Apple has provided astonishing goods, services, and they have kept amazing relationships with their customers, but as most business owners know there’s more to it than that. The reality is that they’ve created paradigm shifts and they’ve always thought different. That’s the true strategy that brings in $11.6 billion in quarterly net profits. It’s all about providing nothing less than amazing.
Creativity is the core of advertising
We’re in the business of creativity. Advertising is just a word to describe the industry we’re working in. We’re no Apple, but what we do brings our clients larger audiences and noticeable presences. Yes - we will work closely with you, but what’s more important is that we will think differently to market and grow your business. Google has said it best: don’t be evil. It’s easy to understand why it’s wrong to be unfair to your customers, but what’s more crucial is understanding that you are hurting yourself every time you attempt to repeat history. Make your own history. Take the risk - make decisions that are odd and abnormal. If you are the first one to do it, then you’ll be the first to get noticed.
Questions for the small business owner
So what are you doing to make sure your customers remember you? How are you reaching them? How are you thinking different? If you can’t answer these questions quickly maybe it’s time to change what you’re doing.
Our motto is simple - our job is to make you more money than you pay us. We are here to do precisely that, so what’s stopping you? It’s time to establish your brand, attract an audience, and permit the edge of the universe to be your limit.
We’re still trying to imagine a world without Steve Jobs.
If you haven’t read his sisters eulogy, you should: “A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs” New York Times link.
The “think different” spot that was created soon after Steve returned to Apple, and moved the ad account back to Chiat/Day and rekindled the relationship with Lee Clow, may be the best short tribute to Steve, even though it’s from 1997.
As a memento, tribute and gift to you- we’ve taken the spot and created a poster for you to print and hang.
Click on image for link to PDF of "Here's to the Crazy One's poster
A user generated ad by an 18 year old student in the UK is getting a quick remake in HD for broadcast after gathering interest on YouTube. [update] If you want to compare the ad- here is the Apple version- although the link may change (due to Apple still not understanding the principals of the social web: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/ads/
The New York Times sees this as yet another nail in the coffin for the advertising business- and they are probably right. In a networked world, where the consumer has the ability to be on a level playing field as your corporate mega-site, it’s no longer about delivering a message, but managing the communications between market and manufacturer.
Student’s Ad Gets a Remake, and Makes the Big Time - New York Times
The idea that you do not have to be a professional to create a good commercial is becoming widespread, in a trend known as consumer-generated content. Leave it to Apple to, paraphrasing the company’s old slogan a bit, think differently.
A television commercial for the new iPod Touch from Apple, scheduled to begin running on Sunday, 10-28 is being created by the longtime Apple agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day. It is based on a commercial that an 18-year-old English student and Apple devotee named Nick Haley, who says he got his first Macintosh when he was 3, created on his own one day last month.
His spot offers a fast-paced tour of the abilities of the iPod Touch, set to a song titled “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” by a Brazilian band, CSS.
Mr. Haley said he was inspired to make the commercial by a lyric in the song, “My music is where I’d like you to touch.”
He based the visual elements on video clips about the iPod Touch and other new products, which can be watched on the Apple Web site (apple.com). He uploaded his commercial to YouTube, where it received four stars out of a possible five and comments that ranged from “That’s awesome,” followed by 16 exclamation points, to “Makes me want to buy one and hack it.”
As of Thursday, Mr. Haley’s spot has been viewed 2,131 times on youtube.com. Among the viewers were marketing employees at Apple in Cupertino, Calif., who asked staff members on the Apple account at TBWA/Chiat/Day to get in touch with Mr. Haley about producing a professional version of the commercial…
Creative visionary and leader of TBWA/Chiat Day Lee Clow seems to be amused by this new world- and seems to get the emerging 2-way nature of advertising.
Consumers creating commercials “is part of this brave new world we live in,” said Lee Clow, chairman and chief creative officer at TBWA Worldwide, based in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Playa del Rey.
“It’s an exciting new format for brands to communicate with their audiences,” Mr. Clow said. “People’s relationship with a brand is becoming a dialog, not a monolog.”
The commercial based on Mr. Haley’s spot will be seen on football games Sunday afternoon and on “Desperate Housewives” and Game 4 of the World Series that night. It is also to be shown in Europe and Japan.
As for how faithful the professional spot is to the amateur version, Mr. Clow said, “we didn’t mess with his content” because “it has a charm to it, a youthful fun.”
The changes include more polished editing and filming the new version in high definition.
“My input was totally respected,” Mr. Haley said, adding that he considered the agency’s commercial “pretty similar” to the original.
The experience of working with the agency executives was “overwhelming, surreal and fantastic, all in one,” said Mr. Haley, who is studying politics at Leeds.
“This is my first taste” of advertising, he added, but offered a thoughtful response when asked what it means if consumers like him are willing to make commercials.
“That’s the whole point of advertising; it needs to get to the user,” Mr. Haley said. “If you get the user to make the ads, who better?”
As heartily as Mr. Clow endorsed the concept of user-generated content, he suggested that turnabout is fair play.
At TBWA, “we’re producing films we put on YouTube that we make in a day and a half in the parking lot,” he said, laughing.
The big question is how much did TBWA/Chiat Day charge for the “big idea” that came from a consumer? And does this signal the end of non-disclosure statements, and releases for any suggestions for campaigns? Are the locks coming off the doors of the creative think tanks? Will the best marketers of the future be the ones who throw open the doors with the customers to establish the brand together?
Stay tuned. And what do you think?
[update] note, it seems a lot of people are still confused between an iPod Touch and an iPhone. The product looks so similar and does so many of the same things, that people are searching for iPhone and “Music is my boyfriend”- maybe Apple should have considered a different back panel- not chrome and a different menu look for the Touch- I often look at the main menu of the screen and think the icons should be bigger to fill the screen.
Lyrics to “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” by a Brazilian band, CSS as in the new Apple iPod Touch commercial:
From all the drugs the one i like more is music
From all the junks the one i need more is music
From all the boys the one i take home is music
From all the ladies the one i kiss is music (muah!)
Music is my boyfriend
Music is my girlfriend
Music is my dead end
Music is my imaginary friend
Music is my brother
Music is my great-grand-daughter
Music is my sister
Music is my favorite mistress
From all the shit the one i gotta buy is music
From all the jobs the one i choose is music
From all the drinks the one i get drunk is music
From all the bitches the one i wannabe is music
Music is my beach house
Music is my hometown
Music is my kingsize bed
Music is my hot hot bath
Music is my hot hot sex
Music is my back rub
Music is where i’d like you to touch
Claro-que-sim
Fui escoteira-mirim
Direto da escola, não
Não ia cheirar cola
Nem basquete, pebolim
O que eu gosto não é de graça
O que gosto não é farsa
Tem guitarra, bateria, computador saindo som
Alguns dizem que mais alto que um furacão (rhéum)
Perto dele eu podia sentir
Saía de seu olho e chegava em mim
Sentada do seu lado
Eu queria encostar
Faria o tigela até o sol raiar
Debaixo do lençol
Ele gemia em ré bemol
Fiquei tensa
Mas tava tudo bem
Ele é fodão, mas eu sei que eu sou também
My first experience with the power of suggestion came from a boss when I sold stereo equipment in Atlanta. Larry Sarner had been a sales superstar for “Crazy Eddy’s” in NYC before starting “Stereo Village” (yeah, we used to call them “stereo’s” back then). As people left the store, Larry would call out to them “Bye Now” as they headed out the door, some would leave, but I was amazed at how many would get out to their car, turn around, and come back in and say “I’d like to buy that now.” As if he had implanted the idea to “buy now” with some sort of super sale ray gun. It worked, and it’s part of the reason this new campaign for VW works.
If you are searching for the secrets of great advertising, take notes from this campaign for Volkswagen by Crispin Porter+ Bogusky: Vdubrocks.com
Just as politicians and magicians use distraction to move the conversation and attention away from their obvious short comings, Crispin uses the technique of “Cool by association” to make you think differently about Volkswagen- instead of being a poorly made German car with obvious shortcomings- it is now the only car you can plug a guitar into and become a rock star- that’s right, don’t buy the car because it’s a reliable form of transportation- buy it because you will be able to jump out of your car in a traffic jam and jam like Slash. What? You don’t play guitar? Don’t need a guitar? Who cares? Think of it as a $599 rebate- without costing VW a dime- or turning them into another price competing car company- just throw in a guitar that no self respecting pro would play- with some special VW touches on the knobs and the fret inlays- and then stamp them with a matching VIN code- and you’ve differentiated your brand and made it one step cooler than the run of the mill iPod integration that everyone else is so “hip” with.
Guess what- any car with an iPod in jack could be a “rock car” with the pre-amp included First Act guitar that VW is partnered with- but only their über agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky made the leap. To explain it to the people in Detroit- it’s not about playing guitar anymore than it’s about a “Hemi”- it’s about people thinking- “He drives a VW- therefore he could be a rockstar- like Slash in the tv spot.”
Cars are a product that are sold on many levels. The rationale for buying varies for every buyer- but it comes down to how the driver sees themselves once they own the car. At one time VW stood for practical, fuel efficient, reliable and un-pretentious (remember, Beetle body styling didn’t change much from year to year for 35 year). Now, VW is trying to find a new position, one that distracts consumers from the poor quality and low resale values, and cool is a good place to hang out until the other problems can be resolved.
What’s even more impressive is that Crispin is probably getting the guitars for next to nothing in exchange for giving First Act a chance to get high dollar media exposure on VW’s ad budget. While Crispin probably doesn’t make more money by suggesting this, they create a win-win for VW, First Act and the guitar stars that appear in the campaign. This is the thinking that sets them apart from most agencies. First Act - About First Act - In The News - 10/1/2006
In a groundbreaking new collaboration, First Act has teamed up with Volkswagen of America, Inc. to present the First Act GarageMaster guitar, an innovative guitar that plays through the audio system of select VW models. As of October 3, each new Jetta, GLI, GTI, Rabbit, New Beetle, and New Beetle Convertible will come with the custom-designed First Act GarageMaster guitar.
Owners of new VW models can transform their cars into mobile amps, with a newfound freedom to rock in the driveway, play at outdoor parties, or shred in the beach parking lot. New rockers will hit the road with a First Act GarageMaster guitar in the trunk, ready to stop and dispense riffs wherever the mood strikes.
While other car companies keep talking about the cars- CP+B keep the conversation focused on the buyers. And even if I don’t play, it really doesn’t matter- because my new Vdub rocks. Yeah, that’s what I want people thinking, even if it has nothing to do with music.
How do you find the right agency for your business? Well, it starts out knowing enough about advertising to know that their are different approaches to advertising and different agencies approach problems differently.
Justin Oberman is a prolific poster on Linkedin and is teaching an ad history class for AdHouseNYC, this is his summary of the main strains of agencies.
If you are looking for an advertising agency or a job in an ad agency, it’s essential to understand the different kinds.
Because no matter how much an agency says it reinvented the model, when you study advertising history, you discover that there are essentially five different types of ad agencies.
Bill Bernbach-type agencies.
Rosser Reeves-type agencies
Leo Burnett-type agencies
David Ogilvy-type agencies
And Howard Gossage-type agencies
Here’s a breakdown: Bill Bernbach Agencies
• Advertising is an art form
• Focused on persuasion.
• Creative Idea Driven
• Entertainment over repetition
• Believes humans make decisions based on emotions.
• Every ad is based on human truths
• Idols: Bernbach, Droga
• Example: Erich and Kallman Rosser Reeves (Ted Bates) Agencies
• Advertising is a science.
• Focused on the hard sell.
• Data-Driven
• Repetition over entertainment
• Believes humans make rational decisions
• Every ad is wrapped around a “unique selling proposition.”
• Idols: Data. They also have no idea who Rosser Reeves is.
• Example: Any good digital DR agency Leo Burnett Agencies
• Advertising is symbolism.
• Focused on simplicity.
• Archetype driven
• Drama over cleverness
• Believes in the down-to-earth, wide-eyed perspective of Midwesterners
• Every ad is based on finding the inherent drama in the product
• Idols: Themselves as regular people
• Example: W+K or Any “branding agency.” David Ogilvy Agencies fall somewhere in between.
• Advertising is capitalism
• Focused on selling or else
• Benefit-Driven
• Classy over entertaining
• Believes humans are led by emotion but justify it with reason
• Every ad is based on a product benefit interestingly told
• Idolis: Themselves as the creatively rational ones.
• Example: Mekanism, Note: Most agencies think they are Ogilvy-like agencies. But they are rarer than you think The Howard Gossage Agency
• Advertising is propaganda
• Focused on solving problems
• P.R-Driven
• Less advertising over more advertising
• Keep it simple. Make it exciting. Believes humans want to have a good time
• Every ad is based on a conversation
• Idol: As Rory Sutherland put it: Gossage is the Velvet Underground to David Ogilvy’s Beatles and Bill Bernbach’s Rolling Stones. Not a household name, but to the cognoscenti, a lot more inspirational and influential.”
• Example: Mischief @ No Fixed Address, Anomaly, The early days of Crispin Porter Bogusky, Generalists
None of these types of agencies are better than any other.
All of them serve an essential purpose for every brand.
But none of them can truly be all of them.
Happiness in this industry is knowing where you belong.
Happiness as a client is knowing which one you need.
Some agencies can be hybrids- falling into more than one category.The Next Wave tends to fall into a cross between the brand driven symbolic style of Leo Burnett style crossed with the Howard Gossage problem solving propaganda. We aim to help our clients find a voice, and use it efficiently to convey their magic mojo in the marketplace
One of the latest trends is clients looking for a “Digital agency” which is an absurd ask. There are no agencies doing paste up, or shooting ads on film. We’re all digital, what the client is thinking is a media targeting strategy that relies on programmatic ad buying and search engine marketing. That’s all well and fine, but, if your message isn’t working, no amount of digital wizardry is going to solve your problems.
Learn about the different types of agencies- and then find one you can build a good long term relationship with. That’s been the best kept secret in advertising since Steve Jobs met Lee Clow or Phil Knight met Dan Wieden and David Kennedy. It takes time for any good agency to learn your business and fully understand your customers.
