Introducing Jaffe Juice
iMedia Connection is pleased to introduce a new weekly column today, Jaffe Juice -- a healthy blend of insight and opinion -- written by Joseph Jaffe. In a relatively short period of time, Jaffe has made his mark on the industry scene, as both a leading thought-leader and evangelist for Interactive. In his column, Jaffe alternately will provide thought-provoking commentary, find and describe trends, highlight campaigns and produce profiles on people, companies and technology.
At the iMedia Summit which took place in New Mexico in May of this year, a most interesting question was asked on one of the panels: If David Ogilvy, Jay Chiat or Bill Bernbach were alive today, what would they say about the Internet; would they embrace or discard Interactive?
That question stuck with me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Considering I've worked at both Ogilvy and Chiat\Day, the question was quite close to my heart, but you don't have to be affiliated to any of these agencies to recognize what Ogilvy, Chiat and Bernbach brought to the industry.
It didn't take me long in this industry to realize that the key to our future lay in the past. I often refer to Ogilvy on Advertising, which should sit in every Advertising Executive's top desk drawer, much like the Holy Bible is placed in every hotel room’s bedside table.
I believe many of the now-famous Ogilvyisms, which were uttered some 40 years ago, will still be relevant and true in 400 years time:
- "You can't bore your customer in buying your product."
- "Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night" - Clear allusions to the power of strategy and creative in the communications recipe for success.
- "Bear in mind the consumer is not a moron. She is your wife. Don't insult her intelligence." (punch the monkey; your connection is not optimized…need I say more?)
Ogilvy was a direct marketer at heart. He worshipped copy and a text-heavy, print-based communications vehicle. The similarities with online advertising are profound. As we attempt to inject emotion into all online advertising, we might want to pause for a moment and not completely throw out the baby with the bathwater in our quest for offline parity.
Chiat was a visionary and a revolutionary.
One of his quotes wasn’t far off in predicting the reality of the workplace today:
- On the computer age: "I want this to be a paperless office. Hey, there's no tissue in the men's room."
Status Quo to him was a swearword. How else would he have been able to launch a one-time only commercial for a virtually unknown David against the proverbial Goliath using a sporting event, which had never been "tested" as such?
In this case, the similarities with the frequency-capped Intromercials come to mind. Even though the Superbowl-like reach isn't there just yet (which plays into the water-cooler effect), we may want to research the 1984 case study a little more carefully in order to fully grasp the possibility of the event-based online experience.
Topping Advertising Age's 20th century honor roll of advertising's most influential people, Bill Bernbach’s legacy will live on as one of the industries foremost pioneers and leaders. After his death in 1982, Harper's told its readers he "probably had a greater impact on American culture than any of the distinguished writers and artists who have appeared in the pages of Harper's during the past 133 years."
In some of his sound-bytes, we can infer some interesting similarities and pointers to our business:
- "Safe advertising is the riskiest advertising you can do."
- "Rules are what the artist breaks; the memorable never emerged from a formula.”
- "I warn you against believing that advertising is a science.”
- "Logic and over-analysis can immobilize and sterilize an idea. It's like love -- the more you analyze it, the faster it disappears."
A clear foot in the door for Interactive’s case, albeit with a forewarning of the dangers of turning an art into a science and overcomplicating the issue (if only we’d taken the piece of advice).
And just when you thought it was safe to go back into the waters, out comes Hal Riney with the strongest endorsement yet by a “living” industry stalwart in favor of that voodoo that we do so well. In a current Advertising Age interview, Riney pronounces the 30-second television commercial dead, citing consumer apathy and message clutter as reasons for consumer rejection of TV advertising and its relative ineffectiveness, compared to the Internet.
That this article appeared in Ad Age is in itself a huge boon to our business. As for the words and credible endorsement, how should we now merchandise this silver platter of favorable support?
For starters, we should be kicking off EVERY SINGLE PRESENTATION with a quote or two from Mr. Riney. If you feel a little uncomfortable representing a quote from a neighboring participant, then go to your own resident bigwig and ask him or her to ante up!
We'll never know what Ogilvy, Chiat or Bernbach might have said today. But we can take the challenge to Shelley Lazarus, Lee Clow or Keith Reinhard to take over the baton in this relay-marathon.
While we've seen cutting-edge creative from all three of their agencies, have we seen any of the three truly stick out their necks and lead the charge in terms of taking a differentiated position on Interactive’s role in the Integrated picture?
The great leaders and true visionaries of generations past and present were all risk-takers. They dared to dream; they laughed in the face of traditional thinking and scorned conformity. They resided somewhere precariously balanced between madness and genius.
One of my favorite commercials of all time is an Apple commercial for the "Think Different" campaign, which ends with these words, “because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
I know where I stand on the continuum of sanity in this regard. What about you?
