‘Brands need enemies or no one will care’
Chipotle’s enemy was “those evil people at Monsanto”
Brands need enemies to stand out and get consumers to care, the creative honcho at an advertising agency said in Cannes today.
Pete Favat, Arnold Worldwide’s chief creative officer, in a session titled ‘You need an enemy’, said: “creativity needs an antagonist.”
“Without tension, no one pays attention. If we put tension into our work, then people will engage,” he said.
“Nobody cares what we [ad agencies] have to say. We have to think about things to push against. Art needs resistance to work. So does advertising.”
“If you understand what’s going on in culture and can push against it, your work will stand out.”
He cited Nike, Chipotle and Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak as the fruitful creators of enemies.
Sendak’s enemy in Where The Wild Things Are was growing up, he said. Nike’s Just Do It campaign’s was lethargy, Chipotle’s was chemicals in food and “those evil people at Monsanto”.
Hmm really? Sounds like that book by 37 Signals called re-work and the idea of picking a ‘meaningful’ fight.
Make it new (spin it) and the make it new make it new.
Just sayin.
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