Google’s John Merrifield to adland: Forget Cannes, aim for The Simpsons as a measure of success
The chief creative officer of Google Asia Pacific, John Merrifield, said today that adland should forget about Cannes as a measure of success for brands and aim for an episode of The Simpsons.
“The more experimenting you’re doing, the more likely you’re going to get a hit, Merrifield told his audience at the All That Matters Conference in Singapore this morning.
“Forget about Cannes. You should be aiming for an episode of a show like The Simpsons – that’s the success criteria; creatives should not just be talking to themselves or to the ad world, they need to be making a genuine impact on popular culture,” he said.
The former creative chief of TBWA hit out at the advertising industry’s pre-occupation with awards, telling his audience: “There are guys who want to win awards – well, let those guys play.”
“Creativity should be about having an impact for clients and giving them a larger share of the future – not just doing a one-off campaign, but building a brand properly and making it more meaningful and engaging.”
In response to a question about the relevance of the Cannes Lions, the ad industry’s biggest awards show that takes place next month, Merrifield said: “Cannes is no longer what it was.”
“It used to be a get-together for creatives. Now it’s become a business engine in its own right. They’ve been trying to figure out new and potent ways for the industry to cut through, but is that happening? I’m not sure.”
“The industry’s preoccupation with awards is wrong,” Merrifield added. “Advertising should be about facilitating growth, not awards shows.”
At the start of the panel discussion moderated by Ed Pank of Warc, when asked what his proudest moment of his career is so far, Merrifield mentioned a campaign for Okamato condoms in Singapore during his time at TBWA.
Merrifield, who has spent most of his career in advertising before moving to Google in 2012, was critical of the role of advertising and agencies at the AdAsia event in Hanoi more than a year ago.
“No one cares about advertising,” he said. “Nobody is sitting there waiting for advertising. The only people who care about advertising are those in the advertising business, and brand loyalty is largely a myth.”
“Advertising is the price companies pay for being unoriginal,” he said. When Apple launches a new product, does it advertise? No, it does not. It feeds off all the hype that leads up to the launch.”
The Simpsons? What is this, like 1998 again?
Good point otherwise, although some would point out the irony of Merrifield talking down the chasing of awards.
ReplyThat’s exactly the problem…one one side you’ve got the high profile, big job title, big buck earning creatives that like to do scam…..on the other side you’ve got irrelevant hacks who’ve never done a decent ad telling them not to do it…they are never going to listen are they?
ReplyI’ve never responded to an article before, but the inaccuracies in this one are beyond the pale. I never said forget about Cannes. I said chasing awards for awards sake is a mug’s game. Impact in the marketplace is what matters, helping clients earn a larger share of the future the goal. Doing something so impactful it makes an episode of the Simpsons is a brilliant gauge of real world impact (Homer taking the ice bucket challenge the example I sited). As for Okamoto, it was simply a response to “name a memorable digital campaign you’ve been part of”. It’s a shame, Robin, that your passion for accuracy is not as strong as your lust for stirring things up. Twas ever thus.
Reply“John has won multiple gold lions at Cannes, multiple gold pencils at the One Show, the grand prix and multiple golds at the Clios, best of show (twice) and multiple golds at AdFest, multiple golds at Spikes Asia, multiple golds at AWARD, the ADC prize (gold) in Tokyo, multiple acceptances in D&AD, Communication Arts and The Work book.
He was named Asia’s Creative of the Year in 2004 and 2008 (the only person ever to ! win it twice). He topped the Creative Rankings in Asia/Pacific in 2004. He’s been asked to judge and speak at pretty much every major award show on the planet.”
http://www.liaawards.com/juries/jury/index.cfm?juryid=6&jury_cat=12
ReplyYea we know….that kick ass, global award-sweeping adidas ambient piece of running up a skyscraper…we need to ask him whose idea that really was…let’s see how strong his “passion for accuracy” really is then.
ReplyA quick check of the Hansard, Mr Speaker, should clear this one up.
ReplyCome hither John and allow me to anoint thy cheeks with the come-uppance they so richly deserve….e’er you sought to besmirch the age of google with thy heathen speech that betrayeth thy unreasonable affliction to game of thrones.
ReplyThis website is hilarious. So now winning awards disqualifies senior creatives from having the right to defend themselves?
This vein of ideological purity running through mumbrella must be a pretty thin blanket of comfort for the failed, fired, or non-starters of the industry who seem to congregate here.
ReplyI’m all for Mumbrella exposing scam ads but this has gone to another level. I agree with @wow. This website is nothing but trolls and jealous, bitter people who’ve seem to failed to have done any good work to deserve any recognition. Seriously guys, stop with the self-righteous bullshit. I appreciate a discussion. Not a taunt-fest.
To be honest, Robin, you have had some insightful pieces every now and then. But this place has become a breeding ground for haters. Not very healthy.
ReplyWith due respect to all, one’s professional (and personal) success isn’t driven by awards or latching onto the pop cultural zeitgeist.
ReplyBoth are just superficial default metrics that measure applause.
The only metric which a real client with deep pockets care for is sales.
Engagement, Conversation, Impact and Likes mean nada in the CEO’s boardroom.
Until the industry starts to speak the same language as those in the C-suite do, all these industry conferences and ‘expert’ pontifications are just echo chambers.
To the guys who speak of trolls, I say that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
It’s just annoying to see these self appointed spokesmen (and women) of creativity going around talking BS in public…BS that makes clients look at creatives and go these guys are living in an alternate reality.
What does a client care about an analogy like The Simpsons?
ReplyI love how anyone who criticises the snake oil scam salesmen gets tagged with being a failure.
You really believe success can or should be defined by a few baubles for made up shit?
Wow indeed.
And I think the BTL on this site is healthy, precisely because it questions, criticises and calls to task. It also punctures a few egos along the way, something that is long overdue in the sycophantic world of Campaign, Campaign Brief, etc.
ReplyAnd sorry, I’m still amazed that the head of creative at Google of all companies references the Simpson’s as some kind of popular culture cutting edge.
Cowabunga!
Reply@ted
I don’t think anyone who has won awards in the past should be disqualified from having an opinion or written off as a scam artist. Good work wins, it’s as simple as that.
But it feels like there’s no distinction on here. There’s an attitude that if you’ve won in Cannes or elsewhere, you’re part of the problem, you’re part of the “scam plague” that is apparently ruining the industry. Or if you’re an ECD or CCO, you must have cheated your way to the top.
As creatives, we want to win awards because:
a) we genuinely want to do work that people enjoy, rather than templates with getty images
b) it’s hugely important in terms of our career progression, whether that’s promotions, raises, more responsibility etc.
and c) we (perhaps misguidedly) believe that it helps the agency we work for as a whole
You can call them “baubles”, but for creatives, they’re KPIs. And of course we want to win them on big accounts, but in a market like Singapore where clients are famously risk-averse, that’s not always possible.
It all just seems like creative bashing, while having an axe to grind with Cannes, and people who have won there.
ReplyIt’s the same old story…when they’re scamming to get to the top, not a bad word against scam or Cannes. Once mission is accomplished all of a sudden they’re preaching about not going for awards “for the sake of awards”. That shows poor character.
Poster called Wow is clearly in the ‘before’ stage of this dynamic progression.
ReplySales as the only performance metric? Wow, how misguided is that view? I could buy every billboard in the country or knock on everyone’s door, and increase my sales by 30%. But is that creative? Is that effective?
Perhaps you are part of the problem why clients in the region hardly buy anything creative. And if your excuse for doing mediocre work is because the only KPI is “sales”, maybe you shouldn’t even be in the industry.
Reply@Wow
The definition of KPI is Key Performance Indicator.
Pray tell what Key Performance does winning awards with scams indicate?
The resourcefulness to locate provision shops and retailers to endorse ads?
ReplyThe lightning quick ability to put up and remove posters to snap in-situ pictures for proof of appearance.
The ability to arm twist media and production houses for freebies?
The creative editing skills to produce case study videos making mountain ranges out of one mole hill.
@wow – fair points. But I don’t see outright attacks on award shows (or those who win) on this site. Just those campaigns that are highly dubious. Nothing better than a great piece of work that wins an award. But annoying when some bicycle shop ad wins over work that has been sweated over for a paying client.
I don’t see any creative bashing here. But I see – and agree, as mentioned above – with challenging dubious definitions of creativity. Questioning its value. Calling to task those who build careers on print ads for marker pens or stain removers. It is detrimental to the marketing industry as a whole and it is a house of cards that is already starting to tumble.
Most trade publications in Asia want to celebrate and pander to creative agencies. That is fine. I understand the commercial motivations that drive this.
This site – as far as I can see – likes to also prod the agencies and ask them the uncomfortable questions. I can understand why yourself and others may be angered by this. But then maybe these are the same uncomfortable questions you need to ask yourself.
ReplyI’m sorry, but I rest my case. I find no point arguing with people who don’t believe in creativity (not awards, but awards usually follow when there’s creativity). It’s sad, because you people are part of the problem (of scam) too and fail to realise it.
Perhaps you do confirm every big creative director’s suspicion: if you win awards, you’re driven. If you don’t then probably you’re part of the bitter, disgruntled bunch that “don’t believe in awards”. Or creativity.
In short, you simply don’t have the Growth Mindset (google Carol Dweck if you haven’t heard of this). Again, I rest my case.
ReplyI don’t know what you’re whining about son…who’s stopping you from scamming…..or as you like to put it….unleashing your creativity. You have your agenda so go for it.
What many commentators here want to see is scammers exposed and reduced to pariahs in this industry, because when it comes to solving real briefs they have no creativity to show. They have skewed the perceptions of creativity and devalued it in the eyes of the most valued and powerful advertisers. They have turned creativity into a commodity like instant noodles due to their inability to perform under real market conditions. And they continue to build fake careers on fake work. None of this deserves any special treatment or fawning over… it is nothing but a joke.
Reply‘Effective ads which deliver sales can never be creative. That’s why we scam’.
ReplyAnyone believing this fallacy has no place in this industry.
It’s not a reason but a lousy excuse.
Just because you haven’t won with real work doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done.
Maybe it’s just that you can’t.
Made in singapore work which ran in main channels with a sizeable media adspend for RSAF, HP, Guiness, Visa, IKEA, Mercedes-benz, SIA, DHL, British Airways, Qantas, Lexus, navy, STPB, Philips, Chivas, CAAS, Hyatt, P&G, Unilever, Sony, Mitsubishi, hitachi, UOB, citibank, cold storage, Jason’s, BMW, banyang tree, Prudential, DBS, Shangri-la, Singtel, macdonald’s, starhub etc
Of course getting it through is bloody difficult.
But I am sure everyone involved in their creation, sale and production felt it was worth the blood, sweat and tears.
Somewhere along the way, creatives just gave up trying and took the easy way out.
The question is whether are you gonna make great work for the brief on your desk or make more excuses why you scam?
Dear John M.,
So great to see you in the thick of it, advancing creativity, challenging minds, and promoting diversity of perspectives around the world.
All the best.
Rocky
ReplyThe Simpson… kind of dated but I get your point. We are far beyond The Simpsons though. We are into tech, we are not motivated by your sale messages or visual puns. You will have to be smarter to relate to us… so move faster ad world. Catch us if you can.
ReplyMillennials are actually the easiest to sell to because, character-wise, they are quite possibly the shallowest, most intellectually devoid generation that has walked this planet.
Just make sure your advertising doesn’t come across as advertising.
ReplySell to millennials? That’s a good one!
ReplyIf ever there was a generation that had the highest unemployment rate with less disposable income, this is it.
Something short sighted clients should do well to remember when apportioning their budget to create branded content to attract this cynical attention deficient segment.
Sure they may ‘like’ the content but dont imagine it will translate into sales.
Have your say