Embrace Stupid
It's a fine fall day to embrace stupid.
Chances are, your industry peers are reasonably smart. What if you tried doing something fellow smart folks would dismiss as stupid?
Hydration befitting of hells angels Liquid Death, a high-low condiment cauldron (ahem, Hidden Valley Ranch x TRUFF), and Panera Bread embossed baguette purses (google this; these things now resell for 3x retail price) -- all brand concepts discussed in another company war room somewhere, and passed on, chalked up as stupid.
My fave example of a big, bold, and stupid brand move is a throwback, from the team behind one of the best selling cars in the history of auto, and the first car model to break 20MM units in sales: the VW Beetle.
VW's brand storytelling was peak stupid for their time:
- A call to “think small”
- Errant logo placement
- A teeny product photo
- All in black & white
All of the best practices then praised:
- Use of luxe language
- Text alignment for legibility
- Full color and larger than life imagery to promote consumer eyeball dwell time
Dare to embrace stupid.