Advertising sucks. Mr. Webber puts the industry on blast!
Harry Webber attempted to post this response earlier today at AdAge. For some reason it never made it to their blog. (I thought I would blast it here) See the original post here.
Advertising sucks.
No really. As an industry. You people are an embarrassment to the American ideal of liberty and justice for all. And you are an insult to the memory of every black or Hispanic soldier who ever shed blood or lost lives for American ideals on foreign soil.
But not just because of your narrow-minded and myopic world view. Your arrogance in the face of a documented history of biased hiring practices and brutal, systemic racism has singled you out as an example of an under-educated culture of self-important Neanderthals that have elevated the worst of our Nations character flaws to an mean-spirited art form.
This on-going act of white supremacy will continue as long as this industry is allowed to indulge in defacto apartheid. The truth is that this industry is not diverse for one reason and one reason alone. You people simply don't want to work with anybody who doesn't look like you. That's it.
There is no conspiracy here to deprive people of their equal rights. There is a culture here that seeks to replicate the esthetic of the Third Reich. Nobody says, "Don't hire that guy because he's black." It is simply "understood" that a black person is just "not the right fit" for the team.
How do you live with yourselves? How do you face the black child that comes home with your tween-aged daughter, announced as her "Best Friend For Life," knowing her father or mother would be dismissed as a candidate for employment in your firm because of something as trivial as the pigmentation of their skin?
Advertising sucks.
No really. As an industry. You people are an embarrassment to the American ideal of liberty and justice for all. And you are an insult to the memory of every black or Hispanic soldier who ever shed blood or lost lives for American ideals on foreign soil.
But not just because of your narrow-minded and myopic world view. Your arrogance in the face of a documented history of biased hiring practices and brutal, systemic racism has singled you out as an example of an under-educated culture of self-important Neanderthals that have elevated the worst of our Nations character flaws to an mean-spirited art form.
This on-going act of white supremacy will continue as long as this industry is allowed to indulge in defacto apartheid. The truth is that this industry is not diverse for one reason and one reason alone. You people simply don't want to work with anybody who doesn't look like you. That's it.
There is no conspiracy here to deprive people of their equal rights. There is a culture here that seeks to replicate the esthetic of the Third Reich. Nobody says, "Don't hire that guy because he's black." It is simply "understood" that a black person is just "not the right fit" for the team.
How do you live with yourselves? How do you face the black child that comes home with your tween-aged daughter, announced as her "Best Friend For Life," knowing her father or mother would be dismissed as a candidate for employment in your firm because of something as trivial as the pigmentation of their skin?
The Rise and Inevitable Liberation of the Black Creative Class
Urban Studies theorist Richard Florida makes a living writing about a group of individuals called the “creative class.” While some of our great American cities have seen precipitous declines in this postindustrial, Florida argues that our country’s still relevant cities have one thing in common—hipsters. If only Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland could have sold hipsters on the luxury of being in the rustbelt, they too could be like Seattle. Or, even better—Brooklyn.
Ok, Maybe not. But it appears that in our intensely hipster-aware popular culture, the idea of a creative class does have some resonance. Despite most of the creative class focus being centered around a white upper-middle class experience, I think there is sufficient evidence to say that over the last ten years we have witnessed over the rise of a sort a “black creative class.”
While not quite a fully cohesive group, the black creative class does share some similar traits. Because most of the group has been to college, and a considerable amount grew up in the suburbs, the black creative class fits somewhat neatly into the American definition of middle-class. After school, they generally migrate to a large city where a critical mass of other black creatives can be found. They are weary of essentializing conceptions of race but also discount the idea that we are living in a “post-racial” America. While most do not enter the arts or the entertainment industry directly, popular culture is the lingua franca of the black creative class. If you post an article that is critical of Tyler Perry on your Facebook wall, one of your black creative class friends will probably “like” it (if they did not already post it themselves). If you are not sure if you are talking to a black creative see if they respond positively to any of the following: Stringer Bell, Erykah Badu’s “Evolving” tattoo, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Hillman College, She’s Gotta Have It, early nineties black fashion, J*Davey, or Jean-Michel Basquiat (patron saint of black creatives).
After spending tens of minutes doing copious field research, here are some of my initial findings on what makes the black creative class tic:
1) Our revolution was televised
I am hesitant to give undue influence to television changes in our culture but for the black creative class, you cannot get around the fact that we grew up in the golden age of black television. In our childhood years, there was always a wholesome representation of the black middle class on TV. From The Cosby Show and A Different World to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Living Single, we consistently saw black families, black education, and black working professionals in prime time. Of course, these shows were being aired at a moment when the black middle class was increasing but, as a cultural backdrop, I think having these trends reinforced on a weekly basis has been critical for how the black creative class sees the world.
Just when you thought your devilishly handsome armpits were safe
He's back! The sexiest man in health and beauty category announcing. Get ready to be amused, charmed with a slight chance of over exposure. The new spot is as funny as ever, if not funnier. But can't you just see the agency saying, "No, it's done, we killed him off in advertising terms!" And the client saying, "Just calm down and reload." But when you have the most popular campaign ever in some ways, it's certainly deserves to live again... in some ways.
cred:
W+K
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The Boomerang Effect II Changing the Advertising & Marketing Game in 60 Hours
The Boomerang Effect II
Changing the Advertising & Marketing Game in 60 Hours
Save The Date: March 11 - 13
#boomerangeffect
The Boomerang Effect is a national social media experiment produced by collaborative partners,
The 60-hour event combines elements of social media, traditional networking, diversity and volunteering/community service.
For more information click the flyer about or visit: www.marcusgrahamproject.org/boomerangeffect/
For more information click the flyer about or visit: www.marcusgrahamproject.org/boomerangeffect/
Nigel Sylvester & Stevie Williams THE TAKEOVER TOUR
It has been said that if an immovable object collided with an unstoppable force, there would be an endless transfer of energy.
The same theory could be applied to pro-BMX rider Nigel Sylvester and pro-skateboarder Stevie Williams, two of action sports most influential athletes. In Summer 2011 the duo will join forces to create THE TAKEOVER TOUR, bringing together the the top talent in skate and BMX for a cross-discipline, traveling event that has yet to be seen in the sport.
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Nigel Sylvester & Stevie Williams THE TAKEOVER TOUR
It has been said that if an immovable object collided with an unstoppable force, there would be an endless transfer of energy.
The same theory could be applied to pro-BMX rider Nigel Sylvester and pro-skateboarder Stevie Williams, two of action sports most influential athletes. In Summer 2011 the duo will join forces to create THE TAKEOVER TOUR, bringing together the the top talent in skate and BMX for a cross-discipline, traveling event that has yet to be seen in the sport.
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As if Cleveland wasn't pissed off enough already
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Morning inspiration: Le Beat Box
French beat box phenomenon EKLIPS performs a 4 minutes history of HIP HOP for Trace Urban... In one single take! The whole thing get's a little mindless after about a minute and a half; Fact is dude is so good your convinced of his skills and wish he would get to the point. This is not what the American attention span needs. We like our 'commerce' in thirty-second bites. Big up to the Trace family for hitting it over seas.
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Kobe Bryant is, "The Black Mamba". Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Official Trailer 1
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Seven Ways Agencies Must Evolve in 2011
by Sean Corcoran
In 2010 some interactive agencies like Razorfish and EVB began hiring "earned media specialists" while some PR agencies like Waggener Edstrom and Horn Group built out interactive creative services. Meanwhile, some agencies with traditional creative heritages like Wieden & Kennedy, were pioneers in developing content that is truly agnostic to digital and traditional channels while also interactive (see Nike and P&G's Old Spice). Expect to see these trends become mainstream in 2011.
Media planning and buying agencies begin to broaden their horizons.While other agencies have been making fundamental changes to adapt to the ever changing digital environment, media planning and buying agencies are still very much focused on paid media (and are still compensated on volume of spend). While some have been successful integrating online and offline media teams, 2011 will open the window for dramatic change. These agencies will begin to take advantage of new digital media tools (e.g. DSPs, RTBs, exchanges, etc.), the growth of connected TVs and analytics platforms to move beyond just planning and buying advertising to expanding communication planning services that make them key strategic advisers to their clients. Look for agencies like Starcom Mediavest (with help from the Publicis Vivaki group) to pioneer this space, while those agencies that fail to evolve will become less relevant.
Agencies mature with social media.Certainly the great majority of marketers have a long way to go in figuring out how to integrate social media into the organization. But overall we're seeing marketers mature in this space and their agencies are maturing as well. While many different types of agencies are still battling for the overall strategy, many are now falling into place in their core skill sets: PR agencies tend to manage word-of-mouth and crises, interactive agencies tend to build strategy and applications, traditional creative and media agencies leverage social to compliment campaigns, etc. Expect this trend to continue as marketers continue to mature.
Mobile (along with tablets) becomes the next big land grab.With the massive growth of smart phones and tablets and the continued focus on emerging markets like India that have high penetration of mobile ownership, agencies are already fighting for mobile work. With their technology know-how, interactive agencies are in the best position to help marketers navigate the Splinternet but considering the opportunity in this space you can expect all agencies to have some form of mobile expertise in 2011 and beyond.
A whole new crop of specialists appear...again.Technology is moving so fast that new shiny objects are being created almost every day. 2010 was the year of social media boutiques like Big Fuel, Ant's Eye View, and Powered (recently acquired by the Dachis Group). New types of agencies (or non-agencies) are constantly popping up. 2011 will spawn new types of agencies in the emerging space. Consider Breakfast, an agency consisting of what you might consider inventors that focuses on futuristic experiences or Zugara, a firm that specializes in augmented reality. And many of these agencies will be scooped up by the big holding companies looking to fill out their skill sets. (Speaking of acquisitions, let's not forget that some big digital agencies like AKQA, Rosetta, and IMC2 are still independent and will become increasingly attractive to the holding companies looking to expand their digital portfolios in a highly competitive environment.)
Over the past couple of years we've seen some dramatic shifts in the agency landscape. In what Forrester has dubbed as "The Great Race For Relevancy," virtually every type of agency is now competing with each other like never before. Social media has become the great land grab and all just about all agencies are claiming to be "digital" in some ways. We don't expect the agency landscape to shake out and make sense in 2011. In fact, we expect more dramatic shifts. Here are some agency predictions for this year:
Agencies continue to hire and develop talent outside of their heritage.
Agencies continue to hire and develop talent outside of their heritage.
In 2010 some interactive agencies like Razorfish and EVB began hiring "earned media specialists" while some PR agencies like Waggener Edstrom and Horn Group built out interactive creative services. Meanwhile, some agencies with traditional creative heritages like Wieden & Kennedy, were pioneers in developing content that is truly agnostic to digital and traditional channels while also interactive (see Nike and P&G's Old Spice). Expect to see these trends become mainstream in 2011.
Media planning and buying agencies begin to broaden their horizons.While other agencies have been making fundamental changes to adapt to the ever changing digital environment, media planning and buying agencies are still very much focused on paid media (and are still compensated on volume of spend). While some have been successful integrating online and offline media teams, 2011 will open the window for dramatic change. These agencies will begin to take advantage of new digital media tools (e.g. DSPs, RTBs, exchanges, etc.), the growth of connected TVs and analytics platforms to move beyond just planning and buying advertising to expanding communication planning services that make them key strategic advisers to their clients. Look for agencies like Starcom Mediavest (with help from the Publicis Vivaki group) to pioneer this space, while those agencies that fail to evolve will become less relevant.
Agencies mature with social media.Certainly the great majority of marketers have a long way to go in figuring out how to integrate social media into the organization. But overall we're seeing marketers mature in this space and their agencies are maturing as well. While many different types of agencies are still battling for the overall strategy, many are now falling into place in their core skill sets: PR agencies tend to manage word-of-mouth and crises, interactive agencies tend to build strategy and applications, traditional creative and media agencies leverage social to compliment campaigns, etc. Expect this trend to continue as marketers continue to mature.
Mobile (along with tablets) becomes the next big land grab.With the massive growth of smart phones and tablets and the continued focus on emerging markets like India that have high penetration of mobile ownership, agencies are already fighting for mobile work. With their technology know-how, interactive agencies are in the best position to help marketers navigate the Splinternet but considering the opportunity in this space you can expect all agencies to have some form of mobile expertise in 2011 and beyond.
A whole new crop of specialists appear...again.Technology is moving so fast that new shiny objects are being created almost every day. 2010 was the year of social media boutiques like Big Fuel, Ant's Eye View, and Powered (recently acquired by the Dachis Group). New types of agencies (or non-agencies) are constantly popping up. 2011 will spawn new types of agencies in the emerging space. Consider Breakfast, an agency consisting of what you might consider inventors that focuses on futuristic experiences or Zugara, a firm that specializes in augmented reality. And many of these agencies will be scooped up by the big holding companies looking to fill out their skill sets. (Speaking of acquisitions, let's not forget that some big digital agencies like AKQA, Rosetta, and IMC2 are still independent and will become increasingly attractive to the holding companies looking to expand their digital portfolios in a highly competitive environment.)
Why Advertising Agencies Struggle With Social Media
BY JASON FALLS
The day an advertising agency’s creatives (art directors and copywriters) truly “get” social media and how to communicate ideas through social channels, is the day said agency becomes a relevant player in the new marketing landscape. Trouble is, in my experiences, advertising creatives are often solitary, anti-social types, content to focus on their art and craft even at the expense of changing with it.
Certainly I don’t infer that all creatives are this way. Many have made the transitionfrom “working on my book” to creating compelling communications. Many more have gravitated from nice print and outdoor pieces to providing creative direction for simpler methods of transmitting messages, like sales letters, Pay-Per-Click ad copy or even blog posts.
But the transition of the advertising creative to be able to include compelling social activations in their traditional communications concepts has not been an easy one for many. When you think about it, the media creatives typically deal with are known and, thus, uncomplicated. We understand that a billboard is stationary, can’t be too dynamic or distracting to the audience (lest it causes accidents) and must communicate a compelling, memorable message in art and copy that takes less than 10 seconds to comprehend.
Conversely, a piece of content you would provide to your audience on Facebook can be more complex in language, include dynamic or multi-media elements, but is also rather unpredictable in that the audience can respond to it. In fact, good creative execution on Facebook compels the audience to do so.
Now the creative concept must truly live outside a prescribed box of parameters. If the content is good enough, the audience will demand more and fast. Reactions or comments on the content may open new avenues to explore in conversation with your audience.
Trouble is, in my experiences, advertising creatives are often solitary, anti-social types, content to focus on their art and craft even at the expense of changing with it.
Facebook content potentially has a never-ending life of its own. A billboard gets taken down after a while because everyone who will see it, has.
The reason creative executions of social media campaigns work, like the Old Spice response commercials, is because the creative team took their thinking outside the confines of a set of parameters. The elements of size and duration are erased, even flipped to have the creative expectation ever-present and always changing.
In years past, an advertising campaign may evolve and have a life of its own, but there are typically weeks, even months in between the first set of commercials or placements and the next iteration that continues to tell the story.
In social media the time to press for phase two is often minutes.
Since first trying to communicate the importance and dynamics of the social web to the wonderful creative teams I worked with at Doe-Anderson to the custom training and education sessions I do with advertising agencies and PR firms today, I’ve been searching for that switch to flip and illustrate what can make a traditional creative understand how to approach social media marketing successfully. I haven’t found it yet and it will likely take collaborating with a creative to really nail something relevant.
But I’m understanding more and more that the roadblock has less to do with the personality of the art director or copywriter in question and more with the space and time differences in digital and social versus traditional executions.
Your ideas? How can we facilitate understanding and advancement within the traditional agency environment to help our creatives produce compelling communications that are persuasive, but also social? What are your agency creatives doing that compels you in this space? As a creative, what differences in approach do you find helpful in producing communications that work online?
Your thoughts will help shape our understanding of the conversation and contribute to a better environment for us all. the comments, then, are yours.
About Jason Falls

Jason Falls
Jason Falls is the founder and editor of Social Media Explorer. He is a leading thinker, educator,speaker and consultant in the world of social media marketing, public relations, digital marketing and communications. Please connect with him on Twitter (@JasonFalls).
Can I count it off?! The Hip-Hop Word Count: A Searchable Rap Almanac
The Hip-Hop Word Count (HHWC) is a searchable ethnographic database built from the lyrics of over 40,000 Hip-Hop songs from 1979 to present day. The database is the heart of an online analysis tool that generates textual and quantified reports on searched phrases, syntax, memes and socio-political ideas.
The idea to build the Hip-Hop Word Count came out of having hundreds of heated & passionate discussions about Rap music: Who was the best rapper of all time? Which rapper had the smartest songs? Which was the most popular champagne in Hip-Hop during 1999-2003? Which rapper uses the most clever metaphors? Which city's rap songs use the most monosyllabic words? Does living in higher altitudes create a natural proclivity for Gangster Rap?
Tired of having these answers left up to conjecture or whoever had the loudest voice, I decided to build a tool that would help give answers by charting the culture described within Hip-Hop music.
How can analyzing lyrics teach us about our culture?
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No Child Born To Die
In the poorest countries, children are dying, at a rate too awful to think about. Basic illnesses claim 8 million young lives a year. It's in our power to stop this. No child is born to die.
Joining No Child Born to Die means you can be a lifesaver. Show your support online. Add our twibbon to your Facebook and Twitter profiles, and become a fan of ours on Facebook.
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/bornto
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INFLUENCERS in-depth Series / STEVE STOUTE
INFLUENCERS In-depth Series features Steve Stoute, Founder and CEO of Translation, a brand management firm that arranges strategic partnerships between Pop Culture icons (Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Lebron James, Justin Timberlake, etc.) and Fortune 500 companies.
In this episode, Steve Stoute discusses the concept of cool, how new cultural codes are redefining traditional corporation communication. He also talks about creating successful collaborations between Artists and Brands.
Named one of the Fortune's 40 under 40 list and inducted into the American Advertising Hall of Achievement (2009), Steve Stoute is one of today's most influential forces in entertainment marketing.
His client roster includes companies such as Samsung, State Farm, Mc Donald's, Target, Wrigley's, HP, P&G and artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna (management).
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influencersfilm.com
facebook.com/influencersfilm
twitter.com/influencersfilm
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Segmento: Humanity and nature are one
http://www.segmento.com.br/sustentavel
cred:
Segmento, Curitiba, Brazil
Creative Directors: Felipe Précoma, Ricardo Leite
Art Director: Felipe Précoma
Copywriter: Ricardo Leite
Digital Content: Vicente Sledz
Photographer: Utrabo
Post Production: Magma Image
Creative Directors: Felipe Précoma, Ricardo Leite
Art Director: Felipe Précoma
Copywriter: Ricardo Leite
Digital Content: Vicente Sledz
Photographer: Utrabo
Post Production: Magma Image
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Is this the coolest sh*t you've ever seen?
A tongue-in-cheek and very funny black and white film starring Adrien Sauvage and called "The Art Of DE" or "Dressing Easy".
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KMBA Interview: Stanley Yorker (aka Old School)
I was actually just a general mass communications major at Florida State University but when I transferred to the University of Florida, I chose advertising within the school of Journalism and Communications. At Florida, we would take trips to New York with professors who introduced us to the industry and then I began to study trade publications like Advertising Age and became a fan of it.
Ecobank keeps the rhythm of Africa.
Here is a campaign just completed that has just launched in 30 countries across Africa.
Ecobank has more branches across Africa than any other bank in the world and this celebrates everyday life across the continent. The integrated campaign opens with a 60 second television commercial and extends to radio, retail banks, billboard, press, website and digital media.
This comes from Ben Millar @ Brand Communications UK.
Thank you Ben!
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Should MLK be commercialized?
While watching TV this weekend I saw a TV spot that reference a sale they were having over the MLK weekend. But they cleverly made reference to the holiday but never went so far as to call it a "MLK SALE." The company that did it is irrelevant in this instance, although I'm sure somebody or two raised out of their lazy-boy this weekend to pitch a cross side-eye at the 50 inch flat-screen.
Some companies like KMart jumped in with both barrels blazing and offered up this lovely marketing assault below.
That's right a sale! A full blown online sale... Is it wrong? Is it just in poor taste? Why is it different from President's Day Sales?
MLK sales have been growing in prominence for years and we've seen it only get tackier. I think it's about as tacky as a Gandhi White sale or a Mother Teresa buy one get one free promo personally. But it is really so wrong in scope of American capitalism? Is there a place commerce shouldn't go to promote itself?
Some companies like KMart jumped in with both barrels blazing and offered up this lovely marketing assault below.
That's right a sale! A full blown online sale... Is it wrong? Is it just in poor taste? Why is it different from President's Day Sales?
MLK sales have been growing in prominence for years and we've seen it only get tackier. I think it's about as tacky as a Gandhi White sale or a Mother Teresa buy one get one free promo personally. But it is really so wrong in scope of American capitalism? Is there a place commerce shouldn't go to promote itself?
Poster Series from the great design mind of Adrian Franks
This is from a soon to be released poster series from a very serious designer and all around good brother Adrian Franks. He says about these, " These posters were created with a combination of Adobe Ideas on iPad, Illustrator to clean up the vectors, and Treatment/layout in photoshop. But it all started from a idea on my iPad."
More info on where to purchase these coming soon.
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Create a Nelson Mandela Brand
by Dan Burrier found @ Harvard Business Review
Recently, I sat in a meeting with some of our best clients and pondered the constant chase of brand attributes that we as marketers often find ourselves engaged in — the endless measuring of attributes and their attribution to the brand, the ceaseless tweaking of messaging and money spent to get these attributes tracking in the right direction. I sat and realized once again how easy it is to chase the wrong thing.
No matter the brand, company, category, product, or service, the most common list of attributes everyone wants to be associated with goes something like this: candor, accessibility, innovation, invention, forward thinking, collaborative, friendly, easy to work with, trustworthy, leader, fun. A list that my longtime mentor Steve Hayden calls the "horoscope" of brand attributes; meaning "who wouldn't want to be all those things?" And "who wants the opposite?"
Which of course means there is nothing unique in the list to pursue — not a helpful observation when you're trying to create market value out of brand distinction.
On a whim that day, I jumped up and tested an exercise I've repeated many times since, always with the same result. I went to the whiteboard, grabbed a marker, and asked the group to shout out the attributes of Nelson Mandela.
"Brave," came the first response. "Courageous!" quickly followed. As did a whole list of attributes like "altruistic, heroic, peaceful, wise, thoughtful, giving, caring, loving, fearless" and more. About 30 different adjectives (roughly the number of people in the room) quickly found their way onto the board.
"What is the problem with this list?" I asked. Then I pointed to a colleague in the room, let's call him Frank, and mused, "the problem with the list is that it describes Nelson Mandela, and it describes Frank, a caring, wise, thoughtful, loving, giving and peaceful father and husband. But Frank is not Nelson Mandela. Sorry, Frank."
Then I asked the group to tell me what Nelson Mandela stood for. At once, as one, in unison, the room erupted with one word: freedom. Which I wrote on the board.
"That," I said, is not just the difference between Frank and Mr. Mandela, that is the difference between a true brand stance and an easy list of attributes." Understand your stance in the world, understand your true values, what you're actually up to and the why, your reason to get up in the morning — get that right, pursue that mission with full force and fury — and all the attributes you desire will surely follow.
Thirty people created a list of attributes that describe any good parent anywhere in the world. Those same people also recognized instantly that Nelson Mandela is not a collection of attributes but a man of purpose, stance, value and pure mission in the world: He stands for one thing, freedom, and all else has followed.
What this means for our brands, our companies:
Dan Burrier (@dburrier) is Chief Innovation Officer of Ogilvy & Mather North America.
Recently, I sat in a meeting with some of our best clients and pondered the constant chase of brand attributes that we as marketers often find ourselves engaged in — the endless measuring of attributes and their attribution to the brand, the ceaseless tweaking of messaging and money spent to get these attributes tracking in the right direction. I sat and realized once again how easy it is to chase the wrong thing.
No matter the brand, company, category, product, or service, the most common list of attributes everyone wants to be associated with goes something like this: candor, accessibility, innovation, invention, forward thinking, collaborative, friendly, easy to work with, trustworthy, leader, fun. A list that my longtime mentor Steve Hayden calls the "horoscope" of brand attributes; meaning "who wouldn't want to be all those things?" And "who wants the opposite?"
Which of course means there is nothing unique in the list to pursue — not a helpful observation when you're trying to create market value out of brand distinction.
On a whim that day, I jumped up and tested an exercise I've repeated many times since, always with the same result. I went to the whiteboard, grabbed a marker, and asked the group to shout out the attributes of Nelson Mandela.
"Brave," came the first response. "Courageous!" quickly followed. As did a whole list of attributes like "altruistic, heroic, peaceful, wise, thoughtful, giving, caring, loving, fearless" and more. About 30 different adjectives (roughly the number of people in the room) quickly found their way onto the board.
"What is the problem with this list?" I asked. Then I pointed to a colleague in the room, let's call him Frank, and mused, "the problem with the list is that it describes Nelson Mandela, and it describes Frank, a caring, wise, thoughtful, loving, giving and peaceful father and husband. But Frank is not Nelson Mandela. Sorry, Frank."
Then I asked the group to tell me what Nelson Mandela stood for. At once, as one, in unison, the room erupted with one word: freedom. Which I wrote on the board.
"That," I said, is not just the difference between Frank and Mr. Mandela, that is the difference between a true brand stance and an easy list of attributes." Understand your stance in the world, understand your true values, what you're actually up to and the why, your reason to get up in the morning — get that right, pursue that mission with full force and fury — and all the attributes you desire will surely follow.
Thirty people created a list of attributes that describe any good parent anywhere in the world. Those same people also recognized instantly that Nelson Mandela is not a collection of attributes but a man of purpose, stance, value and pure mission in the world: He stands for one thing, freedom, and all else has followed.
What this means for our brands, our companies:
- Know that you will never be remembered (or rewarded in the marketplace) for attributes; rather you will be remembered for what you do with them.
- Nail your market and world stance, and all else will follow. It's not so much what you make, what you sell; it's why you do it that matters, and how. The graveyard is littered with great gadgets and ideas that had no reason to be.
- Always stay on mission. Always execute against your stance, not against attributes. Measure the market's understanding of your reason to be — who you are and why you do what you do.
- When lured by the ease of chasing and measuring attributes (as we all are at times), test them by their opposites. For example, you want to be known as honest? Great. Know any company that wants to be known as dishonest? Therein lies the problem. Honesty is the price of entry for all. If you have to chase honesty as an attribute, take note, you've got much bigger problems than any list of brand attributes and research tools will solve.
- Finally, this applies to you, the human, as much as it does to your company or institution. You have your own set of adjectives and attributes associated with you as a person: the question is, what will you do with them?
Dan Burrier (@dburrier) is Chief Innovation Officer of Ogilvy & Mather North America.
Arizona and the media wtff!
This in Tucson, Arizona. Will these people ever learn? I'm not hating on all Arizonians, just the ones not trying to get out of that state.
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Morning inspiration: floating
highspeed footage of flying paint... that's all the explanation they gave. So that's all I'm giving you. just watch.
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The making of adidas Originals x Chairman Ting Custom Fixed Gear
Custom built adidas fixie for our adidas x Forces of Nice art show collaboration in Hong Kong. The custom paint and illustration on the bike was done all by hand and took over 2 weeks to finish. The bike was generously donated by singlebikes.com while the front aerospoke wheel was purchased from Super Champion in Vancouver.
The bike was painted with Montana Gold spray paint and illustrated with various Sharpie Poster-Paint markers. In the final process it was triple coated with both Krylon acrylic crystal clear lacquer and Montana Gold T1000 Clear Lacquer glossy to protect the paint job.
CRED:
Artist: Chairman Ting
Music: Flying Lotus 'Beginners_Falafel'
Bike: Singlebikes.com
Video edit: Chairman Ting
Photography: Chairman Ting / OslerZoo Photography
Videography: Chairman Ting
Bike riding footage in Hong Kong Park by OslerZoo Photography
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How Australia became white.
cred:
US, Sydney, Australia
Executive Creative Director: Josh Moore
Art Director: Tim Chenery
Copywriter: Nigel Clark
Account Director: Alex Tracy
Agency Producer: Corinne Porter
Typographer: Luca Ionescu / Likeminded Studio
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Facebook vs. Twitter
Here are a few of the key findings represented in the infographic, which was based on data from a Barracuda Networks survey as well as an analysis from Razorfish and otherdemographic breakdowns from a number of sources (although the data on Twitter in particular is a little old — the service now has 190 million users).
- 88 percent of people are aware of Facebook, while 87 percent are aware of Twitter
- 12 percent of Facebook users update their status every day vs. 52 percent for Twitter
- males make up 46 percent of Facebook users, and 48 percent of Twitter
- 30 percent access Facebook via mobile vs. 37 percent for Twitter
- 40 percent follow a brand on Facebook vs. 25 percent on Twitter
- 70 percent of Facebook users are outside the U.S. vs. 60 percent for Twitter
NIKE 6.0 Zoom Primo iD
iDNation is a community for creative individuals to get inspired, customize, and make some fans. Watch the video to see what iDNation is all about and check out our remix functionality for discovering the most popular designs of the Zoom Mogan Mid II iD or Zoom Primo iD to inspire your creativity. Stay tuned for updates to the experience over the next couple months, starting with the launch of the Style Lab in late Jan.
http://nike6.com/idnation
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JWT gives us 100 Things to Watch in 2011
From 3D printing to Africa's middle class JWT is forecasting the future and it looks bright.
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Yoplait encourages healthier lifestyles for Sistahs.
In an effort to encourage African-American women to take charge of their health by making beneficial food and lifestyle choices, Yoplait is teaming up with actress and singer Tisha Campbell Martin to roll out a new campaign, Yoplait Today. The campaign, designed to encourage women to embrace a new year and a new self, will include Campbell Martin in radio spots and print and digital advertisements as part of...
Story continued @ TMN...
See the site here.
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Story continued @ TMN...
See the site here.
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