“It’s all our fault” … “Cool Britannia” … and other dumb ideas

A few things I wonder.


Is it even remotely intelligent to go one of the most corrupt countries on earth where the man in charge is called Mr 110% (I wonder why?) and dish out oceans of cash that you know will never reach the people who need it?

If the place you’re supposed to be running is in deep shit, facing the worst depression in 80 years, shouldn’t you get your smart little arse back there and do something useful?

Should you, for instance make some sort of effort to deliver on the promises you made to get to your present position? Like closing down all the useless money-gobbling committees (one of which I shall shortly reveal is doing exactly the opposite of what it is supposed to do).

Does it make the people who elected you feel any better when you run around telling all and sundry that all the world’s problems are our fault? Is it not likely to make them feel even worse than they do already?

The people who run things here are breathtakingly out of touch with what we all think.

There was the waffle about the Big Society which nobody understood and Cameron couldn’t explain. I recall Blair’s mystic Third Way – equally incomprehensible. And the demented re-brand of Britain as Cool Britannia, when what people like, as we can see, is a good old-fashioned Royal Wedding.

Believe it or not, all this came to mind because of a discussion I had about my current pet project, the branding event … for which, by the way, I am offering unlimited savings.

Hard to believe, but true.

Moreover I will explain next Saturday exactly what the antics of politicians have to do with a brand.

Equally hard to believe, but if anything even more important.

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

2 Comments

  1. Allie Davidge

    I can't help but think that the type of politician I would like to see would be one branded “Not so much mouth, but quite a lot of trousers.”

    Reply
  2. Rezbi

    I have to agree with you totally. And, while this may sound harsh, I'd like to see our governments -and yes, I said 'our' because I am British – trying to save lives here instead of killing them over there.

    Why is it we need all these charities to raise money for things like cancer, heart disease, the elderly, children, etc., when it's obvious the government could just as easily provide for these causes instead of wasting million and billions on destruction elsewehere?

    Reply

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