Safety last!

While reading the recent System1/Effie paper The Creative Dividend , I was reminded of the marvellous words of aviator and writer Cecil Lewis in his autobiography, Sagittarius Rising:

You should live gloriously, generously, dangerously. Safety last!

OK, making adverts is hardly comparable to flying high above the trenches on the Western Front, eyes peeled for a Flying Circus or two to bag. But nevertheless, can I be the only person in advertising who finds charts like these rather disconsoling?

Creativity is “seen as a risk”. Whether that’s the marketers themselves that see it as a risk, which is a very cheerless thought, or, more likely, the powers that be, is immaterial.  What’s more concerning is the implied attitude to risk. It’s seen as a “barrier” to creative effectiveness. Gone are the days of no risk, no fun it seems.

Timandra Harkness’s Letter on Liberty Risk and Responsibility shines some light on this. Whether it’s down to the meddling nanny state, a tendency to infantalise adults or the obsession with measuring everything and “proof”, risk today is associated with harm rather than with opportunity. In many areas of work and life. Taking a risk is seen as irresponsible. But Harkness argues to the contrary:

Far from being irresponsible, taking risks is the only way to be a truly responsible adult. To live a life devoted to constraining uncertainty, minimising bad possibilities and maximising predictability, is to live as a child. It’s not only permissible to take risks - in fact, it’s intrinsic to being a moral agent.

Surely it’s a pessimistic mindset to use uncertainty about how things could to turn out as a reason not to take a risk?

But luckily, back in the world of advertising, those clever chaps and chapesses at System1 and Effie have actually put some numbers on how creativity can boost effectiveness and build brands and profits. 

As I think we had on the wall or in the company handbook at Saatchi:

 

The cult of authenticity

 

                                                    Screenshot from HBR Seminar, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

A couple of days ago, I listened in to a webinar introducing a new book: Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (And what To Do Instead). It’s by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology.

“Authenticity” is one of these words - like “diversity” or “inclusivity” or even “sustainability” - which is horribly over-used without much thought, whether for brands or personal development in business. So much so, that the author speaks of “The cult of authenticity”, which he dismantles in his book.

But let me take a step back. I suspect most of us growing up in the Western world have had this notion drummed into us from an early age. It may not have been labelled “authenticity” or have appeared on coffee cups and T-shirts, but the idea of expressing your individuality has long been with us as something innately Good. I still remember a song (Danny Kaye, I think?) from Tubby the Tuba. “Be yourself, you can’t be anybody else ... or you’ll always be a nobody ... be yourself - or else.” 

But what has happened with the rise of this cult is a simplification. One of those ghastly binaries. You’re either authentic or fake. And you’re only “allowed” to be authentic by the powers that be if your values and beliefs are on the approved list. As Dr Tomas said, your “whole authentic self” is not going to be welcome at work if you’re a misogynist Nazi in your spare time.

The most blindingly obvious thing to me, having studied psychology and Jung in particular is that most of us don’t actually know who we are. I have an inkling, but also know that it’s a work in progress. There are some who’d argue that there is no such thing as the self, and that we go through life wearing a series of masks or personas. Depending on context.

And that’s probably the main thing I took out of the seminar. Dr Tomas called for "less focus on expressing your authentic self and more on understanding others” and mentioned that the Authenticity Cult “typifies the egotisitcal self-absorbtion that characterises our times.” 

I scribbled this down - I’m not sure whether it’s from the book or someone else: “Maturity requires you to understand where the right to be you ends and your obligation to others begins ...”

Finally, I asked a question, which didn’t really get answered. What is the difference in emphasis between “authenticity” and “genuineness”? I’m still not sure - both can apply to objects and people. But genuine has more connotations of sincerity, integrity, human values, while authenticity feels more about provenance, lack of fakery and factual accuracy.

If you harshly light every last corner of a house, the house will be uninhabitable. It’s like that with your soul; if you light it up, shadows and darkness and all, people will become ‘uninhabitable.’ Werner Herzog

The woman in white

 

I’ve laid off blogging about every generative AI development in creating and producing ads because, frankly, it’s all moving at a speed that I can’t keep up with. But it’s interesting to stick my nose in from time to time to see the state of play. 

I last did that in Dec 2024 when everyone was falling over themselves to get AI-ads out for Christmas. I commented on Vodafone and Coca Cola. I was distinctly underwhelmed by it all and hoped for more originality in 2025.

So far, so bad. 

The example I’ve got for you is typical of what’s being churned out (note the language) this year. You can just imagine the conversation between the brand people and the agency on this one:

- We’ve got this great ad icon but she’s over 100 years old. How can we make her culturally relevant for GenZee?

- Well, the perfect combination of Zeitlos and Zeitgeist would be to bring your analogue icon alive with AI!

So, here we go. The icon in question is for Persil - “Die Weiße Dame” (“The white lady”) who first appeared on posters back in 1922. So, in this 100% AI-generated film we see the white lady stepping out of a poster and onto a German street where she takes a flanier through time up to the present day. 

Persil have achieved plenty of firsts with their advertising - in 1932 they were the first brand to advertise in German cinemas and, in 1956, the first on German commercial TV.

But I don’t think this is going to join those triumphs. 

There’s an idea, of sorts. But hardly original. Great ads work through charm, emotion, storytelling - all absent here. Characters with agency? Humour? Surprise? It’s all a bit flat and inhuman.

Some ads work because they’re well-crafted. You can’t even say that here. Yes, it’s OK - but you don’t admire someone’s ability to press a few buttons. 

Unless there’s a healthy dose of human creativity and originality in the way it’s used, AI ads all end up feeling a bit washed-out. 

RETROWURST: Very British October 2007

 

Gosh. This is a find which really does feel as if it’s from another era. I wrote at great length, rather gleefully, about the Germans’ one-sided love affair with all things British. I even went as far as suggesting 6 facets (archetypes? tropes?) of Britishness where Germans feel particularly comfortable, from Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall to Gaslit London.

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As the leaves start turning here in Germany, you could be forgiven for thinking that Germany is turning into Britain if you were to stroll through a local shopping centre. At least two large department stores have a “British” theme for their fashion collections and advertising this Autumn.

 

First up is Karstadt, who announce that “Die Stadt wird very British” (“The City is turning British”). Clothes, perfumes, jewellery and other goods of British origin or style are being promoted by Karstadt with models in green wellies and Argyle pullovers. Even the prices are described as “very British” in the sense of being understated.

 

From the country-set vision of Karstadt, we move to Peek and Cloppenburg who have chosen “London Affairs” as the title of their Autumn fashion collection. The publicity material here is shot in the slightly bohemian world of Notting Hill art galleries.

 

Both of these retailers’ visions demonstrate the rather one-sided love-affair that the Germans have with Britain. While they can build better cars and certainly play better football (and, yes, the German women are World Champions without conceding a single goal), many Germans still hero-worship the British and all things British in a completely unconditional way. There are many people who still insist on speaking English to me even though my German is actually pretty good after 11 years here. It is considered completely normal to send pre-school children off to an “English for Kids (sic)” course. Almost every German you speak to will spin teary-eyed nostalgic yarns of their teenage school exchange trip, normally to some south coast seaside resort. And I remember clearly arriving at my first job here to find the young CEO of the advertising agency dressed up in Harris Tweed and corduroy, complete with 1930s Noel Coward accent. I assumed that this was some sort of elaborate joke at my expense, but it emerged that he always dressed like that (OK, he was a Freiherr and had an English grandmother, but still…)

 

British products and brands to be found in Germany tend to be those of the classic/luxury type. In the fashion world, brands like Burberry, Barbour and Clark’s are well-known. Most supermarkets will carry a few British brands. I spotted Twinings, Chivers, H.P Sauce, Duchy Originals and Walker’s shortbread our local REWE, as well as “Five Counties Cheddar” and “Lancashire with Cranberries” on the cheese counter. Interesting to note, there is no “bog standard” English cheese to be had. On the drinks side, whisky is increasingly popular and there are a number of specialist stores to be found, for real and online such as www.whiskymax.com . The upmarket “back to the good old days” retailer www.manufactum.de carries Colman’s mustard, Pear’s and Bronnley soaps.

 

British, English and Scottish shops, which pander to Britophile Germans as much as ex-pats, can be found in major cities and online. These include www.the-british-shop.de (upmarket look), www.british-shop.de (corner shop look) and www.british-shop-online.de (country diary look.)

 

As in all cases of unrequited love, the lover is absolutely blind to the faults of the beloved. Very little of the less desirable aspects of modern Britain is known about in Germany or is simply ignored as it does not fit into the perfect picture. Thus, any talk of Chavs, ASBOs and drunken teenage girls in town centres will simply bring blank looks, even if the terms are explained. It’s the same with celebrities. The only British celebrities that are known and popular here are those that fit in with some idealised picture of Britain. And Germany has enough of its own Big Brother and PopStar winners and losers without having to know about the antics of the British equivalents.

 

Although I talk about one idealised picture of Britain, in truth, there are many facets or archetypes that one can invoke here to position or promote a British brand. Here are six that the Germans feel particularly comfortable with:

 

Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall

Bizarre as it may seem, the Germans have adopted the romantic novelist as their own and the German TV station ZDF has produced 70, yes, 70, of the lady’s stories for TV. The Cornish landscape and the rather kitschy romances have an appeal beyond just little old ladies and so many Germans have flocked to Pilcher country as a result that both ZDF and Ms Pilcher have awards from the British Tourist Board!

 

Braveheart

The swirl of the kilt, the bagpipes, brave Highlanders and whisky is another world that the Germans feel very happy in. This Celtic archetype is also extended to include the Irish. However, although Walker’s shortbread is a staple of British shops, I don’t believe that that other Scottish delicacy, the deep-fried Mars Bar has yet hit the German palate.

 

Swinging London 

This archetype is probably the closest to the reality of modern Britain and thus the least comfortable. While a certain degree of eccentricity is expected from the Brits, there is reluctance to embrace anyone or anything that is too “out of control”. So the rather plasticky German supermodels Heidi Klum and Claudia Schiffer who are part of this “scene” through their partners are seen as better representatives of this world than real-life London girl Kate Moss.

 

The Royal Country Set

This is archetypal England at its best: see www.the-british-shop.de . The British royals are followed with great interest here and are often the subject of affectionate “comedy” sketches as well as documentaries. Having no official royalty of their own, the Germans are happy to “borrow” someone else’s. And while the royal families of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Holland and Spain also hold interest, the strong blood bond with the Windsors seems to win out.

 

British Humour

Although British humour is usually cited by Germans as the quality that they admire in us the most, what we would call “real” British humour is rarely understood by Germans, relying as it does on word-play and a heavy dose of irony. The king of British humour in Germany is still Rowan Atkinson in his Mr Bean incarnation and I am sure it will come as no surprise that this show is watched and enjoyed by many people over the age of 6 in this country. Another little oddity that is often quoted by Germans as representing British humour is the comedy sketch “Dinner for One”. This sketch was produced in the 1960s by the German TV station NDR with an English cast (Freddie Frinton and May Warden) and now holds the record for the most-repeated TV program ever. Most Germans know the entire script off by heart so next time you hear Germans saying “same procedure as every year” or “cheerio, Miss Sophie!” you’ll know where it came from.

 

Gaslit London

The end 19thC/early 20thC London of swirling fogs, carriages and elegant detectives in evening dress is still a very popular image. Although Germany has never really picked up on modern British police or crime series, preferring the Swedish versions of Henning Mankell and his ilk, Edgar Wallace, Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie remain very popular.

 

There are other archetypes and worlds that represent Britain and the British for the Germans but you can be sure that these do not include benefit scroungers or hoodies. And of course, the benefit of this rather rose-tinted perception for us is that we Brits are automatically assumed to be aristocratic, noble and hilariously funny by the Germans unless we dramatically demonstrate otherwise.

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While the London Olympics, Downton Abbey, the Gin & Tonic revival, various cosy crime series, post-Hugh Grant rom-coms such as “The Holiday” with Cameron Diaz and those sanitised pop biogs kept Britannia’s flame going for a good few years, it’s down to a rather sad flicker now.

Brexit and RIP Queen Elizabeth II. 

Older Germans still have fond memories and associations with Britain, and the stereotypes persist: cups of tea, fish & chips, politeness. But it’s all a little faded and dusty these days, like something hanging out too long in the sun at a seafront stall. 

But I get the impression that many Germans, especially the young, regard Britain as expensive, hostile and troubled. And not particularly “cool”. I was shocked not long ago when a relative of my husband’s (a young man who’s mixed race) said he wasn’t keen on going to Britain as it’s “so racist.”

It’s a sad state of affairs, but I’m not without hope. The salvation of Britain may lie in the specific, the local, rather than the not-so-great whole. Whisky, for example, is undergoing a huge surge of interest here. While many of the little British grocery stores have closed down, whisky shops are thriving - even in the one-pig town where I used to live!