The Inkstained Mind: Is being stupid, thinking different?

20 Jan 2010

Is being stupid, thinking different?

Diesel's new 'Be Stupid' campaign brings to mind Apple's 'Think Different' campaign. After all, both are in open defiance of conventional thinking.

Apple's campaign, in the 80s, followed the fashion of the age and relied on hindsight to make its point. Diesel follows the present day assumption that - well, everybody's got some talent (at least enough to get them on reality TV)!

Let's see the ads again...

First up, Apple usurping Gandhi's ideals.

And then, Diesel exhorting us to turn into imbeciles.

So is the thinking different? Or am I just stupid?

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WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

It's often called the world's second oldest profession.

But while the scope of the oldest one has changed little over time, the evolution in the way we communicate has had profound impact on Advertising.

In the ancient and medieval world, Advertising meant word-of-mouth. In the 1500s with the development of printing it became a 'paid public notice', disseminating the message to many. And it had Copy & Art.

Then came radio, TV, computer, cable TV, Internet, mobile phones, Internet on mobile, and it's still not done... Even what we perceive as 'change' is changing. Continuously.

So what is Advertising today?

Honestly, I don't know.

But I do know from a dozen years evolving with the business, that Advertising is most valued when it can make a tangible difference for the advertiser.

That has not changed. And probably won't.

UPDATE: Nothing's changed. But in a way, everything has.

As you see, my focus has shifted - evolved in a way - to a larger canvas. The shift or evolution was gradual, and may be have been discernable to the more observant reader.

While I was delving into the influence of media in society to better understand how perceptions are created, evolved and disseminated, I chanced upon a thread of knowledge that I frankly never knew existed.

My conclusion is that a deep pool of awareness and consciouness exists beyond the shallow narcissistic boundaries created by the convention view of social media and the Internet.

My aim is to send my readers down any path that can lead to this quenching pool.