Creativity is a strange thing! It’s elusive and daunting but at the same time it is so easy to find senior creatives living with a false sense of greatness, believing that every piece of work they create is God’s gift to the planet. Yet when you see creative brilliance the end product seems so simple nevertheless. As a strategist, there is a parallel between what a planner would do and what a creative does. Both need to take a leap – one takes a strategic leap the other a creative leap. The question is how?
There are obviously many ways, tools, thinking frameworks, stimuli, processes, disciplines etc. that the best creative minds in the world have devised which can at least enable creative brilliance if not ensure it. One thinking framework is a media-neutral mindset. Before the digital era came upon us there was a time when “Integrated” and “360 degrees” were the buzz word in marketing communications. That time was not too long ago but it was an era when the worst form of integration was simply adapting a single idea, mostly led by the TV commercial, and pasting it across media, usually in the form of static media like print, outdoor, retail and your occasional web banner ad. On the other hand 360 thinking at it’s best was to come up with a “Big Idea”, a media neutral thought that can be scaled to any level where each media would play it’s unique role to carry the message forward both independently and as part of the larger story.
Somewhere in between these big ideas are those one-off brilliant (dare I say small) ideas. I often wonder what was the starting point for such creative brilliance. Have a look at these two examples:
IKEA “Curtains” – Cinema Ad
3M’s Post-it Super Sticky Notes ”Train”
The question is! What are these ideas a product off? Is it simply great media-neutral thinking focusing on the key message and coming up with the best media to communicate the idea? Or is it a creative leap on a media decision that was already made? Why the doubt? Well for one on an everyday basis client briefs tend to have already taken a media decision. For example, in the case of IKEA the brief could have been to do a cinema ad. The creative team in this case took the leap and came up with the idea of using the right moment before the movie when the curtains are drawn to place their message.
Similarly, what about the 3M Post-it Super Sticky Notes on a train? Was the starting point media neutral? Suppose on the one hand the brief was to communicate the strength of these Super Sticky Notes most probably through a conventional media campaign but the creative team believing in media neutral ideas came up with a live demonstration of the product strength “What if they can be stuck on a high speed train and if none of them come off by the end of the journey then this is an undeniable proof of the product benefit?” Or the brief itself required a non-conventional media solution to demonstrate the product benefit and the creative were put in that mindset to think out of the box from the word go and so they did. I would like to believe this is truly great media neutral thinking at least in retrospect. But then again perhaps not! What do you think? Have your say in the comments section below.
It’s amazing how a powerful story can be told in just under 60 seconds. In fact sometimes it can be done in as little as 30 seconds. This is truly a masterful achievement. This is when advertising transcends from blatant commercialism to a higher art form. The way a poet manages to say so much while saying so little. The best advertising aspires and in some cases achieves to do the same. Anyone can throw an endless tirade to make a point but only a genius can make a point in the fewest of words.
The beauty of this is further magnified when what is created also delivers on what it was commissioned to do. In the end all advertising is paid for by a client to achieve and enable a business result and therefore there is an ethical obligation for it to deliver on the objective and not be an art form that is an end in itself. The challenge therefore is double. Not only has advertising to deliver on it’s commercial purpose but it has to be done in a way that exhibits all the passion and effort of an artist who creates his subject purely for the love of what he is doing. That indeed is a tall order since an artist chooses to create as he pleases when he pleases. An advertising creative has to deliver on whatever they are assigned in a preset time and both are not always their choosing. They usually would have very little control on what they can work on and by when.
When I come across this advert (I will not reveal the name and let you find out for yourself) I felt this was another case of beautiful storytelling. When a simple product message gets delivered in a way that is memorable and central to the story and at the same time captures the magic of what makes movies and films great then that is indeed something worth celebrating. See you for yourself!
The simplicity and surprise is outstanding. A simple product truth gets delivered through a powerful and captivating story. Kudos to the creative genius behind this and to the client for approving such a simple and bold piece of communication. Great work!
Coca Cola continues to spread happiness through everything they do. We still see many ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free’ offers as we scan a supermarket aisle. They are mostly faceless promotions purely driven to push product down our throat (or wherever else) with no brand building or engagement at heart. And here we have Coca Cola creating a spin on the same old same old.
Cocal Cola uses a bit of creativity to turn a Buy 1 Get 1 free promotion into a branded experience using a simple vending machine. The idea was to create a taller than usual vending machine that can be used normally but with the help of a friend can get you two cans for the price of one. What do friends need to do? They need to help each other reach the top of the machine where they can click the button which dispenses two cans. Alone this button would simply not be reachable.
The idea is wonderful at many levels. Besides the immediate impact on sales Coca Cola has created another on-ground experience which leads to genuine ”happiness”, this time between two friends. By capturing those moments on a video the same can and is being amplified in a big way online. This has turned a small scale brand activation into social content which is likely to go viral and further contribute to building the brand. Check the video below. The results are spectacular!
Hyundai adds a little extra to an already novel marketing tool – 3D Projection Mapping. The power to transform a landscape and immerse the viewer into an alternate reality is what’s driving the WOW! factor in these executions. With the evolution of projection technology, becoming both high definition and cost effective at the same time, combined with a growing expertise of 3D talent the frequency of these executions worldwide is increasing at a rapid pace. Executions can be seen everywhere for anything from promoting movies like Tron and Iron Man 2 to events celebrating new year’s eve to some simply promoting a tourist location. Of course, of all the players in the game brands are right on top with some great work done for Samsung, Vodafone, Red Bull and Hot Wheels to name a few.
This time however for Hyundai the team behind the event in Malaysia has added a little twist. Instead of doing what everybody else is doing. They have managed to create a true to the brand immersive experience by actually putting the car at the center of the stage. The result is a fascinating journey that to my mind is a step above the rest. It rightly delivers on the brand promise of “New Possibilities” – imagine a car driving on the wall! Check out the video below and see for yourself!
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
Arthur C. Clarke, “Profiles of The Future”, 1961
This is probably the best way to describe Magnum’s Pleasure Hunt – an interactive experience that has been created to launch a new flavor for their ‘Temptation’ range. Like all good ideas, unconnected elements have been brought together to create an entirely new concept. Treasure hunt, the age-old game used by marketers to death, is presented afresh in the form of a virtual ‘pleasure’ hunt, taking a big creative leap from the original. The target group of ‘pleasure-seekers’ and their passions have been nicely captured through the array of brands selected for the experience.
In the end it’s a simple flash game that makes good use of technology and creativity to create a feeling of going from site to site as our virtual girl interacts with elements on the screen to collect bonbons. I think this is a great example of an interactive brand experience executed to perfection. You can experience the magic here or check out the video capture of the game below. It’s definitely worth a play!
