Brilliant Begins with Stupid.

There you are, sitting in a high-powered meeting with the suits - the ones who’ve perfected the art of frowning deeply while adjusting their tie - and then something magical happens, someone blurts out the "stupid" for the new ad:

"What if… we put a gorilla on drums, and he’s playing Phil Collins?

Cue a series of very not-stupid, serious faces. The room goes quiet. The air is thick with the stench of corporate doubt. Someone’s already reached for a PowerPoint presentation, just to make sure the numbers reflect how "on-brand" gorillas really are - what is the strategy behind rhythmically in-tuned primates?

But here's the thing: that "stupid" idea - utterly absurd to the rational mind - became an absolute game-changer. The Cadbury Gorilla ad didn’t just sell chocolate; it made us feel things. Real things. Like: “Why am I tearing up? Is it chocolate? Can I feel it in the air tonight?” -

"Oh Lord."

And this, dear reader, is the problem with the suits. Every brilliant, iconic, absolutely ridiculous idea has been dissected by the well-meaning people who ask, “But how does the gorilla tie into the corporate strategy?”

(Answer: it doesn’t. And that’s the point.)

But here’s where we get real: Stupid is good. Stupid is raw. It’s fresh. It’s unapologetic. And before anyone gets their sharpie out to circle back to the KPIs, let me introduce you to another beautiful example of brilliant stupidity: Liquid Death.

What is Liquid Death? A water brand. Just water. In a world of dainty plastic bottles and yoga-mom-inspired branding, it was designed to make water ooze cool - they decided to market it like it was the second coming of rock ‘n’ roll. Murder your thirst, they say, with graphics that look like the cover of a death metal album and entire ad campaigns that probably had every marketing expert in the world clutching their pearls.

And guess what? It's a huge hit. Not because it makes any logical sense, but because it’s stupid, and stupid is the fertile ground where brilliance sprouts. In a world of sterile, vanilla marketing, Liquid Death said: "Let’s scare the bejeezus out of everyone with a can of water, sustainability this!" and it worked. They literally sold out of water by being, ridiculous.

So let’s stop pretending that every idea must pass the "boardroom-sanitized, focus-group-approved" test. Stupid is the unsung hero of creativity. It's the fire in the belly that pushes us to do the things the suits would never dare to do. You can refine the idea later, but first, let the stupidity breathe.

Remember: if your boss isn’t questioning your sanity at least once, you’re not doing it right.

What’s the most WTF idea you've seen turn into pure gold?