Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Imagination, Insight, Marketing, Planning, Wieden+Kennedy
A long time ago, I met a prospective client who absolutely loved Wieden.
They were besotted with them.
I was at W+K at the time and asked them what it was that they liked about us – expecting them to talk about NIKE or some other global work.
Instead they said this:
“Any agency that can make me care about a brand of milk is genius”.
The ad they were talking about was this:
Now while that was nice to hear, there were 2 things that led to them that point of view.
1. They worked in a different market and category to milk, so the fact they saw this, reinforced the stretch of great creativity.
2. They looked for the brand of milk in their local supermarket … which reflected the stickability of great creativity.
Of course, what they were really saying was the secret to great creativity … and that is it changes how you look at the world.
I say this because I recently saw a great example of it.
It may not have the charm of If Cats Had Thumbs.
And it certainly doesn’t have the budget.
But it’s up there with making you stop, think and reassess.
Isn’t that great?
A simple statement that has changed what I think of door handles and the importance of door handles.
Or said another way, it’s made me care – possibly for the first time in my life – about something I use every day of my life, without fail.
When you consider the ad is simply a photo of a bloody door handle, you not only realise how brilliant the idea of equating it to a ‘good’ handshake is, you realise how shit so much advertising must be when they’ve got tens of millions to spend and they still can’t make something you remember.
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cats with thumbs is wieden at its best. not seen much of that lately. all try hard shit. still better than most of the other fuckers out there but not a patch on when dan ruled the roost.
the door handle ad is boring as fuck but that line is twisted art. but whoever sold them that art direction doesnt know a fucking thing about art direction.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2022 @ 8:27 amThat’s a better review of the industry than AdAge.
Comment by DH June 14, 2022 @ 8:31 amWhoever thought that half of a left-handed handle encapsulates the message of the copy needs to be shown the door.
Comment by John June 14, 2022 @ 8:39 ami saw what you did there doddsy.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2022 @ 8:55 amBest creative review ever.
Comment by John June 14, 2022 @ 9:12 amFuck its odd that Rob uses an fake account to agree with himself on every post he’s ever made.
Comment by James June 14, 2022 @ 5:29 pmDid Rob write this comment?
Comment by DH June 15, 2022 @ 4:20 amAfter 20 years, you finally have written a title of a post that makes sense with the content. It sums up the issues with the industry and the super bowl.
Comment by DH June 14, 2022 @ 8:33 amAs strategy job applications go, finding a way to make a door handle interesting is a standout move.
Comment by George June 14, 2022 @ 8:39 amI must point out that I love “if cats had thumbs” ad. But that idea feels it was born out of the creative departments mind. Door handle feels it came from the mind of a strategist, hence my earlier comment. But both are examples of brilliant communication thinking.
Comment by George June 14, 2022 @ 8:41 amAgreed.
Comment by John June 14, 2022 @ 8:48 am+1
Comment by Bazza June 14, 2022 @ 9:04 amDid your prospective client really “care” about milk or was that just the sort of language out of touch marketers think they should be using? Instead of real words like “interested”.
Comment by John June 14, 2022 @ 8:42 amthe real fucking question is how many seconds did the client manage to stay awake talking to campbell?
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2022 @ 8:54 amAbout 3.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2022 @ 8:58 amI’m pretty sure he said those exact words … but he was a realist so we shouldn’t be too hard on him, he was still better than so many out there.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2022 @ 9:00 amI agree the ad doesn’t demand attention. But the line does. Simple and brilliant.
Comment by Pete June 14, 2022 @ 8:51 amI look forward to the follow up post where a client tells you:
“Any agency that can make me look at door handles differently is genius”.
Comment by Bazza June 14, 2022 @ 9:03 amtwat.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2022 @ 9:11 amYou’re posting like it’s 2005. Are you bored?
Comment by Bazza June 14, 2022 @ 9:13 amdouble twat.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2022 @ 9:18 amIt does feel like 2005.
But before you call me a twat Andy, I mean it as a compliment. A weird compliment. But a compliment all the same.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2022 @ 9:21 amloser.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2022 @ 9:28 amI will never look at a door handle the same way again. I am not being sarcastic. It powerfully reframes the value of a product we deal with every day.
Comment by Lee Hill June 14, 2022 @ 10:13 amWe’re renovating. This post has just blown our budget.
Comment by Pete June 14, 2022 @ 6:58 pm