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!
The world is moving at a zipping fast space. While you read this post the world have tweeted away at about 2200 Tweets per second, Tumbled (is that what it’s called?) about 333 posts per second, Facebook’d about 12,000 status updates per second and sent about 280,000 emails per second. Not that these are a REAL measure of the pace of things but they sure are indicative of the life we live are embracing with each passing day. The real question to ask at this point….does the world need to slow down?
I don’t know if it does but it clearly is feeling the need to. You often hear people complain that life is moving too fast and that time is passing by very quickly. So I decided to do what any savvy marketer would do, conduct some solid research and put an end to all the heresy. I went on Twitter to do my research and here is what I found. A New Jersey Girl, a Las Vegas dude, a Singaporean God Lover and a politician from Kosova all saying the same thing. Yes my dear readers this phenomena is truly global!
Is it time to slow down? If people from three continents are saying the same thing then it better be true! Right? I mean these people represent a good three-fourth of the world population don’t they? Isn’t this how we do research these days?!
Looking at a more expert perspective (yes I looked into those as well, I don’t call myself a strategist for nothing eh!) Carl Honore wrote a book on the subject “In Praise of Slow, How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed”. Speed is not always a bad thing I mean some places could really use speed like certain Government Offices that I have come across not pointing fingers or anything (Did I tell you I work in Saudi Arabia?).
But by and large ‘Time Poverty’ – the inability of a large number of people to embrace the present and optimize their experience at that moment has inspired what is known as the ‘Slow Movement’. Even a mock organization – the International Institute of Not Doing Much (IINDM) has been setup to champion this cause. It is a huge philosophy that encompasses many dimensions of our life from Slow Food, Slow Parenting, Slow Travel to Slow Art and beyond!
Being an ad man I guess I notice and look up only when something has implications on branding and advertising. They say advertising is a function of and is inspired by popular culture. It seems “Slow” is becoming the new BIG even in advertising, if not globally then at least in Australia. It’s either that the ‘Slow Movement’ has gained momentum to the point that it is spilling over to brand communications or it’s just some creative guys taking random inspiration. Whatever the case, seeing some commercials inspired by this idea is enough for me to see smoke even when there is no fire. I am sure the flames are not far behind! Check out the videos below to see my pick of ‘Slow Advertising’:
Seriously! If you are reading this then somewhere something inside of you made you question ‘what if this is true!’ Most of you are feeling very skeptical I am sure, but the curious ones amongst you wanted to find out more. Well I have good news…your curiosity is about to be rewarded! This is for real.
The all new Lamborghini Aventador was launched at the Geneva Motor Show last month. OK! So what? Except for those extreme car enthusiasts most of us did not hear about it and will not hear about it unless you see it in a movie or something. More importantly most of us will not be driving one of these unless we are the chosen one! So why should we care? Well the official film has just been released and it has blown me away! WOW! is the word. I have to say this is one of the most awesome car commercials I have ever seen. But then I say this about every Lamborghini commercial.
Why is this such a big deal? Simply because of the fact that this car is a 700hp V12 beast with the highest power to weight ratio compared to any car in it’s class. Which is really a big deal! (By the way I learnt that fact after seeing the film). So what then! Why did this video excite me more than the rational information about the car itself. Well they say a picture is worth more than a thousand words and this video really captures the sheer performance, power and handling of this raging bull in a way that is simply superb! It evokes emotion with every frame!
Trying to decode my own reaction and what you are about to experience in a bit I remembered a concept I had read about in Buyology by Martin Lindstorm. The concept of “mirror neurons”. The idea being that when we see something like an action, our mind replicates and exhibits the same energy and activity of someone who is actually experiencing the act. So for these next three minutes because of the way our mind works, we feel like that driver who is smoothly drifting and cruising through earthquakes and armageddon! So when I said drive the new Lamborghini Aventador NOW I really meant it. At least in your mind! So without any further delay I proudly present to you an experience in the Lamborghini Aventador – the newest bull from Italy. Check it out!
Coca Cola, the iconic brand that sits at the top of the 100 most valuable brands list according to Interbrand, is making a big push into the musical array in 2011. For a sugary drink that is not really good for anyone holding the top spot really goes to show the power and position of the brand in the minds of the consumer. If you come to think about it all the strategic moves by Coca Cola are aimed at creating a blue ocean of uncontested market space. Of course not everything they have done has been successful – case in point, Coca Cola Blak – the coffee flavored cola beverage. But by and large Coke was a beverage like no other at the time of it’s creation. In fact it was the only beverage in the world which had about 60mg of cocaine in every serving up until 1903. Rumor or True? No one knows. But time and time again they have done some wonderful things, like sponsoring one of the world’s most iconic TV shows – American Idol, thereby further entrenching their equity and association with music. Even the decision to work with Weiden + Kennedy was a great strategic move. To go for the hottest and not just the biggest. They have done some great brand building work for Coca Cola. Owning something broad and general like happiness was never going to be easy for anyone, but Coke certainly comes out on top in this space. From Happiness Factory to Open Happiness, W+K and Coke have produced some great creative across media.
And here we are in 2011 with another hot new initiative by Coca Cola – branded music. It seems that this is part of a larger strategic push that should unfold through the year. For now they have created a song supported by TV spots which is ruling the radio waves and conventional TV all the same. It evokes that moment when one gets carried away enjoying their music, singing along and feeling like a star. But first check out the video to “Can you feel it tonight” by One Night Only. Then see the TV spot adaptation below. Good stuff!
