It’s time to disrupt creativity

To make a mark, brands have to break the rules

MUMBAI: When Guinness used three men walking backwards in evolutionary time to sell beer and Honda decided to show not a car, but its single parts to market their vehicle, a sort of advertising milestone was created.

And long ago, Volkswagen was advertised as a `lemon’ of a car. Brands that creatively and conceptually leap off the shelves to tell their stories don’t just make advertising history; they set standards which other brands aspire to reach.

Call this creative disruption, a concept pioneered by BDDP chairman  Jean-Marie Dru some decades ago. In his books, Dru propounds disruption (``overturning conventions’’) as a methodology for creating powerful business and advertising strategies.

What is creative disruption?
Simply, it is the idea of ‘when the world is going one way you go another’. Or as creative guru John Hegarty said: `When the world zigs, you zag.’ Zagging has become increasingly critical for brands and their messages to stand out in a cluttered mediascape. What’s more, brands at the acme of their success are also advised to break the creative mould and create new category rules in advertising.

For Parag Tembulkar, group creative director, Publicis USA, Seattle, creative disruption is a combination of bravery, gut-feel, common sense and a deep understanding of the marketplace and the audience.

“It is about knowing the rules thoroughly before breaking them.” Brands like Playstation, Adidas, Apple and Nike all have ground breaking advertising which breaks the norms. While Apple simplified the personal computer and made it cool and non-tech, Levi’s introduced black denim when no one thought beyond blue.

Some Indian brands have rocked the market as well, taking the never-trodden path. Ramesh Thomas CEO, Equitor Consulting describes how Airtel diverged from category norms with its black and white ‘Big Expressions’ campaign while Britannia used the ‘glass of milk in every slice of cheese’ to challenge the notion of cheese being only for the upper class.

“Kama Sutra condoms changed the way it looked at the category,” adds Tembulkar. “While others were screaming protection in a country where the population is large, KS encouraged youngsters to go ahead and enjoy, these are disruptive practices.”

Why disrupt?
More then a matter of survival, clutter-breaking ads work to create a space for brands in markets which are saturated with one mode of thought or execution. Filmmaker Imran Khan from Trapeze Artistes believes it’s all about finding a solution which balances out the client and the creative without compromising the brand.

“While the ad for Olivia Bleach broke out of the category norms, bringing out the aspirational aspect of the brand, other ads like Happy Dent and Xbox Pikachu actually leave out the brand completely, yet resonate with the audience.”

For Khan, disruptive ads have to create a recall value, while still finding an audience who will be able to relate to it: “One has to walk the thin line between the clutter breaker and the creative idea in order to not lose out on the message.”

The art of creating a disrupting ad involves challenging the environment by breaking the existing norms in any business or human activity. For HLL brand Lux, throwing in Shah Rukh Khan was the ultimate shake-up of their age-old creative strategy of using female stars. To avoid the wall-paper effect of too many stars, Lux disrupted their style by adding SRK naked in a pool of rose petals. 

Breaking free
As brands increase and the media environment becomes denser, “creative disruption, if used as an art rather than a pig-headed science, assumes even more significance”, says Tembulkar.

Thus, it not only means to have a surprisingly new message, but  also that those messages have to be conveyed in a surprisingly new medium.

Marian Salzman, executive vice president J. Walter Thompson and trend-spotter states brands that have figured out how to go from being the challenger to a complete market leader are the most disruptive, like Apple and Google. “Brands can cause whole new products to be created from their advertising and communications,” says Salzman.

The practice of disruption, whether creative or otherwise, has been around forever. Thomas from Equitor states, “If you want to own mind space you can’t chant with the crowd; find the stomach to break away.”

This is the essence of disruption: it’s how Mahatma Gandhi disrupted the British Raj, Happy Dent brought shine into chewing gums and Hutch taught the world how to smile about serious things.

Disruptive Brands

Apple- Reviving their brand in 1997, they brought out iMac and iPod to storm a Microsoft- dominated market with innovative advertising and products.

Levis- They introduced black denim when everyone was wearing blue; despite new fads like Miss 60 and 7 Jeans, Levi’s continues to be the standard in denim.

Playstation- Dark yet playful, they have redefined how gaming and consoles are advertised, marketed and perceived by the public.

Adidas- Not focusing only on shoes, it’s about inspiration with a ‘retro’ cool look

Google- Today this online tool is synonymous with the idea of search-and-find

Nike- Breaks all the rules, draws from the flavour of the moment and takes it to another level with their interpretation; a classic brand that’s always innovating

Kamasutra- Focused on pleasures of love making rather than protection

Volkswagen Beetle- While US wanted giant SUVs, the Volkswagen Beetle asked them to think ‘small’ in difficult economic times

Colour Plus Clothing- Did only product-focused advertising vs. others who needed foreign models for assistance, throwing them off-balance.

Hutch/Orange- In the serious telecom industry, it is the only childlike and playful brand; it takes a different stand.