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The Cunning of Humility

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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story is king, Taylor AK Smith, The Cunning of Humility

Humility is about putting others above yourself. And when you look up to someone, you listen. When I listen, I get to know you, sometimes better than you know yourself.

Boxer’s Benevolence

Knowledge is power, and never more powerful than in the ring. In a sport marked by self-promotion and audacious vanity, there is a hidden humility.

Despite their self-centered façade, boxers know better than most the danger of pride; it comes before the fall, not the knock out. To be the last man standing you can’t afford to be vain, instead you must be vigilant. A mark of a champion is an effective counterpunch, which comes from diligent observation – a mark of humility.

The Telling Truth 

If you called them hustlers, sharks or gamblers, you’d be right. But most of all, poker players are students, and the course is you. There are dollars to be had in your every move, quirk and idiosyncrasy. It pays to get to know you.

It’s a battle of observation, a calculating exchange between opponents played off as casual conversation. Consequently, it’s more about the tell on your face than the cards in your hand.

Adman Sermon 

Despite their reputation for manipulation and lies, advertising’s most successful Admen are humanitarians; they make their money off paying more attention to people than they pay to themselves.

 If you ever need someone to talk to, Advertisers are there to listen. In fact, they will pay you to spill the beans. They love your beans. It’s hard to find a lover more concerned with your needs and wants. 

If you care to listen more clearly than I hear myself, and watch more honestly than I look in the mirror, you will know me better than I know myself. But only if you care, honestly.

Beware of those who care. It pays to get to know you. 

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Relevant Nostalgia

28 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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Ericsson, Harley Davidson, Relevant Nostalgia, Sony, story is king, Taylor AK Smith, Van Hoven

The difference between Classic and Antique is that Classic sticks to its roots and continues to produce good fruit, while Antiques think their roots alone are enough to spread their seed.

The Sony Walkman went on sale in 1979 and revolutionized the portable electronics industry and the way the world consumes music. Shorty after, the Discman was released in 1984. Then… (dramatic pause) In 2001, Sony teamed with Ericsson to create a series of radically marginal telecommunication products and forever pushed the boundaries of extreme mediocrity.

Sony, whether they would admit it or not, got caught resting on its legacy instead of using it as inspiration. The result was lack of innovation and a brand gone stale.

Earlier this month Matt Van Hoven from Vitro in NYC, tweeted at Harley Davidson proposing a ride from New York to Texas for SXSW. Harley quickly accepted the challenge and offered to loan Von Hoven a bike and the neccessary gear. Von Hoven then tweeted, instagramed and blogged his way through the 1,400-mile journey to Austin (From LA).

Van Hoven got a free ride and a story to tell. Harley got a hip, young, social media-savvy voice advocating thier coolness at the nation’s biggest tech/music/interactive bonanza, which exposed them to new demographics and injected punctuality into a brand based on nostalgia and subversion.

Classic takes its values and spreads the wealth, while antiques think investing is too risky.

If you’re going to evoke the past, you better be on time.

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  • If You Love Harleys You Have Wille G Davidson to Thank (motorcycleinsurance.com)
  • Vee-Roddin’ It Down Nostalgia BLVD (missbusa.wordpress.com)

What Words Can’t Say For Themselves

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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Al Pacino, Oliver Stone, story is king, Typography

What photography is to mountains, what cooking is to collard greens and what movies are to acting, is what typography is to writing.

They perpetuate greatness.

Typography is the style and appearance of printed matter; the art of arranging type. It comes after the writing is written, but not after the craft is completed.

Before you trivialize typography as the needless dressing up of a finished product, think about your favorite actor. Think about the characters he’s played and stories she’s told. Now ask yourself how much of that did he write himself? You will see that actors are typography in the flesh – through elaborate dress up they bring words to life, and in turn become a living testimony to typography. And the pattern progresses; film becomes the typography of acting, as it transforms performances into cinema… genius is a means, not an end.

What do writers think of typography? I don’t know, but I can tell you what this writer thinks about reality. Carrots are good, but they’re better dipped in ranch. Al Pacino’s cool, but it took Oliver Stone to make him a legend. Greatness comes from collaboration and possibility improves on the present.

Never forget, 

Reality is not a finished product.  

 

Typography by Renee Alvarado
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  • Typography in graphic design (jackgibson.wordpress.com)

When Advertising Crosses the Line

29 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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Andy Warhol, henri de toulouse lautrec, Nike, Norman Rockwell, story is king, Taylor AK Smith, tayloraksmith

 

When advertising enriches our lives it transcends itself and becomes independently valuable.

Would you ever buy an advertisement? – not the product being advertised, but the advertisement its self.  Would you ever use an advertisement? – not to start a fire or as a coupon, but use it. The answer is yes.

In the late 1800’s Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to make posters for the opening of the Moulin Rouge in France. Its opening has long since passed, but millions of its advertisements continue to sell and are considered works of art.

Henri was not the only one to create art through advertising; Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol both surpassed Henri with their work for some of America’s most popular brands.



What about using advertising?

Nike+ allows users to track their runs and connect with others, increasing interaction and shoe sales. Nike+ is huge, not because of its advertising, but because of what it offers.

One of the first and most successful examples is the Michelin Guide. In 1900, Michelin published the Michelin Guide of hotels and restaurants to promote tourism, hoping to get drivers to wear through their tires faster. The guide is still in print still and still wearing out tires.

“We’ve got to stop interrupting what people are interested in, and be what people are interested in.”  – Axel Chaldecott

Expect more out of ads. Instead of wishing you didn’t have to see them at all, ask why you don’t ask to see them more.

Villainous Charm

25 Tuesday Oct 2011

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Darth Vader, goblazersbaby, Hannibal Lecter, Hannibal Lector, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine, Samurai Warriors, story is king, storyisking, Taylor AK Smith, tayloraksmith, Training Day, Vito Corleone

Heroes may be simply good, but the greatest villains are never simply evil. All-bad all the time is boring and predictable, not to mention unbelievable.

A man is only as great as the obstacles he overcomes, as heroes are only as great as the villains they conquer.

Adversity defines courage and a villain defines a hero. So what defines a villain? – Complexity and contradiction, that’s what.

 Darth Vader, Don Corleone and Hannibal Lecter are without a doubt the greatest villains of all time. They are also as complicated as they are legendary.

Darth Vader

 Before he was the leader of the dark side, Darth Vader or Anakin Skywalker started life as a slave who ultimately wins his freedom in a podrace on account of his unparalleled piloting skills.

After being taken from his mother and put under the wing of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he falls desperately in love with Queen Padme. The two eventually elope; but when her life becomes in jeopardy, Darth Sidious convinces Anakin that the powers of the dark side are the only thing that can save her. He takes the bate and grows to be the most gruesome goon in the universe.

 Don Corleone

 As a child in Italy, Vito Corleone’s father refuses to be extorted by a local Don. As consequence, his father, mother and brother are killed. The young orphan flees to America to escape the Don’s wrath where he gets a job in a grocery store, but is soon fired in favor of a local gangster’s nephew. Vito then organizes his friends and resources to establish an empire based on ruthless dominance and absolute devotion to friends and family.

Hannibal Lector:

Lecter was introduced to cannibalism as a child. During the twilight of WW2, Nazi collaborators kidnap him and his sister. The soldiers soon go mad from hunger and eat his sister just feet in front of him. Lecter is irreversibly traumatized and becomes fixated on revenge, and cannibalism. After leaving his orphanage, Hannibal lives with his Japanese aunt Lady Murasaki, who comes from a long line of Samurai Warriors and teaches him martial arts and flower arranging. He then enrolls in John Hopkins Medical School.

If your wife were in danger of dying, would you compromise your morals to save her life?

If you were thrown into the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, would you have the tenacity or intelligence to survive, let alone construct an empire?

If Nazis ate your sister, would you try to rectify her death, maybe even in the same manner it was executed?

I did not write this in defense of villains; I’m not justifying their actions, or ours. But I am making two points about nefarious scoundrels.

1) We have a lot in common with the ones we hate.

“Just cuz you don’t like’um, doesn’t mean you ain’t like’um.” – Sam Jackson, The Sunset Limited.

2) An epic hero demands an epic advisory – Good guys vs Bad guys; it’s never that simple.

“The shit’s chess, it ain’t checkers.” – Alonzo Harris, Training Day (Honor Roll Mention Greatest Villain)

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  • Darth Vader: The Galaxy’s Worst Community Manager (metaversemodsquad.wordpress.com)

The Danger of Research

16 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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AlbertEinstein, Bill Bernbach, Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, story is king, Taylor AK Smith, tayloraksmith

 

Storytelling, just like advertising, is an art, not a science.

“Logic is one of the great obstacles to progress.” – Bill Bernbach

Despite what we may think, we are not rational beings; we are curious creatures with illogical behaviors. In fact, we are defined by our idiosyncrasies and unique ambitions – our quirks give us character.

It’s foolish to rely on research. For the same reason you think it’s going to work it’s bound to fail because it leads to conformity, and the audience wants something new. Storytelling is an art not an audit.

Research is dangerous because it deals with facts, and not necessarily the truth. And the facts can be distracting for the same reason lawyers rarely lie, and can rarely be trusted. 

“As poet and mathematician, he would reason well; as mere mathematician, he could not have reasoned at all” – Edgar Allen Poe 

Research puts us in a position we have already been. From that familiar place we need to push the boundaries, and intuition tells us what barriers to break. We are motivated by intangible forces and crave original content. And when seeking originality the rules of convention are impotent.

Regurgitating research is like telling someone a joke they’ve already heard. Storytellers have the responsibility to give the audience what they didn’t know they wanted, or as an ad man would say – creating demand.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge” – Albert Einstein

We didn’t know we wanted Alice to go to Wonderland until Lewis Carroll stuck her down a rabbit hole. And no amount of research would have told Mark Twain to put an orphan on a raft with a runaway slave.

 

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Relevant Intangibles

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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advertising anecdotes, Short Stories, Short story, story is king, storyisking, storytelling, Taylor AK Smith, taylor smith

We live our lives in a series of small stories; the morning routine, the commute, the daily grind and the battles of the weekend warrior are all roles we play that collectively make up our lives. We don’t live in a series of unrelated events; we live in context.

Anecdotes, short stories about real people, are how consumers experience products and services, and that’s how brands should advertise them. Detailing the narrative surrounding a product or service helps us digest quickly and clearly. Anecdotes answer questions like, “When will this make my life easier?” and “How will it make me look cooler?” In short, short stories relate relevance and intangibles.

Products and services are more than the sum of their parts. Describing the molecular characteristics of Hennessey doesn’t communicate the emotional value of cognac. Just like nightclubs are defined by their atmosphere, not their square footage.

 

Related articles
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Routine Hero

22 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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BBDO, Half for Happiness, story is king, storyisking, taylor smith, tayloraksmith, Tmade

People have generous hearts, and lazy feet. If you want my charity, make it easy and pat me on the back.

 Almap BBDO in Sao Paulo, developed a campaign called “Half for Happiness” to feed hungry people in Brazil’s poorest neighborhoods. The campaign partnered a charity organization and local grocery stores. They took popular products, cut them in half and repackaged them with a message asking full price, so the missing half could be sent to the hungry. The half-packed products were placed alongside normal goods where shoppers would see them as they browsed their usual options.

We all love kids, even dirty-faced poor kids. But we have kids of our own, and football games to watch. We care, just not enough to miss kickoff. This doesn’t mean we won’t donate; it means we won’t go out of our way to give our money away.

This campaign put charity down our isle and in our shopping carts. In other words, they made philanthropy convenient. Unfortunately, this was not enough. “Half for Happiness” forgot the other half – the pat on the back – and the campaign generated humble results. I believe they would have been far more effective had they given donors recognition. More than a thank you, they could have given costumers credit for their charity by creating a Facebook or other social-platform page dedicated to the cause, then tagged participants in a picture of that same dirty-faced kid with pizza sauce everywhere dirt used to be that read “Thanks for dinner.”

When someone gives you a dollar, don’t forget to dance.

Yet to be Realized Greatness

23 Saturday Jul 2011

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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digital meets anthropology, goblazersbaby, Homelessness, Leo Burnett Toronto, story is king, storyisking, Street children, Taylor AK Smith, taylor smith

Some stories are captivating because of what someone has done, others because of what someone may become.

In February, Leo Burnett Toronto created an awareness campaign for homeless youth. Potential was their rallying cry. The potential in a potato, in curb-side furniture and in a withered house plant. “If you can see potential in an abandoned chair, why not a homeless youth?”

No offence to the typical hobo, but a homeless youth commands more attention, and inspires more imagination, because their story has just begun. Despite their miserable condition, they have chapters yet to be written, chapters that may be the pieces to a great novel. Or they could just be a future hobo – depending on the help we give.

Their story stays with us, because it ends in our lap. We have authorship of the ending and the freedom to define the finale. A child’s future is latent with beauty, no matter how filthy their face. You can’t screw up potential because it hasn’t happened yet.

Sometimes the most telling part of a story is the story untold.

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The Humor in Hitchcock

26 Thursday May 2011

Posted by Taylor AK Smith in Story is King

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Alfred Hitchcock, go blazers, Literature, story is king, story telling in advertising, storyisking, storytelling, storytelling in the media, Taylor AK Smith, taylor smith

Every great story contains dichotomy – complementary contradiction. Alfred Hitchcock did this masterfully. He is known for his horror, but humor was one of his greatest tools. “Puns are the greatest form of literature” he insisted. He employed satire to set up suspense and parody to provide panic in order to tease the viewer’s emotional pallet – first sweet, then spicy.

You’re hurt most by the people you love and scared most easily when you’re comfortable. Without humor the audience is left anticipating the terror and suddenly the scary movie becomes cheesy and predictable. But if you are romanced, your eyes develop a taste for love and a weakness for fright, leaving you susceptible to surprise. Balancing the range of emotions and intellectual capacities is essential to effective storytelling. No matter what the genre, there is a need for a dynamic script, and advertising is no different. Kathy Hepinstall did it with Nike Women’s apparel, Jules Vern did it with science fiction and Bernbach did it with Volkswagen.

When you keep the audience on their toes it is easier to sweep them off their feet.

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