The World Needs More Fights
Posted on March 10, 2010 - Filed Under Pitching Ideas
That’s right. I said it. The world need more fights. More bare knuckle brawling. More punches to the face. Why? Because compromise kills ideas.
We live in a world where people are too willing to play nice. Nobody wants to offend the other person. And what suffers is ideas. In order to get a concept sold through the proper hierarchy, you make compromises. They’re just small changes, gradually pulling your idea back in the realm of the familiar. And the concept dies a slow death as a result of a thousand little paper cuts. The idea that had the potential to be great and earth-shattering suddenly looks a lot like a lot of the other stuff out there. But just a little bit different.
People need to stand fiercely behind their ideas, concepts or principles. If you’re willing to punch someone in the face for something, I respect you and your idea that much more. It shows passion. It show commitment. It shows you’re not a pussy.
And when you know you’re going to have to throw down, you show up a lot more confident, researched and prepared. Because nobody wants to get knocked out in the first round.
- Christian
Inspired by this post.
Holy Batshit Batman!
Posted on March 4, 2010 - Filed Under Random
I don’t normally self-promote, but this is cool. We made a video. It’s for Old Style Pilsner – a gnarly beer from Western Canada. They’re having a Bush Bash and wanted us to make a quick video to explain it. It’s random. It’s weird. Enjoy ….
If you can’t see the video, click here.
So the general idea is based on the fact that people love Old Style Pilsner because of it’s crazy label. (See below.)
It’s got some crazy shit on it. Bunnies. Planes. Teepees. Monks drinking beer. A sweet Pilsner flag. Basically, all of the random crap that’s in a crazy artist’s brain in 1926 when he’s a had a few too many Pilly’s and decides to design the label. So, we decided to make a video that existed in a 3D model of that label.
How We Did It
1. We made a huge 6′x6′ model of the beer label (aka “Pil Country”) in some guy’s garage. It took a lot of time and effort. Lots of looking at the label. Looking at a huge piece of blank plywood. Looking at the label. Trying not to drink the beer. Putting a tree somewhere. Etc.
For the “Making Of” gallery on Flickr, click here.
2. We got some light, a camera and started shooting. Eight people piled into this guy’s garage. It got sweaty. It got personal. I got to play with bunnies, sparklers and miniature 24’s of beer. Best day of my life.
3. Some editing and stuff. Then … ta-da! A video.
So if you’re lucky enough to live out in Western Canada, I highly recommend going out and picking up a case of Pil. We don’t get it out here and I had to wrangle some people to try and ship me some. It’s a wicked beer with a wicked label. And maybe you’ll win some tickets to a crazy Pilsner Bush Bash. After all … that’s why we made the video.
- Christian
Value Of A True Story
Posted on March 2, 2010 - Filed Under Inspiration
I’m not sure if it’s the season, but I’ve seen a lot of good ads lately that evoke a lot of emotion. Like these:
Tropicana’s Artic Sun
Click here if you can’t view the video.
Tim Hortons’ Welcome Home
Click here if you can’t view the video.
So often in advertising, people think that being funny is the way to build your brand. But there are other emotions besides entertainment and humour.
Joy.
Happiness.
Fear.
Love.
Discovery.
Surprise
And all it takes to bring out these emotions is a good story. And the best story is a true story.
- Christian
Dollars And Cents
Posted on February 23, 2010 - Filed Under Random
From Seth’s blog:
“Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.”
I’m not sure this is true. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if you watch the dollars, you don’t have to worry so much about pennies.
Big brands don’t sweat the small expenses. They don’t hassle about a return, or a little coupon fraud or the last penny per square foot on the rent in a prime location. In fact, they understand that there’s a powerful honest signal sent when you don’t worry about the tiny expenses. It shows confidence.
So many small businesspeople are crippled by their relationship with money. The thing is, if you run out of money you lose the game. That’s a given. But what’s the best strategy for not running out of money?
I don’t think the answer is to worry insanely about little expenses (saving $20 on your blogging expenses in exchange for distracting ads, for example.)
The thing to do is invest in scary innovations, large leaps, significant savings. Instead of renting a skimpy booth at the big trade show and scrimping on all the extras, why not rent a limo and drive the key buyers around town, or sponsor the awards luncheon? When you skimp all the time, you signal that you’re struggling.
A lot of what sells in business and in brands is the perception of confidence. You are trying to get people to trust you. And people tend to trust the brave and successful instead of the fearful and frugal.
On a side note, I’ve found the best meetings always have food. Snacks make people happy. And happy people buy ideas.
- Christian
He Shoots, He Scores!
Posted on February 10, 2010 - Filed Under Random
If you are Canadian and you do one thing today, watch this ad. It gave me the shivers.
If you can’t view the video, click here.
It’s crazy how in the same category, Coke can get it so right and Pepsi got it so wrong (Pepsi). Coke’s strategy is rooted in an insight and an idea – Canadians are living to see their teams win gold in Olympic hockey. Pepsi got swept up in the craze of “consumer generated content” and executing around an idea that attempted to get people involved with their brand. They held a contest to try and come up with a new cheer for Team Canada hockey.
There were two problems with this strategy. The first is that we didn’t need a new cheer. Especially one sponsored by a brand. The second is that the cheer sucked. “Eh, Oh Canada Go”.
Pepsi spent too much time on trying to execute a campaign with lots of consumer involvement. But they forgot a key component … does it make sense? I’m sure there was at least one meeting when someone was thinking “This is a stupid idea. Do we really need a new cheer? Why would they choose our cheer over the one that already exists?”
Coke kept it simple. Put something on TV that inspires people and get your brand associated with that feeling.
Sometimes we get so excited about executing the latest marketing trends that we forget to ask if we have a good idea. Sometimes it’s okay to do what’s been done before. Just do it well.
But enough ranting. I’m going to watch the Coke ad again and dream of gold.
- Christian
My New Mantra – Be Stupid
Posted on February 3, 2010 - Filed Under Inspiration
One of the first posts on Idea Drunk was about the importance of stupid ideas. A new campaign from Diesel has reignited my love for stupidity. (Thanks Dan for the tip.) I love it when a brand is willing to plant a stake in the ground and decide to stand for something. When they develop and manifesto and preach to the people.
People will get offended. Who gives a fuck? Now the brand stands for something. Now they have an identity. Now they can inspire. Inspire fans. Inspire loyalty. Inspire change.
Check out their manifesto:
If you can’t view the video, click here.
Like balloons, we are filled with hopes and dreams.
But over time a single sentence creeps into our lives.
Don’t be stupid.
Its the crusher of possibility.
Its the worlds greatest deflator.
The world is full of smart people.
Doing all kind of smart things…
That’s smart.
Well, we’re with stupid.
Stupid is the relentless pursuit of a regret free life.
Smart may have the brains…
But stupid has the balls.
The smart might recognize things for how they are.
The stupid see things for how they could be.
Smart critiques.
Stupid creates.
The fact is if we didn’t have stupid thoughts
We’d have no interesting thoughts at all.
Smart may have the plans…
But stupid has the stories.
Smart may have the authority
but stupid has one hell of a hangover.
Its not smart to take risks…
Its stupid.
To be stupid
Is to be brave
Stupid isn’t afraid to fail.
Stupid know there are worse things than failure…
Like not even trying.
Smart had one good idea,
And that idea was stupid.
You can’t outsmart stupid.
So don’t even try.
Remember.
Only stupid can be truly brilliant.
So, BE STUPID
And that is my new mantra. Shit is about to get stupid.
- Christian
When Ideas CLICK
Posted on January 27, 2010 - Filed Under Inspiration
Ever wonder where big ideas come from? Sometimes they just CL!CK.
If you can’t view the video, click here.
Awesome video sponsored by LEGO. I love how they’ve grown from a purveyor of kids toys and building blocks to become ambassadors for creativity and inspiration.
- Christian
Life Philosophy
Posted on January 26, 2010 - Filed Under Inspiration
Society tells you to be a lot of things.
Be nice.
Be polite.
Be intelligent.
Be different.
Be normal.
Be yourself.
Be on time.
Be responsible.
Be an adult.
But to be creative, you only have to be one thing.
Be awesome.
- Christian
Ninjas + Google = Awesome
Posted on January 20, 2010 - Filed Under Inspiration
What’s the most awesome thing about this video?
The ninjas? No.
The phone? No.
The crazy stop motion animation style? Nope.
It’s the fact that it’s fan made. That’s right Patrick Boivin loves making movies so much, that he thought he’s do this. How wicked is that? Your brand is at that level of love that people want to make cool ads for you … for free!
This video has gotten over 300,000 views in just 3 days. For free. Update: found out that it was for a “sponsorship”, which probably means they gave him a free phone. But still a good price.
Now, it takes time and commitment to generate that level of love for you brand. But when you have it, you need to empower your craziest fans. You need to make it easy for them to create content for you. And you need to reward them when they do it.
At a minimum, Google could get in touch with Patrick and pay for his Nexus One usage for life. Or buy the ad and put it on TV. But Google tends to avoid advertising on TV.
A bigger idea would be to employ Patrick as a brand ambassador and give him a hundred Nexus One phones to give away however he sees fit. Sell them on eBay. Run a YouTube video contest. Give them away to his Facebook friends. Whatever he wants. It’s obvious that this guy loves your brand. Now give him the tools and opportunity to show that love to everyone in his network.
I’m working on a brand right now that has some of the most cult-dedicated fans in Canada. Here’s to hoping that we can empower them to do the same.
- Christian
Want A Sixpack?
Posted on January 15, 2010 - Filed Under Cool Ideas
The sixpack was created by Dutch Design firm OOOMS. (Or maybe there’s another ‘O’ in there … I can’t remember.) It’s a great idea. Basically, it’s an environmentally friendly alternative the cardboard sixpack. Maybe you are bringing beer to a house party and want to mix and match brands. Maybe you don’t want the hassle of carrying a poorly constructed cardboard sixpack.
It’s simple. It looks good. I want one.
- Christian
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