Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 1

Once in awhile we see or hear someone say something that we like and want to remember, so we make note of it somehow, somewhere. That’s what I’ve done with various quotes on the advertising and marketing industry by different icons from the industry.

Every time I read the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, I notice the quote at the bottom, usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame. Sometimes I chuckle, yet in most cases I want to remember them.

So here’s the first in a multi-part series of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring.

* * * * *

1. When executing advertising, it’s best to think of yourself as an uninvited guest in the living room of a prospect who has the magical power to make you disappear instantly.

— John O’Toole

2. A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.

— David Ogilvy

3. Creative imagination — the lamp that lit the world — can light our lives.

Alex F. Osborn

4. I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes.

— Philip Dusenberry

5. If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world, it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature.

— Bruce Barton

6. We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success.

— Bruce Barton

7. The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff.

— Roger A. Enrico

8. Let us blaze new trails. Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art and good writing can be good selling.

— William Bernbach

9. Creative people thrive in environments that stimulate and reward original thinking — where freedom is valued and controls are kept to a minimum.

— Keith Reinhard

10. The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.

— David Ogilvy

 

So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)? Lemme know.

A TED Talk: Does Education Kill Creativity?

During a recent presentation I gave on creativity to the American Advertising Federation Rio Grande Valley, the question of education came up with respect to how it deals with creativity in a child’s life. The opinions were mixed. I referenced a TED talk from some years ago by Sir Ken Robinson in which he talks about this. I’ve posted it here for my brethren in the Valley and others who may not ever have seen this.

It is by far one of the most gripping and entertaining talks I have ever heard. Though he has several more on the TED YouTube channel, take a listen. It’ll make you think. But, do more than that. Act. Speak up. Don’t let our children be short-changed.

After all, we have plenty of crayons!

GE’s attempt to “creaturefy” scary ideas – not bad!

Ideas can scare the hell out of people. They can denote change if they’re adopted.

Too many times we’re not even given the time to explore generating new ideas. Yet, we seem to be constantly trying to evolve and innovate. Hmmmm, last time I checked, one needed ideas to do that. At least one.

This is the third in a series of four related blog posts I referenced in my recent presentation to the AAF Rio Grande Valley. It pertains to ideas and how people react to them. It’s not always receptive especially since ideas are not always welcome.

Hats of to GE for this innovative commercial about ideas and their surprising effects on people. It’s actually been airing since 2014 but I just noticed it a few months ago, and again recently. Good for them to continue the campaign.

The first time I saw it, I really wasn’t sure what I was watching. The more I watched, the more intrigued I got. It still “gets” me in an unnerving kind of way. Several times I just wanted to go “yuck” to myself, but then felt guilty about wanting to do so.

For those who haven’t seen it or who might have missed it, here’s what a scary idea could look like. Next time you come across one, you might give it a bit more respect than one normally would.

 

Creativity as a Problem Solver

During my recent presentation on creativity and creative thinking to the AAF Rio Grande Valley, I referenced using creativity to help solve problems. No matter how cutesy an ad looks or what kind of special effects one uses, if a problem does not get closer to being solved, the process is not doing any good.

The following video is one I suggested that interestingly addresses how creativity helps solve problems. It’s an excerpt from this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, where a group of people who work in media, design, and the arts were asked about how the creative process can lend itself to unlocking solutions.

 

Kick Starting Creativity in the Rio Grande

I recently had the honor and pleasure to present “Kick Starting Creativity Without Screwing Up the Idea” to the American Advertising Federation Rio Grande Valley. As with my other presentations in this series, I did some fine-tuning with this version.

I was last in the Valley before this same group back in 2008. The landscape and development may have changed (more of it) but the people have not – still friendly, wonderful, courteous . . . and, of course, creative!

Those of you who were in the audience can, hopefully, enjoy it again and get some useful tips. Those of you who did not experience it that day, may learn a few things. Naturally, what follows is just the visual and not, unfortunately, the experience itself.

Kick-Starting Creativity Without Screwing Up the Idea

Keynote version (no audio)

PDF version (no audio)

 

Why Would Burger King Sell Red Burgers in Japan?

Sell red what? That’s what I thought when I first saw the headline, “The Inside Story on Why Burger King Sells Red Burgers in Japan.”

I didn’t think someone would make this up, especially since Advertising Age was reporting the story. Well, I became intrigued and felt like this may make for an interesting blog post on a site like this, exploring all forms of creativity and innovation.

Even in a land of relentlessly wacky fast food innovations, Burger King Japan has nabbed a lot of attention with its all-black burgers.

BK's Black Burger

Burger King Japan’s black burger.

Yeah, you heard right. The sight of pitch-black buns and cheese, evidently, really gets to people.

Pass the Pepto, please!

But wait, that’s nothing.

Burger King Japan recently launched an all-red burger, with red-colored cheese, buns and, obviously, hot sauce. A Google search turned up more than 150 headlines in English alone on the new creation.

What Better Way to Get Brand Attention on a Tight Budget?

The Aka Samurai from Burger King Japan. Also comes with chicken.

BK's Red Burger

As some of you may be gasping about now at the sight of the Red Burger (personally, I prefer the sight of the Red version over the Black), the question arising in my mind was “why?”

Obviously, the folks at Ad Age were curious, too. So, Burger King Japan’s general manager for business management, Masanori Tatsuiwa, who worked previously at agencies including Ogilvy & Mather Japan, answered a few questions about the red Aka Samurai Burger (buns and cheese tinted with tomato powder), the black Kuro Burger (which used bamboo charcoal and squid ink), as well as the brand’s “flame-grilled” personal fragrance.

Here are excerpts from that interview . . .

Ad Age: Where do these ideas come from, and what’s your process?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: We sit down with marketing and R&D look for something unusual. When we start to think about something, we have taste tests inside the restaurant. We have 93 restaurants in Japan.

At the moment we don’t have much ad budget in our hands, so we do almost everything by ourselves. We are not using any creative agencies for these products. This way we don’t need any big money to expand our awareness in the market.

Burger King is not big compared to the competitor companies in Japan. McDonald’s has about 3,000 restaurants in Japan. The local MOS Burger chain has almost 1,400 restaurants. (Editor’s note: Burger King re-entered Japan in 2007, after a first attempt had failed after eight years in 2001 amid tough fast food competition.)

Ad Age: How big is your marketing team?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: Five people. Including R&D.

Ad Age: So, why red this time?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: This is the fourth year we’ve had a black burger, and we wanted to have something new happen this year. And we were also thinking about the Burger King “Angry Whopper,” (a jalapeno-laden rendition of the classic), that launched in some markets, but with the color the same as usual. Brown. We thought making it red would make people curious and express the hot taste.

Ad Age: Are other markets picking up on these ideas?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: Burger King Singapore has a black burger and a white burger this year. Burger King Malaysia has a black burger called the Ninja.

Ad Age: On April 1 you had a one-day-only sale of something called “Flame-Grilled Fragrance.” (The 1,000-piece limited edition flasks sold for $41 and came with a Whopper. They sold out.) Why a perfume?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: The idea came from Burger King in the U.S., they had a perfume several years ago. We thought we could use that on “Whopper Day” in Japan.

We were thinking if we announced a launch for this kind of perfume for April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day), some people might think it wasn’t true (and that would generate more conversations about it). But we seriously produced this product, and that was very effective. We collaborated with a local perfume company and asked them to produce a flame-grilled smell. It was a very unique order for them. They worked very hard on it. (I’m not making this up, gang. Sounds like the perfect White Elephant gift.)

Ad Age: How were sales?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: It was a record for one-day sales on a weekday.

Now, honestly, even as promotion-crazy as we tend to be in the US of A, I wonder if either one of these would fly. What do you think, marketers and creative folks? Would any of you client companies have the guts to try something like this or to let your agencies develop this kind of special promotion?

I doubt it.

Hell, if it tastes good, why not. Just put on a blindfold while eating one (especially the black version).

Kick Starting Creativity: A Presentation to AAF – Central Texas

Last Friday, August 7, 2015, I had the pleasure of speaking at the professional development luncheon of the American Advertising Federation of Central Texas in Temple, Texas. My topic was a fun one to present, “Kick Starting Creativity: Ye Olde Creativity Survival Kit.”

Joe Fournet stresses a point in his Kick Starting Creativity presentation at American Advertising Federation of Central Texas.

I had presented a similar talk several years ago for both a chapter luncheon and a Creative Summit hosted by AAF Central Texas. Friday’s presentation was updated and included new items.

Although the audience was primarily made up of advertising and marketing professionals, “Kick Starting Creativity” centered on the way one thinks and applies one’s imagination. Thus, anyone can put these tips and techniques into practice. I like to say that we’re all creative; we just have different perspectives in how we apply our creativity.

“Kick Starting” was done in Keynote but the size of the file prevents me from uploading it here. I’ve included a PowerPoint version on SlideShare as another option. Here are three handouts referenced in the presentation along with the presentation itself, all in PDF:

Top Tips- Rev

HelpfulStuff – Rev

39 Ways to Kick-Start Creativity copy

Kick Starting Creativity – AAF Central Texas

Kick Starting Creativity – AAF Central Texas (PPT)

Do You Really Want to Park There? Beware the Hologram!

I was taken with this ad the first time I saw it. I was also quite unnerved. Why don’t we see more of this kind of campaign in the USA?
More than 30% of the drivers in Russia take disabled parking spaces without caring about the signs on the ground. Dislife, a Russian non-profit organization, came up with a powerful campaign to stop this inconsiderate behavior.
They installed projections of a real disabled person that popped up every time a non-disabled driver tried to park in their space. Special cameras verified the presence of the disabled sticker on their windshields and if no sticker was detected, the hologram would appear to confront the driver. Watch the stunt in action below.

Unnerving as it may be, the campaign is a great use of technology to deliver a powerful message. The agency is Y&R, Moscow. Bravo!

Feel free to share this post and your views in the comments below.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud Conference Good for Creative Community and OiH

If you live and work within driving distance of Houston, you owe it to yourself to come spend a day or two listening to and learning from Adobe’s experts as they teach all you need to know about the various applications within the Creative Cloud.

As the one stop source for finding creative talent in the Houston area, Only in Houston (OiH) is proud to be take part in presenting this Creative Cloud Masters Conference. Thanks to a partnership with Future Media Concepts, OiH members can now save 25% on their registration. Use promo code OiH15 to redeem your discount.

OiH Logo

WHY ATTEND?
Advance your skills with cutting-edge sessions
Discover time-saving techniques
Learn from top instructors in the field
Network with peers and expand your professional network

A must-attend event created for graphic designers and other creatives to perfect and diversify their skills. Join top industry speakers to learn the latest Adobe print and web design tools, plus get started in video production. The conference agenda features 3 days of training on graphic design, print, web design and motion graphics. Organized in Houston on March 11-13. Use discount code OiH15 to save 25% on your registration. 

Creative Cloud Conference Logo

 

 

Could This Be the “iYacht”?

New Photos of Steve Jobs’ Yacht

American Luxury Magazine (from which you can view additional photos) recently sent out an e-newsletter featuring a variety of super-luxurious items. Among them was a select group of photographs featuring Steve Jobs’ yacht. Yet again, creativity and innovation done the Apple way.

A 256-foot yacht designed for the late Steve Jobs was captured in numerous photographs as it sailed in to the British Virgin Islands.

Steve Jobs Yacht

The yacht, called Venus, was designed by Philippe Starck. Jobs reportedly commissioned the building of the yacht after sailing on his friend Larry Ellison’s Yacht. The yacht was not finished until 2012, nearly a full year after Jobs’ passing.

The yacht has six bedrooms and features high-tech automation systems. The exterior is crafted from aluminum and steel and looks strikingly similar to an Apple product.

The yacht is now owned by Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs.

(Photo credit: Beth Colt, photographer and owner of Woods Hole Inn, @woodsholeinn on Instagram)