Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Design, Insight, Luxury, Management, Marketing, Professionalism
When I was young, I loved cars.
OK, I still do … but back then, they held a particularly strong fascination.
Freedom. Independence. Status.
Now while there are many cars that are burned into my consciousness – the Ford Fiesta XR2, the Fiat X19, the Triumph TR7 to name a few – there is one that has a special place in my heart.
Not because I wanted one, but because in my provincial mind, it represented the pinnacle of success.
It was … a Ford Granda.
Yes … that tank like thing at the top of this post.
I know … I know … how utterly shameful.
As I said, it wasn’t a car I aspired to owning or driving – besides, I was years off being allowed to drive – but it was the biggest car on the road and in my small, little mind, that meant the driver was doing one of the big jobs in life.
You have to understand that I was entering as period of my life where school life was soon going to make way for the rat race … and while I was good at school, I was crap at exams so I was looking for direction in terms of a job that could one day, potentially let me own a Ford Granada.
Jesus, I was sad.
It gets worse … because I still remember seeing a man drive a BMW 7-Series when they first came out and going up to him to ask what he did for a living as I couldn’t believe anyone in West Bridgford – my home town – could ever have a job that let them buy a car like that.
The irony was it was less about having something that would convey status and success to the outside world and more about setting a goal that would let me think I have done OK in life if I ever got to own one.
Which I didn’t .
The reason for all this is that I recently watched a video for the launch of the MK II Granada.
It’s long, but it’s worth watching for a whole host of reasons.
Part of it is because it highlights how far the car industry has evolved since 1984 interns of technology and what they regard as driver/passenger comfort and sophistication … part of it is because it’s funny to see them make big claims about small features [digital clock anyone?] … but the biggest part is how much technology we still regard as luxury is over 30+ years old.
It doesn’t make me want a Granada, but it does help me feel less foolish rating them in 1984.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Food, Italy, Marketing Fail
Cultural appropriation is a big subject these days.
I have to admit, I am torn by it.
Of course, when someone adopts anything from another cultural background and doesn’t acknowledge it’s origins – or doesn’t ensure it is expressed with the respect and context it deserves – then it’s bad [I’m looking at you Gwen Stefani] but I can’t help feel that in some circumstances, it can help build ties between heritages that can encourage understanding and acceptance.
Jesus … I sound like a Ms World contestant don’t I.
If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s all because I wanted to show this photo …
Yes, that really is a pizza with chips on it.
CHIPS!
And it was at Whole Foods.
An American firm using British chips on an Italian cuisine.
If I was Italy, I would see this as a legitimate reason to declare war … but then, based on this campaign from my mate from a few years ago, maybe Italy culturally appropriated pizza from South Korea.
Maybe.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Comment, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Music, Queen
The picture above is a ‘behind the scenes’ photo of Queen preparing for a photoshoot.
Not just any photoshoot … but one that define their immortality.
Now looking at the state of them, you’d not thing that was possible.
John Deacon is wearing a Queen t-shirt for christsake.
But in the hands of the brilliant photographer Mick Rock, he turned these 4 lads into genuine music icons with an image that will outlive the band and define an album, a song and a video for decades ahead.
At a time where more and more people are trying to devalue the value of craft, I hope people see this and remember it’s not a cost, but an investment that pays for itself many times over.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand Suicide, Comment, Confidence, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Emotion, Empathy, Equality, Experience, Management, Marketing Fail, Money, Perspective, Prejudice, Relevance, Resonance, Unfair Life
I know I said there’d be no posts while I’m away, but this is important.
As many of you know, a few weeks ago I wrote about a management style where the goal appears to be to systematically destroy the confidence and self-worth of their employees.
While I suggested a few possible reasons for their approach, the reality is – intentional or not – what they’re doing is abuse, pure and simple.
I am well placed to say this because – as I also wrote in the post – I had once been a victim of it.
Well that post hit a big nerve because within 72 hours, it had been shared thousands of times on Twitter and I received over 250 stories of abuse from people who previously thought they were alone in facing this cruel and debilitating experience.
I must admit I was initially shocked how many people had been affected until I remembered the reason this topic is so rarely talked about is because one of the ways the abusers get away with it is they make the victim feel so worthless, they believe it’s all their fault and so keep quiet out of shame for their supposed inadequacies.
Reading so many stories of pain made me both very sad and very angry and I knew right them that I wanted to do something about it, but the reality is I didn’t know what I could do.
Then I got an email from someone I used to work with …
Rather than tell me they had gone through a similar situation at work – or even their thoughts on my post – they asked if what I’d written was about them.
After telling them that if they feel guilt, then maybe they needed to take a look at how they conducted themselves [because at no point had I mentioned any names or places in my post] I then realised there was a way I could try and help stop this situation happening to others.
Let me introduce you to a site I’ve set up called Corporate Gaslighting.
Corporate Gaslighting [available at TheyTriedToKillMeButI.Live] is my attempt to try and stop this slow, systematic abuse from bad management while also hoping to help those who have been victims of it.
The goal is simple, but hard.
Simple because all I want to do is fill it with people’s [anonymous] stories of their abuse.
Hard because I know how damaging these experiences are and how survival often means burying them deep down inside and kidding yourself they don’t exist … even though you know very well they do and they’re eating you alive.
But the benefits will hopefully be worth it for two key reasons.
For management … my hope is they come and read the stories to be reminded of the responsibility they have for the people they manage. And if they end up reading something they think is specifically about them … then maybe it will force them to look at their actions and behaviours and – for their sake – start to change them.
For victims … my hope is that by either writing their story or reading others, they’ll not only realise they’re not alone in this slow, viscous destruction of self-confidence, but the reasons for it happening have absolutely nothing to do with them and all to do with their managers. If I achieve this, my hope is it helps removes the stigma of guilt and failure we are all made to feel we brought on ourselves … because then it will remove the power abusive managers have over us … allowing us start to valuing ourselves again and [hopefully] giving us the strength to take action rather than only take the abuse
But none of this can happen without stories which is why this post is directing people to the site where they can learn how they can get involved to help themselves and help others.
Corporate Gaslighting isn’t about revenge. It’s about change, help and encouragement.
With that in mind, it has been designed to be a safe place to be vulnerable.
No names. No comments. No judgement.
What happens next is up to you.
I am just here to help.
Thank you.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Honesty, Imagination, Innocence, Insight, Marketing, Mum, Mum & Dad, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Positioning, Relevance, Resonance
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been invited to speak at a couple of conferences – in Hamburg, for the APG, and at ‘Closeness’ in London.
In both cases, I was asked to talk about the importance about empathy – something I’ve been banging on about for centuries.
And in both cases, I felt the best way to do it was to talk through the lens my Mum had taught me … which is the title of this post.
For an industry that is supposed to understand people, I’m surprised how few seem to really understand what that means.
Rather than understand hopes, dreams, fears, ambitions and contradictions … it seems we prefer to focus on the bits that are relevant to our business needs, without seemingly realizing the important role context plays in shaping how we live.
If you don’t get context, you don’t get people … and you don’t get context without investing time.
Not focus groups.
Not ethnographic studies.
But an on-going commitment to going down the rabbit hole of people’s lives to understand how they live and the nuances that separate each and every one of us.
You can’t do this if you want to ‘fast forward’ to the bits you have pre-determined will be useful to you.
You can’t do this if you want convenient answers to ‘sell your campaign’.
You can’t do this if you want answers rather than understanding.
This last point is especially important.
Frankly, understanding is becoming a lost art.
Understanding is built on emotional connection, not intellectual.
Where you leave your prejudices, barriers, filters, expectations and hopes at the door and focus. Asking questions to understand more about what someone is saying than to get the answers you want to your specific challenge.
It’s hard.
It takes real practice.
Because while you may appreciate every person has a story … it can only truly be revealed if you let them do it in their own way, in their own time, in their own words. Which means you might end up hearing things that makes no sense to you, even though it makes perfect sense to them … and while that might not initially seem valuable, you’ll soon realise it’s immense.
But all this takes time.
And takes a real commitment.
However it lets you go back with knowledge that enables you to make work that feels like it was born from inside the culture rather than from a bunch of observers.
Work that is filled with the nuances that makes the audience take notice.
Care.
React to.
Feel respect towards because it shows respect to them.
Or said another way …
Work that is resonant to culture rather than just relevant.
And it all starts by being interested in what others are interested in.
Not for commercial gain, but because you are interested in who people are.
It’s why my Mum is still teaching me how to live, 4 years after she has gone.
And now she is teaching others too.
Thank you Mum.