Is the Pope Fancying Himself a bit of a Francisco d’Anconia?

Lately more than ever, if that was at all imaginable, Pope ‘Prada’ Benedict keeps putting his red pumps in his mouth. He’s even giving Prince Phillip (who, despite Eddie Izzard’s brilliant suggestion, is yet to appear in public with a big piece of tape over his mouth) a run for his money in the inappropriate statement stakes. Except that the problem with Beneditct ain’t only the statements. It’s also the actions.

Excommunication of a nine year old rape victim because she had an abortion? Reinstating an holocaust denying bishop and then admitting to the mistake (because of lack of internet research!?!!) ? Denouncing condoms in the fight against AIDS in Africa, because – hold your breath for it – they make matters worse? Are you trying to alienate absolutely everyone Benedict? Because then, way to go!

I mean, if one was trying to discredit the Catholic Church in order to speed up its impending crash, could one adopt a better course of action? I think not.

My guess is that the current Pope is in fact an undercover atheist and a big fan of Ayn Rand. I think he’s emulating Francisco d’Anconia’s destruction of d’Anconia Copper in Atlas Shrugged – and doing an amazing job of it. Let him be, I say. Or is it just me???

Sundaydreaming on my Desktop

First of all, I’d like to apologize for my recent rant about T-mobile and their latest marketing effort. Not because I ranted (Lexiphania is still meant as my no-walls-no-restrictions writing platform) but because I used industry lingo, which must have made it mostly incomprehensible. So here’s a link which should go some way towards clarifying what above-the-line, below-the-line, and through-the-line, a.k.a. ATL, BTL and TTL, mean. Another recent term is before-the-line, which refers to strategy. But none of these have anything to do with BLT sandwiches and none are therefore likely to raise Jonathan Ross’s interest in the slightest. I’ll forgive if they don’t raise yours.

A confused serial dater by night, I’m also a multi-discipline creative by day. Of those, my favourite discipline is experiential, because it draws on all others, and because it allows intelligent interactions between brand and consumer. I love my job, but I’m more of an idealist than your average marketer. I like to think that it makes me a better creative. I like to think that dreaming is a good thing, and I do have big dreams of marketing actually working for the greater good. Yes, that sometimes makes me laugh too. But Cohen and Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, have proved that a “values-led” business philosophy is not only possible, but profitable. (Incidentally, they built their brand through BTL experiential activities, such as Free Cone Day and Sundae on the Common. Because it works.) They also believe that business, rather than politics, can bring change to the world, and I tend to agree. And all working in marcomms, including little me, as the voice of business, have a role to play in the grand scheme of things.

That’s where I want to be anyway, whilst I wait for the Zeitgeist guys to design a brave new world. Anyone with me?

T-mobile Dance: I came, I saw – but I did not Ecstasiate

Long announced if not long awaited: here is my take on Saatchi and Saatchi’s now-not-so-recent T-mobile campaign.

So, yeah… the mobile operator’s slogan Life is for sharing, was brought to life  – rather literally – in a flashmob style dance at London Liverpool Street station on January 15th 2009. So far so good: fantastic choreography, fantastic fun factor, fantastic experiential impact, fantastic viral potential.

Why, why, why, then, did I write that they got it wrong? Well admittedly, they came very close to getting it right, and it’s not all that wrong. I think the angry ex-T-mobile customer in me got slightly carried away there. But still, the idea could have been better managed and better taken through-the-line. The flashmob activity worked well. It was also excellent viral material, and viral is what it should have stayed. Because taking it above the line didn’t quite work: it cheapened the idea.

If you watch the video on YouTube now, you’ll see that the recent comments are mostly praise. But on January 16th, the day the video was uploaded, most comments were angry ones. And early comments are those of early adopters and opinion makers. As a technology brand, you don’t want to alienate those. One read “Oh well, yet another cool thing taken over by corporate evil.” At the time, I didn’t fully agree. In fact, in my book, if marketing borrows or steals from fads and trends in an intelligent way, and presents itself for what it is, it’s getting it right. Consumers are getting more and more marketing savvy. We know that, so let’s run with it: a brand asserting its marketing voice rather than apologising for it, is getting it right. It should go like this: “Yes, we’re communicating. Yes, this is marketing, but we’re bringing something to the table. You can take it or leave it, but this is good, so you probably don’t want to leave it.”

The T-mobile dance, besides being (again fantastically) on-brand, did what most flashmobs do: it was an unexpected moment of fun for commuters that morning, and it worked very well. I thought it was marketing as its best, engaging the public and enriching their life rather than interrupting it. Delivering it to viral life on YouTube made perfect sense.

However, I was soon less than impressed: T-mobile took the whole thing above the line as was.  “As was” being the operating and problematic phrase here. We’re entering an age where the balance between ATL and BTL is shifting. Ideas need to work TTL, of course, but whereas BTL used to support ATL, I think that soon, ATL will be supporting BTL. And as such, Saatchi and Saatchi had a prime opportunity to pioneer that shift. ATL advertising could and should have supported the flashmob dance activity. It should have teased, announced or hinted at it. And the dancing itself should have been a repeat operation, with many a repeat and many another scale. Because that’s where the real connection between brand and consumer happens.

In lieu of a conclusion, I’d like to give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Flashmobs started in 2003 in New York, and they are way cool. However, before there were flashmobs, there was ImprovEverywhere, who started “causing scenes of chaos and joy in public places” back in 2001 and who are also New York based.  Their “missions” tend to be far more varied and inventive than flashmobs. Here are my three favourite: Frozen in Grand Central (which is probably their most famous), Food Court Musical, and Suicide Jumper.

Now, can I get a napkin, please?

Paraskevidekatriaphobia and Lack of Writing

I will now proceed to submit a reason, in a way of an apology, for the lack of writing referred to in the title of this post.

Real Life has taken over cyber-life in my recent life. Unfortunately, Recent Real Life also involved an awful lot of Death. However, and despite aforementioned title, Recent Real Life and associated Death entailed no Fridays and no number thirteens.

There is a connection here though. I came across “paraskevidekatriaphobia” as a side effect of wearing a Bear, Beets and Battleship t-shirt a few minutes ago, and the absurdity of the word seemed a good fit for the absurdity of Recent Real Life. It was the link I’d been hoping for, making it relevant to write about Death on Lexiphania, since Death is what’s happening now, and not blogging it – ignoring it – somehow feels more wrong than blogging it.

Also, as per the proverbial wake-up call and somewhat reassuringly, I got an urge to get things done now. Fittingly, the Lexiphania CNO* pointed me earlier to the Cult of Done Manifesto, which in turn, I’d like to point y’all to now. Check it out. It’s brilliant. Ok. Done!

*Chief Nagging Officer