In for the kill

If you follow Dave’s ‘Here’s a thought’ missives online, you will be familiar with the succinct anecdotes that prove unpredictability and creativeness will, ultimately, win out. The best are those that begin with ‘my Gran’, ‘my Mum’, or even ‘my Uncle Ginger’. Uncle Ginger served on HMS Prince of Wales when she was sent to defend Singapore. Conventional wisdom at the time was that you couldn’t sink a battleship with an aeroplane. Wrong. The Japanese did not think in the same way as the westerners.

Counting, Dave says, has taken over from what counts in our business, and from experience I can tell you he’s right. Procurers have asked me how long it takes to have a really good idea as opposed to an ordinary one. These are people who '...don’t want to go and see the Mona Lisa. It’s only 18 inches square'. I hadn’t heard the story of the American agency owner who arrived at his office at Greater London House and told the commissionaire 'I’m Wunderman'. The response: 'I don’t care if you’re fucking Superman, you’re not parking here'.

This is one of many triumphs of wit and grounded wisdom over custom. It can take years to learn, but it’s more powerful to say ‘I don’t know’: Stanley Pollit’s sheep kept getting fatter so he fed them less and they starved to death. It was their wool growing, not the sheep’s girths. We are told that we should save up what to say in a meeting with just a few words that will have greater influence – more wisdom from a temple in the East. One of my favourite pieces in this highly readable book concerns the difference between a tactician and a strategist.

Hitler was a tactician, obsessed with winning battles and moving his troops around from battle to battle, often with sharp changes of mind and direction. Churchill had a single strategy – to get America into the war. His zig-zag diplomacy to persuade a reluctant nation that did not believe the UK was really committed to winning in Europe should be remembered by anyone tasked with writing pointless body copy.

Also, we must avoid mixed messages: 'You can’t weld a JCB to a Ferrari and get a machine that digs at 200 mph'. Sometimes two ads are better than one.

This review was taken from the September issue of Market Leader. Browse the archive here.

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