Why weird is winning
Weird is winning. Don’t believe it? Paul Cotton looks at the creatives who turned bizarre ideas into breakthrough successes.
Why weird is winning
There you are, on the train, in the office, having it all from home with the laptop in the kitchen, undoubtedly keeping an eye on the Cannes Lions just gone by. You’re a plugged-in and hip-to-the-trends marketeer, you watched all the Grand Prix, and you didn’t miss a beat. I see you.
And with all the seeing you were doing, it means you probably noticed something… something weird.
A good number of the brands getting big wins this year were getting those Ws with bizarre campaigns. Creative, absolutely. But stuff that makes you think, who even signed off on that? Did I really just see that? You did. It was cool. Let’s talk about it. First up: examples (just in case you missed something, even though you totally, totally didn’t).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gib916jJW1o
It’s not important if ideas have been done before.
But what is important – is to acknowledge it when they have.
This is just one of the great and famous 1980’s Maxwell tape campaign from the UK.
Love it. Particularly across digital, in an age of hyper-targeted media that aims to maximise relevance and drive performance, our customers are bombarded with ads that are logical, safe, and expected. Here are the exact shoes you looked at last night. Hey NRL fan, here’s a Sportsbet offer. You’re a man, here’s an ad for Great Northern. Why would you pay attention when it’s the same kind of ads and same style of creative every day ad infinitum?
Getting weird with it, intentionally avoiding what’s expected, actively reaching people outside of your direct consumer base – that’s where you’ll really grab attention. Years later I still think about that Libra ad with the guy sticking pads to his arms and doing ninja moves. Guess which brand I’m going to grab when I’m doing a run for my partner?
Really great build re: the display component and targeting. Hammer a nail enough times and it’ll just slip out the other side (or uh, you’ll break the piece of wood.)