Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Colleagues, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Context, Creativity, Culture, Singapore
Once upon a time – when we lived in Singapore – our oven stopped working.
We called a repair person and when they arrived, they noticed our kitchen sink and said:
“You have hot and cold taps, you are rich”.
Now while we knew we our place on Club Street was nice … it wasn’t overly special. It was pretty old and offered the same facilities we’d always had and that our friends and colleagues also had.
But it was that comment that snapped us out of our blinkered bubble … because while having a hot and cold kitchen tap is normal for so many, it wasn’t there and we’d been too arrogant and ignorant to realise it.
What’s worse is it was obvious as fuck if we had been a bit more self-aware.
But I tell you what, we were after that.
That wake up call was the foundation of my love of spending more time with people than behind desks. Living in the jungle, rather than hanging out in the zoo. And while it is not fool proof or all encompassing, it’s a damn sight better than relying on data that either removes the ‘humanness’ from the information or actively categorizes millions of people’s hopes, dreams, fears and ambitions into convenient, corporately-friendly, bite-sized chunks.
It’s why I laugh when I hear certain people talk about ‘culture’ … because frankly, many don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Not just because they see – and dissect everything – through the lens of marketing, but because like I did in Singapore, they choose to think their bubble is everyone’s bu
It’s one of the reasons I love talking to fans of sports teams.
Let me tell you, nothing reinforces how much logic is personal rather than universal than a conversation with them.
And it’s both brilliant and important.
Because where certain individuals like to suggest fandom and loyalty is expressed through the semi-regular purchase of a particular product or the recognition of specific ‘brand assets’ … the reality is neither of those have much to do with how fandom or loyalty is truly embraced.
For those really into whatever they’re into, you discover their emotions, motivations, hopes and dreams are inherently linked to the work, actions, decisions and outcomes of whoever/whatever they believe in. Work, actions, decisions and outcomes that may not make sense to anyone else other than them.
And while some may question why you would bother caring about what they think if they’re outliers, as the old saying goes, ‘it’s better to mean everything to someone than try to be something for everyone’.
But it’s more than that.
Because those ‘outliers’ are beacons and magnets to the masses …
Helping them discover, develop and explore who they are and who they can become by opening new possibilities rather than reinforcing and reflecting what everyone knows and where everyone has already been.
It’s the approach that built NIKE … built Apple … built Liquid Death … built Metallica … built Gucci … built all the brands who have an authentic, energetic role and position in different subcultures. [Which. despite being the names most marketing departments point to in terms of aspiration, rarely get challenged because ultimately, most organisations are built to follow processes rather than potential]
And while I fully acknowledge you have to work hard to attain it, the basics aren’t difficult.
You just have to give a shit about what others are interested in and doing.
But sadly we live in a world of corporate convenience … where the economic benefits of process complexity, C-Suite complicity, and/or pundit popularity beats spending unfiltered time listening, learning and experimenting with the very people who create the subcultures around your category than you do yourselves.
Which is why the most important thing we can do for our work, clients and career is make sure we’re comfortable being uncomfortable, because the only thing that will keep us ahead of things like AI, is looking to the edges rather than aspiring for the comforts of the middle.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Context, Details, Freddie, Liquid Death, Queen, Tattoo
As you all know, I love the band Queen – or should I say Queen up to, and including 1984, when they were still rock stars rather than entertainers.
Anyway, I found an article recently where Freddie talked about the way the band operates behind the scenes … specifically why there is a difference between leading a band on stage and leading the band as the boss.
While it is true Queen was definitely a band – with all 4 consistent members contributing songs/hits to their repertoire as well as each member having a specific role within the bands operations, for example bassist John Deacon was in charge of their financial interests – you do get the impression that while all 4 members may have been equal, Freddie was maybe a little more equal than all the others, ha.
That said, what I love about what he says is that it’s a beautiful reminder words matter, details matter and understanding matters … and given our industry seems to be at a place where every man and their dog has ‘hot takes’ that they spout liberally with all the definitiveness of God – despite many not having had any direct experience or knowledge on the subject matter they’re claiming expertise in – the value of precision has never been so important.
[Case in point: all the people smugly hating on Liquid Death because they’re re-evaluating their roll out into other markets … as if [1] they’ve never made a mistake in their life and [2] they’ve launched a brand that in just a few years is worth over US$1 billion. The delusional, egotistical, condescending imposters]
And just in case someone thinks it, I did not write this post to simply justify showing off my latest tattoo …
Probably.
Recently I was walking around where I live when I saw this …
Apart from being proud/relieved that the pranks from my childhood are still thriving [although, given I live in NZ, some may say it is evidence the country is running 20 years behind everywhere else] I couldn’t help think this could be a Mini ad campaign.
You see given how massive Mini’s are these days – at least compared to what they once were – I was surprised how small that one looked under that road cone.
With that in mind, maybe they could do a whole bunch of print ads that feature everyday objects from the road, which they then put next-to, or on, the car and – just like that – they’ve reinforced both the name of the brand as well as remind the car-buying public of its size advantage [albeit more because there’s so many bloody massive SUV’s on the roads these days, rather than because Mini are teeny-tiny]
You’re welcome BMW.
Please make your cheque payable to R Campbell.
Filed under: Comment
I find horoscopes fascinating.
Mainly because while the vast majority of people think they’re a bunch of hocus-pocus, the moment you read one that says something complimentary about your future or character … suddenly you become a full-on believer.
It’s similar to how you act when you meet someone you’ve not met before and discover you share the same birth sign.
Regardless of who they are, where they’re from or what they believe … you suddenly feel some weird kinmanship with them.
It’s utterly bonkers.
OK, I get some people are really into it but I definitely subscribe to the ‘more fiction than Harry Potter’ school of thought … especially when they go all pseudo-science with their ‘Jupiter rising’ type stuff.
Or so I thought, until I was going through some stuff and found this:
Now I must admit I don’t know who sent me this.
And I don’t know if the person who did, is a Virgo or Capricorn.
But not only are they obviously competitive – seemingly with me – they seem to believe that thanks to some weird online horoscope thing, they have empirical evidence I’m the sort of person who’d stoop to cheating to win.
I bet they feel really smug with themselves … but on closer reading, the ‘evidence’ they are hanging their reputation on, ends up actually being in my favor.
First it states that my unknown nemesis has bought a more powerful car than mine.
Then it points out I sabotaged their engine before the final race.
The emphasis here is on ‘final race’ because that means there must have been prior races before we got to ‘the final’. And that suggests – at the very least – I won an equal amount of races as my competitor, even though they had a more powerful car.
Which is my way of pointing out that the horoscope is basically acknowledging my driving skills were superior to my opponents, so maybe there’s more to this mumbo jumbo than I originally thought … acknowledging this also proves my original point in this post. Damnit.
As you can tell by this post, I am in desperate need of some sleep so have a good weekend and hopefully the quality of posts next week is vastly superior to the barrel-scraping of today.
Filed under: Collegues, Comment, Context, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Family, Friendship, Honesty, Love, Loyalty, Parents, Perspective, Reputation, Resonance, Respect
Maybe it was because I was in a sentimental mood.
Maybe it was because some feelings were triggered.
But one day, I found myself feeling very emotional.
There were two things that did it …
One was the mother and son rendition of Creep that I wrote about recently the other is what I am writing about today.
In essence, it’s a love story … albeit a tragic one.
A story about friendship rather than romance or family.
And while there are many twists and turns spanning over the 12 years of the story, you never doubt that the driving force behind it is to honour an increasingly complex relationship.
I appreciate it is almost an hour long. I appreciate its a Thursday. But I do hope you watch it.
Because while the film is defined as ‘a crime documentary’, it is so much more than that.
It certainly isn’t as the hyped-up, click-bait, thumbnail suggests.
It’s not bombastic or dramatic.
In many ways, the whole thing feels in slow motion.
I don’t mean that in terms of it how long it takes for the story to be told, but in how gentle and caring the people involved reveal themselves.
In many ways, it’s an important reminder that love, family, friendships and life are made up of beauty, fragility and – more often than we may want to accept or acknowledge – mystery.
And while we may not intend it.
And sometimes, may not even realise it.
The choices, actions and behaviours we make can leave the people we care about with questions they may never get to resolve.
Questions that can turn into scars that will never heal.
Or, like in this story, scars that can finally start to recover.
What is beautiful about this documentary is that it radiates humanity.
Everyone in it comes out of it with your respect and compassion.
You want these people in your life. You want more people like this in all of our lives.
And this is a reminder they’re there.
They’re all around us.
We just have to see them. Before it’s too late.
I hope it touches you as much as it touched me.