Conformity

Solomon Asch conducted the above experiment in 1962. This experiment was repeated in recent times by USF with the same results.

People will agree with others or follow them even when others are wrong. Conformity is everywhere. Government, industry, marketing and advertising. People think they are setting out do something different and yet all they wind up doing is more of the same.

Conformity of the group is the reason great ideas get mauled in research, much like a hapless victim getting mauled by hungry lions in a Roman Colosseum.

'Innovation', is the most powerful word invented to help us live in a state of denial about being conformists in our actions. This is specially true of marketing and advertising. In recent times, I have been to meetings and presentations that I can recall were seen as 'innovative' fifteen years ago. Innovation is used to describe anything from a front-page takeover of a daily to creating a Facebook page. 

I guess, being a conformist must be lucrative. There are a lot of them around.

Clients from hell

Clients From Hell from ClientsFromHell on Vimeo.


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Funny and real. The way I like it. You can read more here.

Mini Cooper - Action speaks

Time and again Mini does stuff, be it on a movie screen or like the event in the video above. Little wonder that they possess die-hard fans. Simply put, building brands requires some doing, if you know what I mean.

BTW, wouldn't it be great if they had an event to demo extracting Mini from a super-tight parking space?

Social Media Revolution

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At last someone made this video. It is a brilliant parody that rips apart the BS that mavens and zealots thrive in. 

Social Media and Digital are far too precious to be left in the hands of agencies and marketers.

Two Things

I came across this wonderful concept called 'Story of Two Things' here. It is as follows:

A few years ago, I was chatting with a stranger in a bar. When I told him I was an economist, he said, “Ah. So… what are the Two Things about economics?”

“Huh?” I cleverly replied.

“You know, the Two Things. For every subject, there are really only two things you really need to know. Everything else is the application of those two things, or just not important.”

“Oh,” I said. “Okay, here are the Two Things about economics. One: Incentives matter. Two: There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

I thought it was brilliant. I decided to put on my thinking cap(ahem) and come up with my version of Two Things in some very important areas.

Two Things about India

One: Satyameva Jayate (Truth always triumphs)

Two: Uh-oh

Two Things about Indian Media

One: Unbiased media nurtures democracy

Two: Uh-oh

Two Things about Brands

One: Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand. (David Ogilvy)

Two: Uh-oh

Two Things about Digital

One: Digital is about doing stuff( and not about talking)

Two: Uh-oh

Over to you.

Fulfillment

 "The greatest fulfillment is when you do something good for others" 

I would urge you to see this talk by Simon Sinek for NYC Creative Mornings. The greed and do-not-care attitude of management that plagues most organizations (and society) has a domino's effect that seems to be relentless. In this talk Simon Sinek gives the example of the US Marines on how to build self-confidence and a winning team. Everything he says has been extolled in our scriptures - the Upanishads in particular. But then who cares for our scriptures when our role-models are those who seem to be right out of a reality TV show and 24x7 news.BTW, is there a difference between the two?

Land Rover

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Land Rover is a brand that tells stories through its product. It is a brand where the product is as daring as its user. A brand that places the product in users hands and lets them do whatever their imagination lets them to. Hey, I am talking about the huge of can of whisky in the video. What were you thinking?