretty good.
But – as I am seeing a lot in NZ right now – this obsession with reinforcing stereotypes isn’t actually removing barriers for people to feel they can step in and step up with the ambitions or aspirations they have for their life … it’s keeping them, and treating them, like nothing ever changes.
NZ is an amazing place and has so many things the rest of the world could/should learn from … and we genuinely are grateful for the wonderful opportunity the people here have given us to live here – but for a nation that needs ambition and entrepreneurship to maintain a positive future, it’s amazing how little of that spirit is championed or celebrated by society, government and brands.
And while many will claim it’s because of the humble spirit of this great nation, it’s probably – and terrifyingly – because of this.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Chaos, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Innovation, Marketing, Music
There’s a brilliant documentary on the band The KLF.
For those who don’t know who they are/were, they’re a band formed in the late 80’s who wrote some of the early 90’s biggest selling singles.
Except, if truth be told, The KLF were more artists than musicians.
I don’t mean that in terms of them having many different business interests …I mean it in terms of them expressing their creativity in ever-more dramatic, provocative and intriguing ways.
From burning a million pounds to sampling without permission to firing a machine gun full of blanks at an audience live on television to delisting every song they ever made … and a whole lot in-between.
It’s a truly fascinating documentary, where you realise that everything they did – while not planned – was definitely deliberate.
But there’s one quote about them that stood out for me.
Not just because it captured who they were, but because it revealed what is missing for me in so much of the work the industry is producing.
I love that.
I love it so much.
But sadly, many in my discipline of strategy – and all the self-proclaimed marketing gurus – have killed that in the quest to flatter their own ego.
And it gets worse.
No, I’m not talking about the clients who value function, logic and attribution over shaping or changing cultures opinion, attitudes and feelings – though I could definitely talk about that – but the agency creative departments filled with people who want to make ads rather than use creativity to push boundaries.
The KLF may have been seen by the industry as anarchists … but for a band who had a few – albeit massive – hits in the 90’s, their work still is remembered, stands up to scrutiny and can be directly associated with cultural change which is more than pretty much anything our industry, or most industries for that matter, produces these days.
Of course, given the untold billions brands spend to have culture know them, value them and want them … this is pretty ironic.
Oh I get these brands still make a ton of money.
More than even The KLF could burn.
But this isn’t about distribution, habit or media spent, but influence, change and ambition.
This doesn’t mean the talent isn’t there to make something like this happen.
It is.
But it means nothing if the role it’s used for is to give clients what they want rather than what culture can never forget.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Age, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity
I cannot believe it is the end of June.
How did that happen so fast?
The problem with the year going so quickly is that so is my mortality.
When you’re in your thirties or forties … hearing someone has died at 73 seems centuries away, but when you’ve just turned 52, it seems like a week.
I’ve written how much turning 50 has affected me before.
From looking wistfully at photos of people who look a bit like my son, albeit much older … through to how much I love my wife … to finally appreciating a good garden … to talking about my career.
The reality is, if you’re still in adland at my age – or probably any industry – you definitely feel you’re approaching the end of your journey.
And you are …
That doesn’t mean you don’t have a shit-ton to offer or that you’re not doing exciting work … the reality is the industry has always valued ‘new’ over experience – or even creativity for that matter – so it’s just how it goes.
However from a pure ego perspective, it can still sting a little … especially when many of the people getting the acclaim have not done anything of note, other than play the self-publicity game very, very well.
Repeatedly shouting their reframed arguments, judgement on others work or modern takes on old behaviours and then – just as you’re about to turn into a bitter bastard – you realise that’s probably what the previous generation of adfolk thought about you and your mouth – and suddenly things look very different.
And as much as that revelation is a metaphorical kick in the face brings, it also is pretty liberating.
Because while it’s nice to be noticed – and there’s some people out there doing things that truly deserve to be because they’re trying to take the possibilities of creativity to new places, from POCC to Ivy Huang at Tencent to Mr Hoon Kim at Gentle Monster [and I know I’m biased given he’s a client of mine] to the usual suspects like Nils etc to name but a few – the reality is not being defined by your job or your title or your employer is far better for your health, happiness and creativity … and yet that is the opposite of what the industry promotes.
Your value is based on your title.
Your talent is linked to who you work for.
Your reputation is decided by how well known you are rather than what you’ve done.
I get it. I felt that way for a time. But it’s also a bit insane.
I cannot tell you how differently people listened to what I said when I was at Wieden than when I was at Cynic, despite that on many occasions, I was saying EXACTLY the same thing. It happens now with Metallica. People who wouldn’t give me the time of day before suddenly think what I spout has value because some heavy metal musicians treat me as their cat litter tray. But the reality is success is as much down to good fortune as it is talent – even though talent is still very important – so to play to what you think someone wants you to be rather than who you actually are only ends up undermining you.
You may not realise that till later, but at one point you’ll look in the mirror and know.
Let’s be honest, turning 52 is pretty pants.
Even more so when you find a photo of yourself at 22.
Yep, that’s really me … from my passport photo.
Hair, youth and serial killer stare.
But at 52 you ache.
You look older than god.
And you’re made to feel the industry you’ve pretty much given your working life to, is trying to leave you behind purely based on your age.
And despite me having so much fun and doing so much exciting stuff with bands, I still adore adland.
I may not like where it is going or what it now values, but it’s given – and continues to give me – so much and I’ll always be grateful for that.
And while my time in the industry is different to what it once was, it still gives me so much … with the latest gift being the realisation their issue with older people is their problem not mine.