LBi London

Black Pencil Ponder

Posted by Simon Gill July 18th, 2009

Looking back through a few articles from our old Stream blog I found one from my old creative colleague, the talented Mr Jeremy Garner, who asked the question about the first digital pieces to win a coveted D&AD Black Pencil.

Looking at Leo Burnett’s Black Pencil site (2006) and Nike+ (2007) he asked the simply question “which will be remembered in 10 years time?” surmising the one we remember will determine which principles in digital we see as most important.

“I chew the question again – which will be remembered after the years have passed by? Which will become the Benson & Hedges, the Saatchi’s Pregnant Man, the Guardian Skinhead? Which will be the true pick of the crop from 2007? Is a brilliant tech idea enough, or will a pithy creative idea with beautiful craft and a bit of wit stand the test of time?”

It’s interesting to reflect on this, just 2 years later, as it might provide an answer without the long wait. I’m pretty certain Nike+ has won many more awards than Leo Burnett’s ‘Big ideas need big pencils’ site, with Nike+ generating a lot more discussion online. Nike+ would also seem to be a key piece of work many digital agencies refer too ¹. A quick search on the leading industry publications reveals people often asking just how much Nike+ has influenced the way we think about marketing and advertising.

In my immediate digital world people still talk about Nike+ and it’s a long time since anyone has mentioned Leo Burnett’s site as an fluencer. This could be explained by of our particular focus of blending marketing and technology, or reflective of wider opinion. What is certain is that our understanding of the digital has developed in this short time and the greater transparency afforded by the connected world means brands really need to be believable with their brand promise and their service being the same. In this sense Nike+ is clearly an important example of how digital thinking can deliver on the promise ‘just do it’ and develop a new service to boot.

Looking back at the original question, it’s could be seen we could face a decision between a brilliant technical ideas or pithy creative ideas with craft and wit. Does it mean we are going down a road where technical capability overshadows pithy ideas full of craft, wit. I hope not. I fact a quick look at subsequent D&AD Black Pencil winners reveal high levels of craft (Got The Glass, 2008) and wit (The Great Schlepp, 2009) have succeeded over pure technical excellence. Interestingly enough at Cannes Lions this year, it was a technically led application, Eco:Drive (often described as Nike+ for cars) that won a Grand Prix.

Perhaps the question posed at the beginning of this post is in fact a misnomer – with both pieces of work continuing to exert influence and it is in fact either too early to judge or simply misguided to do so.

What I do know is that our own understanding and appreciation of digital work is changing on a yearly basis as we push our creativity and technical abilities. Hopefully the real winner in all this, is our audience, the ones brands reach out to impress, engage, entertain and serve. The ones that scrutinize and demand brands be loyal to them.

Now that’s a thought.

1. A few crude Google searches fail to confirm or dispute this. So I could be widely wrong.

Tags: branded experience, branded utility, craft, service design, wit

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