Who is Ben Done, and why should he be assassinated?

Whenever I see a Reebok ad, I laugh. Reebok advertising is hysterical — not because their ads are funny, but because their ads are the same ads Nike ran ten years ago. Personally, I don’t blame Reebok’s agency for this. I blame that annoying jackass, Ben Done.

A while back, Dell computer ran an ad that (hmm … coincidentally?) echoed an ad previously run by Apple. Both ads promoted their new paper thin monitors, both ads featured a similar layout. Apple Computer’s glorious headline: “Where did the computer go?” Dell computer’s tawdry ripoff of a headline: “Can you find the PC?” If you see the ads side by side, it’s actually funny. But again, I don’t blame Dell’s agency. I blame Ben Done.

Whenever I see a concept that’s “been done” previously by a competitor, I see Ben Done again. Ben Done is the Satan of the marketing industry. (Yes, marketing has its very own Satan.) I hate that guy. He’s always around, tempting clients to fear originality, whispering in their ear “pssst … that idea worked for them, it’s proven effective, and if it worked for them, it will work for you …”

Time after time a client will bring with them an ad, a brochure, a logo that belongs to a competitor, or a major global brand. “This is what we want,” says the client “Look how well it worked for their company, so we think it’ll work for ours.” (Of course it worked for their company! Because it’s theirs!) And every time a client does this, I know it’s not really them talking. It’s Ben Done.

You copy their brand, and guess who’s brand you’re actually selling: Theirs! When a consumer sees that your brand looks just like the other guy, they’re going to recall that other guy, and more than likely support their brand, not yours. This is exactly what Ben Done wants. He doesn’t want you to Get Noticed, he doesn’t want you to succeed — remember, he’s the ad Satan.

Next time you feel tempted to model your brand after another brand, that’s you’re warning that you’re being possessed by Ben Done. So before your head starts spinning, put down those other ads, logos and brochures. Be courageous enough to stand apart from other brands. And tell Ben Done to go to ad hell where he belongs.

ALLOW ME TO MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE

Advertising agencies are always so focused on keeping their clients “happy” — that’s where most agencies make their biggest mistake.

Now, hang on a second while I clarify: making a client happy is often confused with making the client feel comfortable. The problem is, comfort is not a term associated with growth; rather, comfort is static. It can hurt a brand’s longevity. Comfort, in my opinion, is the enemy of success.

So I ask: are you here to make your client comfortable, or are you here to make them successful?

In order to distinguish a client from their competition, we must challenge their conventional wisdom. They may think their message is unique, they may be happy with the tone and voice they’re using; but it’s that familiar tone that blends them right in with everyone else in their category — that’s when it’s time to welcome them to their discomfort zone. This is the zone of creativity, of progress.

I’ve had clients who hired me to refresh their brands. Their websites were tired, their advertising typical, their sales leveling off. Yet, when shown a fresh approach to their thinking, they immediately freak out and revert back to their old, familiar, broken-in-recliner-chair methods. My job is to keep them out of their comfort zone. It may not make them very cozy, but it will help them grow.

Often, what a client wants is an ego massage. What they need is a disruption. Disruption is the art of asking better questions, challenging conventional thinking, and overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas. The result is a message that turns heads, moves needles, and changes industry standards. It creates success.
And trust me, there’s nothing more comfortable than that.