Not Linkedin humility, real humility.

Not Linkedin humility, real humility.

In the beginning, advertising and humility hated each other.

They never talked or texted. They never went to the same parties. It was like the Toronto Maple Leafs and success: you never saw them together in the same room.

And then in the mid-60s, Bill Bernbach, DDB and their VW client encouraged Americans to do what Americans have a really hard time doing: 'Think Small.' They then called one of their VW's a 'Lemon'. At about the same time, they ran a full page ad in the New York Times claiming that their rental car client Avis was only #2.

Humility had entered the chat.

Brands no longer had to claim that they "Put a Tiger in your tank!" or "Made teeth so white they Gleem!" or "Bring good things to life!". They didn't have to brag (or lie) quite so loudly and so brashly. A brand could admit to having a few warts and people wouldn't kick it to the curb.

In fact, the opposite happened: people were more likely to listen to a brand that wasn't going on and on and on about how unbelievably great your life would be if you would just incorporate their product and/or service into it.

You'd think that once the humility taboo had been so successfully broken, brands would have leapt at the chance to embrace their own less-than-awesomeness.

Yet 60 years later, humility is still extremely hard for agencies and clients to embrace. Maybe when the Cannes Festival has a budget that seemingly exceeds F1 Week at Monaco, it's not that surprising that marketing people don't do humble very well.

So when they do, I love to give them their due. And by the way, consumers love to give them their money.

Like when IKEA acknowledged that their high-chairs, step stools, and cots are 'proudly second best' to the arms of their parents

Agency: DAVID, Madrid + INGO, Hamburg

Parent or non, you cannot look at that campaign and not feel like handing IKEA your digital wallet and saying: "Here's my password, take however much you want." If there's a brand that understands their role in their target's life better than IKEA, lemme know.

Because it sure isn't Hyundai.

I know, it's easy to take a shot at car ads but any brand that broadcasts this line in an ad - "WAH looks to the future and has the guts to dream even further" - deserves some heckling. Like, for god's sake Hyundai. Listen to yourself! You make Muhammad Ali seem almost self-effacing. If he were still alive, I can only imagine the "The Greatest" watching those Hyundai ads thinking: "Sheesh guys, turn it down a bit."

Hyundai, if you're reading this, your new cars actually look pretty good. I promise to test-drive your Santa Fe if you would just make some better commercials.

And just to show you it can be done, here's a wonderful example of how a little humility in a car ad can go a long way.

The SmartforTwo is about the size of a toaster, which makes it great for nipping around the city, but not for ripping around the country. So rather than avoid that 'negative', they humbly (and hilariously) embraced it - showing the SmartforTwo failing over and over in the outback. Stranded in a river, unable to climb a hill, getting stuck on a rock. Of course, they then go to the city to show how it can easily get into a parking spot fit for a scooter.

Here's the spot. Enjoy.

Agency: BBDO, Germany (Düsseldorf)

Someone once said "A small admission gains you enormous credibility".

Their point being that if you're honest about what you're not good at, it makes people way more likely to believe you when you say what you are good at.

You can't read an article about leadership these days without hearing about the importance of showing vulnerability. Yet leading brands rarely show any. And it's curious because we all know that everyone, and everything, is flawed in some way or another.

No one believes that anything is perfect.

So when the Oslo Tourist Board decided to do a tourism campaign, they could have done what most tourism spots do: show a montage of all the amazing things you can find in (insert city here). Nature! Food! Culture! Old buildings! New buildings! Ocean! Mountains!

And it's Norway so they could have bragged for two minutes.

Instead, they show a disengaged and mildly depressed young man moping around Oslo talking unenthusiastically about how small and boring Oslo is compared to other exciting places like Paris and London. (Like standing in front of Munsch's 'The Scream' and shrugging: "It's not exactly the Mona Lisa.")

Here it is and it's hilarious.

Agency: NewsLab AS, Oslo

By so frankly (and funnily) telling us what Oslo isn't, they tell us what Oslo is. And yes, I've already booked my flights there. See you in the saunas in October.

So what's the lesson here?

Well, given that I'm still seeing some "Super humbled to tell everyone that I fucking stomped it at Cannes this year!!" posts, it makes me think of the one thing I did see on Linkedin that made me laugh out loud and lodge itself permanently in my brain.

The post said this: "0 Shortlists! 0 Bronze! 0 Silver! 0 Gold at Cannes 2024!! I'm a junior copywriter hoping to get a chance to do better next year. But I need a job first."

Hire that kid.











Filip Mroz

Design Systems Specialist

4 个月

Angus Tucker I enjoy these very much. I’ve heard your name in the industry plenty, and based on your posts, I can see why. Thanks for making everyone smile with these and for dropping some knowledge on us.

Eric A.

VP, Client Management | Advertising Strategy, Marketing Communications

4 个月

Promised myself that I would read this a second time cause it struck a chord. You called it humility, which is a powerful characterization. I see brands that are in touch with the only reality that matters - the one that already exists in their prospects’ minds. A.k.a they’ve done the positioning work to own their lane and go 0 to a ?? at warp speed without getting a ticket.

John Huckle

Senior Content Creator – Strategically sound. Creatively skilled.

4 个月

Love the soundtrack in the ForTwo spot. Perfectly spoofed.

Stephen Graham

Chairman and CEO, The Graham Group

4 个月

Brilliant piece Angus ... hire that kid!

Nirmal Chaitanya

Ardent book reader, movie watching and posting reviews to online news.

4 个月

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