Newman’s ironic engagement

Perth's business community could not help but smile at former Saatchi and Saatchi executive creative director Michael Newman’s opening comments to a WA Business News branding awards lunch last week about “the law of simplicity”.

“If you want to be noticed in a jumbled world, be ruthlessly simple,” Mr Newman told the gathering.

This is from a man whose arrival at the podium could not have been more complicated.

The east coast-based author of The 22 irrefutable laws of advertising (and when to violate them) had responded to an urgent call for help when the advertised speaker, Ted Horton, was forced to withdraw with less than 24 hours’ notice.

At least his call up – including departure delays and unfounded rumours of a police escort from Perth airport – had the humorous elements that fit the need for irreverence, which he believes is also a universal law of advertising.

Further highlighting the irony of Mr Newman’s last-minute call up is his background as the creative brains behind Labor’s strong 1998 election campaign. That would have put him on the other side of the political divide from Mr Horton, a key player in every one of Mr Howard’s re-election campaigns.

Mr Newman’s book has the “simple objective to codify the proven universal rules behind the world’s most successful campaigns with each ‘law’ being nominated by different world-renowned advertising gurus”.

And it was the book’s first law, the law of simplicity, which Mr Newman spoke about in great detail because, being simple, it is what people find difficult.

“We are living in an age of message gluttony,” he said.

“We are exposed to thousands of brands but people cannot recall more than three or four of these in a day.

“You have to unclutter at every stage. Simplicity is the only foolproof way to cut through the clutter. Simplicity is a clutter cutter.”

And using examples from his days as director of the Worldwide Toyota Board, Mr Newman displayed an ad for Corolla, the car for “extra protective parents”, which had a child with bubble wrap on their body.

“What people really want from brands is engagement,” Mr Newman said.  “A great ad is one which invites participation.

“For example, using humour and giving a brand humour (humour coating), creates a bridge between brand and people.

“‘Oh what a feeling Toyota’ – it talks about feelings not sheet metal.

“Over time, brands have had to progress beyond just giving a company or its products a physical presence, and add personality to it; that is, brands must evolve beyond a trademark.

“The power of a brand is in its ability to tell stories and have to be driven by emotion. The change from the information society to the dream society means we have to be fascinating and do interesting things.”

And perhaps some advice for Perth’s brand creators as well as a word of warning: “In another five years branding won’t be as easy as putting a big name on television … these days are limited,” Mr Newman said.

“I love ideas, I’m in love with ideas. I have seen the transformation an idea can make and how it can transform people, companies and categories.”