In this sea of marketing noise we’re all swimming in daily, only the most monumental, earth-shaking ideas have a prayer of captivating consumers and persuading them to buy what you’re selling. the big idea and creative gimmicks might make a momentary splash, but they’ll be forgotten faster than a Snapchat story.
No, if you want to craft campaigns that truly move product and etch your client’s brand into the public’s consciousness for years to come, you need to be a Big Idea hunter. An Idea so brilliant, so disruptive, so bloody ingenious that it stops folks dead in their tracks and makes them say, “Well, I’ll be damned…”
And how do we bag such glory? By tapping into the most primal desires, fears, and psychological triggers that make humans act. By seeing the world through the kaleidoscopic lens of creativity and lateral thinking. By questioning the norms and flipping every concept on its head until the perfect Big Idea reveals itself.
Let me take you through the process with a few classic Big Ideas that cracked the code:
“Think Small” for the VW Beetle In the land of chrome behemoths and gas-guzzling automotive virility in 1959, this two-word Big Idea democratized the modest Beetle as an affordable, practical import for the everyman. It leaned directly into the criticisms of “it’s too small” and reframed them as a lovable, cheeky virtue. An iconic campaign was born that skyrocketed VW to the top.
The Uncola” for 7-Up
In a beverage world dominated by Coke and Pepsi’s liquid locker room fight, the 7-Up Big Idea nimbly sidestepped the battle by rejecting the cola archetype entirely. It ushered in a fun, unpretentious brand personality that celebrated being the refreshing, uncompromising alternative to the corporate norms.
Just Do It” for Nike
Three words that captured the universal drive to defy odds, silence doubters, and push past limitations. This compact rally cry formed the rallying heart of Nike’s boundary-defying brand myth that empowered athletes from weekend warriors to pros, cementing Nike’s image as the footwear of champions and innovators.
Those are just a few examples of Big Ideas that created advertising powerful enough to shape zeitgeists and cement their brand’s place in the cultural lexicon. So how can us mere marketing mortals tap into this “Big Idea” mojo? Let me lay out some guiding principles:
- Think Conceptually, Not Literally
Big Ideas don’t come from stating the obvious or listing product features. You need to climb up high to a conceptual elevation and view the brand/product through an abstract, figurative lens. Ponder: what is the philosophical “What If?” or contrarian stance on the category norms that could reveal an eye-opening new perspective? Shake off the literal and let your mind wander into the symbolic, the metaphorical, the provocative spaces where big brand truths lie. - Seize the Unique Angle
Every product or service has a built-in “Only” factor – some distinctive benefit, quality or brand truth that separates it from the herd. Uncover that “Only” and hang your Big Idea on it. For Avis car rental, it was: “We’re Only No. 2, so we try harder.” That small positioning truth grew into a juggernaut Big Idea celebrating the challenger mindset. Finding the “Only” is the surest way to stake out singular, ownable turf in the customer’s mind.
3.Spill Some Sacred Cows’ Blood
Real breakthrough often requires toppling shopworn category assumptions and shaking up the establishment’s status quo. The Big Idea needs to be so fresh, so unprecedented, that it polarizes as much as it intrigues. When Miller Lite first boasted “Great tasting and less filling” in 1973, it lobbed a cultural grenade into the very notion of what a beer could be. Don’t just think outside the box – reinvent what the box should look like.
4.Channel the Voice of the Customer
Big Ideas only take root and flourish if they authentically speak to the target audience’s real wants, needs and mindset. Immerse yourself in the lives and psyches of your prospective customers until you can walk a mile in their shoes. Find the rich insights and human truths lurking there, then let those be the soil where your seedling Big Idea first sprouts to life.
5.Welcome Calculated Controversy
The best Big Ideas don’t just make a statement – they pick a fight and start a heated debate. They dare to tilt at sacred cows and challenge conventional wisdom. After all, what good is an idea if it doesn’t get people arguing passionately, one way or the other? Relish playing the role of provocateur! Just be sure your position has a defensible, credible rationale behind it.
6.Put On Your Renegade Mask
Channel your inner-rebel and have the sheer audacity to zig while the whole industry zags. Find the gaping blind spots and missed opportunities hiding in plain sight, then fill that void with the most refreshingly original perspective you can muster. Don’t just think differently – think the outrageous, the unthinkable! Go where the cowards dare not.
6.Chisel Away the Excess
Brilliant ideas start out messy – the key is knowing what extraneous elements to shed away until only the pure, elemental core idea remains. Simplify and distill your prospective Big Idea down to its leanest, most potent essence. Can you state the strategy-changing concept in a handful of words? If not, it still needs chiseling. A Big Idea should be elegant, succinct, and immediately graspable in a mental flash.
Conclusion
There you have it, my friends – the keys to unlocking those elusive, game-changing Big Ideas that can propel your advertising into the stratosphere of cultural relevance and sales success.
I know, I know…it’s enough to make your creative brain feel like an overworked punching bag after going a few rounds with these lofty concepts and guidelines. But trust me, the rewarding rush of finally birthing an Idea of true magnificence makes all the mental sweat and anguish worth it.
Just ask the folks at VW, 7-Up, Nike and others who had the courage and genius to embrace the “Big Idea” mandate laid out by Ogilvy himself. Their monumental campaigns didn’t just shift units and fatten profit margins – they sliced through the marketing din to author new chapters in the mythology of their brands.
That’s the power of a real, earth-shaking Big Idea. Not just a fleeting ad, but an inextricable part of a brand’s identity and its permanent legacy in the public’s mind.
So keep grinding away, my copy comrades. Put in the deep thinking, cultivate your strategic insights, zigzag where others play follow the leader. Reject the mundane, revel in the audacious, and never stop hunting for that perfect disruptive concept that will flip your client’s brand narrative on its head.
With focused perseverance, you too can author the next “Think Small” or “Just Do It” and join the pantheon of transcendent Big Ideas that managed to cut through and leave an indelible mark on the culture.
Now, who’s ready to spill some sacred cows’ blood with me?
