Cow Manure

Coupla times this week I was asked to give my take on “branding.” I thought they were talking about the cows on Yellowstone.

Branding is supposed to be a way to make you stand out from the pack. These days, the term has been warped by nimrods with Harvard MBAs. One more hunk of jargon designed to kill creatives in this game. Now it’s all about brand standards, brand consistency, brand management. You know what it’s really about? Conformity and sausage factory templates. That ain't branding, Bucko.

Everything is getting more homogenized and pedestrian. I call it the eggshells era. Let’s not offend anybody. Let’s all look and sound the same. Creatives are the competitive edge, Roscoe. And safe is the enemy of creative.

A business has to be honest and authentic and advertising should express a strong point of view and personality. And we can’t be afraid to have some fun. After shooting my mouth off like this, I’ll probably never work in this town again.

Keep your dukes up. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdR6MN2jKYs

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