Issue 11: A bulletin for big ideas and better business.

OPINION/ MUSIC 

Settling the score: why critical judgement matters

💬 Sir John Hegarty

Levi’s might be enjoying a boost thanks to an honourable mention in Beyoncé’s latest album, but not every celebrity association is good for business. Back in the early 2000s BBH was called in to help overcome a connection people in the UK were making between the denim brand and Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. The car journalist was a fan of ill-fitting jeans, and his league of fans seemed to follow suit (or trouser). This issue was dubbed the “Jeremy Clarkson effect” – for a company that symbolised youth, vigour and freshness, it was a problem.

The solution we alighted upon was an ad called Odyssey. A young man and a woman are featured running full pelt at a succession of brick and concrete walls. They explode through them as they run, until they break through to the exterior of the building they’ve been encased in. After that, they scale the trunks of huge trees and leap for the night air in a poetic crescendo. The piece was rich with symbolism – defiance, adversity, pain. It was among the most emotive ads BBH was ever involved in. But like anything great, it was enormously hard to make.

Odyssey was a six-month marathon that produced a single minute of film

The best lesson came from a creative spat we had with the film’s director, Jonathan Glazer. There’s no doubting Glazer’s mastery of the medium. In The Surfer he helped create one of the most stirring ads of all time for Guinness. He made Scarlett Johansson terrifying in Under the Skin. And his recent Oscar-winner The Zone of Interest is being hailed as the most important film of the moment. But even geniuses are wrong sometimes. And when it came to the soundtrack for Odyssey, he was. Dead wrong. The BBH view was that Frederick Handel’s Sarabande should score the film. Glazer disagreed, and put forth an original piece of music. The latter paled in comparison, and had some members of the team questioning why the director was so committed to it.

The episode impressed on us the importance of critical judgement. The best creative endeavours always represent a challenge, and Odyssey was a six-month marathon that produced a single minute of film. In the midst of an effort like this, it’s terrifically hard to step outside of one’s perception and remain objective. But doing so is essential. Fortunately, we were able to run the Handel version. Our decision was validated somewhat by the success of the creative. Following the ad’s release, Levi’s saw a 200% surge in sales, with a marked increase from the 15 to 25 year-olds that the brand saw as its target audience.

We’ll never know for sure whether the alternative music would have helped or hindered the campaign. If you have two minutes, you can view both versions on YouTube and hazard a guess for yourself. My instinct is (as it was then), that it would have been tougher to shake off the Clarkson effect without an emotive lift from Handel. 

📣 ALL STAFF 

We’re on a mission to unlock creativity.

The next cohort of The Business of Creativity course launches on the 29th April. It’s an eight-week masterclass that gives attendees all they need to reach their (limitless) potential.

Find out morehere. 

THE AGENDA

1.
The arrival of spring means the beginning of marathon season. This week, those game enough can try the North Pole Marathon or the Desert Marathon Des Sables, on Arctic and Saharan terrain respectively. These sorts of undertakings are a reminder that you only achieve greatness by putting yourself through the wringer.
10th April; 12-22nd April 

2.
Brothers and sisters often have a love-hate relationship – but how do they fare as creative partners? As the US celebrates National Siblings Day, it’s worth assessing the pros and cons of having blood relatives in the boardroom.
10th April

3.
How do you get creative when it counts? Some rely on a shot of the black stuff (coffee, not Bovril). A tour around London Coffee Festival this week will provide an enlivening boost for appreciators of the bean. Those in need of a sharpener should head to Vinitaly, Italy’s premier wine fair in Verona, where they’ll find a glass to get the creative juices flowing.
11-14th April; 14-17th April

4.
Look no further than the French Riviera to get a glimpse of what’s going to rule both the big and small screen in months to come. This week, the Cannes Film Festival announces the line-up for its much-coveted prize: all films are worth adding to a watch-list straight away and will set the agenda for all other award ceremonies to come. Meanwhile, for now the Palais des Festivals is busy with the TV-rights-swapping bonanza that is MIPTV: the red carpet at La Croisette always gets a fair amount of wear and tear this time of year.
11th April, 8-10th April

Firing up
Contributor: Blueee / Alamy Stock Photo

GLOBAL / SPACE

Racing upwards

It’s been 63 years since Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space. Back then, his mission orbiting the planet was a massive milestone in a competition between two main players – the US and the USSR. As those who are into rockets and satellites prepare to celebrate International Day of Human Space Flight this week, it’s clear that the space race isn’t really over; it’s just got a lot more runners joining the starting line. Besides more nations around the world developing their own programs, a cohort of American billionaires has famously muscled its way to the front of the pack. Many countries have once again set their sights on getting their own citizen’s boots on the Moon but there’s a feeling this is no longer just about making a political point: the resources available in outer space have turned this into a lucrative commercial opportunity (one that is observable from light years away). Be it in the pursuit of profit or scientific knowledge, is the idea of a race ever conducive to considered, well thought-out results? Competition and pressure are necessary conditions for some creative thinkers but one-upmanship and rushing things can all-too-easily lead to failure to launch.

Contributor: Clo’e Floirat

CREATIVE HACK

Think inside the box

Working within constraints leads to brilliance. Allow creatives the freedom of a tight brief.

US / CLIMATE

Taking the temperature

Plenty of ideas, initiatives and proposals are floating around when it comes to tackling climate change. When the UN General Assembly meets in New York this week, there will be a high-level meeting dedicated to tackling the enormous, catastrophic consequences of the rise in sea levels. Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi, the World Future Energy Summit will bring together companies, investors and leaders looking to find greener ways to supply clean energy on an ever-wider scale. There’s no doubt that the topic of safeguarding the environment will pop up on the agendas of the attendees at the Delphi Economic Forum this week too. Having the courage to change the course is the main prerequisite when it comes to addressing an issue as huge as this but coming up with creative solutions (much as they may be smart and game-changing) isn’t enough on its own. Only a concerted effort – in ambitious pursuits like this and beyond – can be a reliable way to ensure efficacy: linking up the conversations happening at these three events would be a good way to start.

UK / CULTURE

Stamp of approval 

Worth a mint.
Contributor: jonathan nguyen / Alamy Stock Photo

If you’re not one for sending old-school postcards from your holidays or a passionate philatelist, the likelihood is that you haven’t really had to put a stamp on a piece of paper in a while. But as the UK celebrates 100 years of making commemorative stamps this week – with a commemorative stamp, of course – it’s easy to get nostalgic. As aficionados know, these petite squares can be a miniature thing of beauty, which have also hosted work by big-name artists (whether you think a recent issue dedicated to the Spice Girls or a forthcoming one in honour of Peppa Pig can be considered art is up to personal taste). Still, they’re a reminder that creativity can express itself also on the smallest canvas; and the fact cheap stamps are – by definition – meant to reach and connect a lot of people makes them all the more valuable as a creative endeavour.

EU / FASHION

Fashion labels launch film studios

Last year, Saint Laurent became the first fashion label to officially launch a film production studio: the idea was to expand on creative director Anthony Vaccarello’s cinematic inspirations and his filmic approach to designing collections. Debuting at Cannes with a western film by Pedro Almodovar, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal (and with projects involving the likes of Paolo Sorrentino in the works), the house proved this wasn’t just a vanity project but a creative venture with serious intentions. Last month, mega-luxury group LVMH also joined the film fray by launching its new division 22 Mountain Entertainment – meant to help tell the stories of its 70 brands across video and audio.

Ethan Hawke & Pedro Pascal in Strange Way of Life
Contributor: FlixPix / Alamy Stock Photo

Alison Scorgie, a creative director who consults with luxury and fashion companies, sees it as a way for brands to create new worlds for audiences. “Luxury and fashion brands are communicating their stories in new ways. Launching film studios will offer the brands a platform to express their ethos and attitude,” she says. “It also enables them to explore characters, music, and world-building. All of this is much more than garments on bodies.”

Whether this expansion into the world of entertainment has got to do with fashion labels seeking some of the gravitas that comes from a high-brow association or is simply a great chance for costume design and product placement, it’s a smart move that should help the brands frame themselves as cultural pioneers.