Sharing My Crayons

Brand of a Thousand Faces

 

 "Find something
no one else can
or will do.

The secret of success in movies lies
in being different
from anyone else."

 

Advice from
Lon Chaney
to Boris Karloff

 

One of the great Holy Grails of lost cinema is the movie London After Midnight, a 1927 silent film featuring actor Lon Chaney as a vampire. Though TCM produced a reconstruction of the film several years back from a copy of the continuity script and a collection of over 200 stills gathered from various sources, there are no existing copies of the original film itself.

The same was true for the poster from the film as well – Until now!

Recently, the only known copy of the US release poster for the film turned up in the Heritage Auctions Vintage Movie Posters Signature Auction – and fetched a record-breaking $478,000! Yes kids . . . Half-a-mil ! ! !

 

The unexpected appearance of this poster gives fans hope that a print of the film might one day be unearthed as well.

As a kid growing up reading Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, I know the famous Lon Chaney London After Midnight makeup very well. I was also familiar with Chaney's Hollywood nickname: The Man of a Thousand Faces!

So renowned was Chaney's uncanny ability to completely remake himself for a role with only minimal makeup and fantastic facial contortions that it was jokingly said to not step on a spider in Hollwood, because it might be Lon Chaney in disguise.

The transformations Chaney accomplished with the just the minimal amount of goodies is his magic makeup box were astounding! His ability in this field was so esteemed, that he wrote the entry on motion picture make-up for the 1929 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

 

Chaney had once quipped about his gift by saying, "My whole career has been devoted to keeping people from knowing me."

Which is where we flip this little indulgence into my love of movie posters and classic horror films back around and ask some pointed brand-related questions.

How well is your brand really known? If you strip away the facade of greasepaint, what's left? Is there a single inherent truth to your brand that connects with your audience?

Or could it be said that you have so neglected investing in telling your brand's story that your audience feels that they don't really know you?

Are you authentic in the eyes of your audience – or are you a
Brand of a Thousand Faces?

The latter might provide for some entertainment, but will ultimately fail to distinguish you in a memorable way where it counts – in the marketplace.

Chaney's advice to Boris Karloff on succeeding in the movies holds equally true for success in branding and visual storytelling:
Be different from anyone else!

Not sure how to do that? Get in touch with us – we'd love to help!

 

With Great Power…

 

 "My fault -- All my fault!

If only I had stopped him when I could have. But I didn't --

And now --

Uncle Ben -- is dead..."

 

Peter Parker (1962)

 

This is not meant to be one more snarky, egocentric post that’s more interested in ragging on someone’s work than providing useful insights. My intent is to educate, not attack.

That said, let’s get to it…

I was chilling on my couch one evening, mindlessly watching TV when a commercial came on that I found a bit shocking. That, itself, is not noteworthy, right? Shocking commercials abound. However, this shocked me in a different way than usual.

The screen was white with the exception of an empty wine glass held at an angle. Classical music played while wine started pouring from a bottle into the waiting chalice in smooth slow-motion, creating that sort of elegant splash you see only in commercials – and that you certainly wouldn’t be brave enough to attempt at home. It was a very sexy ad…as ads for wine go.

I thought to myself, “Y’know, that gives me a craving for a glass of wine – and I don’t even LIKE wine." 

It’s what came next that I found shocking.

“If this is your problem, we can help.”

These words appeared on my TV screen, followed by the logo and name of a local addiction treatment center. Did this really just happen? Did a center for the treatment of addiction to alcohol really create a commercial that uses the same methodology that a wine manufacturer or reseller would use to make someone want to buy themselves a bottle of wine?!?

They may well have just said:

“If this is your problem . . . we’re sorry – but hey, a sweet glass of wine should make everything better!”

Anyone engaging in communications has potentially great power to persuade and influence their audience. But, as Peter Parker learned in the very first Spider-Man story, "With great power there must also come -- great responsibility!”

In our Discovery process with clients we ask: “Is there anything that should be avoided when talking to your audience?”

For a treatment center, I’d be so bold as to say that we should avoid advertising in such a way as to make the people we’re trying to help overcome their addiction crave the very thing they are addicted to. Because, at the end of the day, what you’re really communicating is that you have a profound lack of understanding as to the overpowering nature of the problem your audience is dealing with.

And the call for responsibility goes out beyond those working in healthcare. There are others with far less power to do good and influence people, that still communicate in dangerous ways.

My favorite has to be the geniuses who put QR Codes on billboards that line perpetually busy streets (though folks who put QR codes on their cars are equally irresponsible).

 Let me get this straight. You want me to try to focus my smartphone on your sign, some 50 feet in the air and off to the side of the road, all while I’m trying to navigate traffic at 45 miles an hour? I assume this is so that I can be magically transported to your website to view while driving – is that right?

Let me ask this as lovingly as possible:

 “Are you insane?!?”

 In a world where people are killed by distracted drivers at an alarming rate, you really want me to engage with your website NOW?!?

 Both here and with the treatment center, I’m sure there is no nefarious intent on the part of the advertisers. There is however a significant lack of wisdom and a failure to really think through these advertising decisions – the unintended consequences of which could be harmful to the very audience they’re trying to reach and build trust with.

 Understanding your audience, and knowing not just what you should be telling them, but, perhaps more importantly, what you be steering clear of, is part of using your communications super-powers for good and not evil.

 And any superhero worth his spandex would tell you the same thing!

 

What a Relief Indeed!

 

Down, down, down the stomach through

Round, round, round the system too

With Alka-Seltzer they always say:

Relief is just a swallow away!

 

Speedy

As someone who is a complete geek for retro advertising in general – and advertising characters in specific – let me officially give a big welcome-back hug to Speedy, the Alka-Seltzer mascot!

While watching my beloved Colts let one slip away again this year (oh, please don't get me started on that) my wounds were soothed during commercial time when our happy little friend started bouncing across the screen extolling the plop-plop-fizz-fizzy merits of the product that comprises the main part of his body.

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I love that innocent charm that is inherent with these kinds of characters.

Maybe I've just seen one too many commercials with the Colon Lady spouting off (maybe a pour choice of words) about all manner of unfortunate gastrointestinal manifestations in ways that would get my son in trouble if he were to use the same language around the table at Steak-n-Shake.

Either way, I welcome his return and can only hope that his reemergence heralds a return to a more innocent, and fun way of getting our message out; and that it opens the floodgates for the reappearance of more of his classic advertising character brotherhood.

Which classic character would you like to see get a new lease on life? Leave a reply in the comments below.

Meanwhile, enjoy some of Speedy's glory days . . .

 

 

 

 

 

And even though it's not Speedy, how could I not share Fred Flintstone selling out to the man!

 

 

 

Elegant Simplicity

Everything

should be made

as simple

as possible,

but not simpler.

Albert Einstein 

What a treat recently when going to the Turner Classic Movies website to check out the schedule for the coming month. In their the Flash banner of their homepage I saw an illustration style that I instantly recognized. It was the elegantly simple style of illustrator Michael Schwab.

I already give a tip of my hat to the TCM folks for the retro designed flare of their site and for their genre icons which were designed by Charles Spencer Anderson, one of the great influences on my early design career. They further show their good taste with these new commissions for their Summer Under the Stars series.

Michael Schwab has a style that I have been a big fan of for many years. It's one that is so simple in it's execution that it is incredibly deceptive as to how hard it is to create. I know because I have tried before to emulate his style on a logo or illustration project and found it very difficult to get the look down. With the selective use of color, minimalist technique and brilliant use of negative space, his illustrations have a very iconic look to them – completely appropriate for classic movies.

I highly recommend you check out the the full series of illustrations HERE (navigation from one to another is at the bottom of the screen) and check out how much this guy communicates using so little. Be sure to also check out his website for more inspiring images. From the TCM homepage you can also enter a competition to win a complete set of the 31 movie cards Schwab designed – but you don't want to do that (unless you plan on giving them to me), right?

I find these powerful designs leave me with two questions:

1) How can I strive for the simpler solution in my own work?

2) How can I encourage clients to shun the desire to fill up every nook and cranny of white space in favor of a solution that is simple, impactful and elegant. I think that is always in order, regardless of your positioning, product or brand essence.

The maxim that "good" is the enemy of "great" may be true – but sometimes being great can mean backing away, stripping things out and going with an elegantly simple solution.

Positioning Matters

I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques.

I've got a technique.

It's called 'just go get the d--n ball.'

Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley played NBA basketball from 1984 – 2000. He was one of the most dominant rebounders to ever play the game despite being listed at 6' 6" and weighing 250 lbs. – although, as one website puts it, he was likely "a couple inches shorter and a few hoagies heavier." His unique shape earned him the nickname "The Round Mound of Rebound." Barkley was the shortest player ever to win a rebounding title.

About rebounding, he reportedly said that it's not about how tall you are, how long your wingspan or your leaping ability. Rebounding is about position, timing and persistence. The same could be said of marketing and communications.

Timing and persistence are the more obvious of the three, but I think it's positioning that sets the stage for success. As in basketball, positioning in marketing is about carving out space – not on a shelf, but in your customer's mind. Positioning not only takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of the brand, but of it's competitors as well. It's reframing what may already be in the mind of your target audience to create a favorable position, and a competitive advantage, for yourself.

When I was Creative Director for Tavel Optical Group, they had a great positioning statement: One Hour Glasses, Without the One Hour Price. That's powerful because it not only positions them as having what you want (your glasses in an hour), but their competition as having what you DON'T (the high price). I think of this as Underdog Positioning. It positions you favorably against a bigger, more seemingly dominant competitor. Some other examples of this approach:

• 7-Up: The Un-Cola
  
• Avis: We're #2. We Try Harder
  
• Miller Lite: Everything You Want in a Beer – and Less
  
• Apple: Think Different

I was reminded of all this recently when meeting with a client to discuss some new projects. Richard Behney is the owner of AttaBoy Plumbing Company. I've enjoyed working with Richard and his wife Laura since 2004 and created (originally in partnership with Fishhook) the branding and identity for their company, seen below.

The new projects we discussed centered around Richard's decision to run for U.S. Senate in 2010. Specifically, we discussed their desire for all of the visual communication we would create to not look like it came from a typical politician. This positioning was crucial to their message.

Richard is one of the co-founders of the Indiana Tea Party movement and the positioning statement of "Enough!" grew out of his experience there. It's an effective statement in that it taps into the frustrations that many are currently feeling with their elected officials. It works not because it creates something new in the mind of his audience, but because it takes what is already there, reframes it, and carves out space to create a favorable position from which to "go get the ball."

With that in place, I'm still left to figure out how to create a political brand that doesn't look like a typical political brand, which is the kind of challenge I love! Richard considers himself a "strict constitutionalist" which helped determine a foundation upon which to begin building, and led to this design:

We wanted obviously tap into the emotion behind "Enough!", but also wanted to communicate a feeling of Americana – a kind of moving forward with an eye to the past sort of vibe. The gradations in tone help reinforce this, but also communicate that this is a transition for Richard from business owner to the world of politics, reinforcing his position as the sort of the Un-Cola of politicians.

We also created business cards for key people in the campaign to hand out at rallies, speeches, etc. which feature Richard's core campaign principles on the back side.

All of this came together very, very quickly, including a Phase I website. Knowing that a robustly detailed website would take more time to develop, we worked to create small site that introduced people to Richard, told them a little bit about him and provided a means for folks to make donations, volunteer and connect with the campaign. We wanted a simple and clean look that had visual impact, and again, did not look like a site for a typical political campaign. Here's how the site design came together:

You can click the image to visit the site and experience what I think is an innovative approach to presenting the information. This sort of approach wouldn't work for the final site which will need more space to present a fuller and more richly detailed picture of Richard, but it succeeds in initially positioning him as your atypical politician.

As a general rule, I don't think politicians give much thought to this sort of thing. They may believe in what they have to say, but don't see the value in communicating it with a visual strategy. As a result they may appear disconnected from their message.

Regardless of your political leanings, the takeaway from this is that in order to gain effective positioning you must really understand both your audience and your competition – assuming of course that you already understand yourself.

It's how Barkley "cleaned the glass" against players much taller than himself – and it's how you can do the same.