The power of a creative idea.

The power of a ‘good creative idea’.

Yesterday, millions of people woke up thinking ‘it’s blue Monday, the hardest, most challenging day of the year’.

Millions of people have been conditioned to feel a certain way because of something that was created by a brand- Sky Travel, back in 2005 to sell a holiday.

Let's set aside for a moment the morality of the campaign- there has been lots of brilliant commentaries about 1) the mental health ramifications of feeling a self-fulfilling prophecy and 2) the lack of any scientific evidence to support it.

And instead, let's talk about why it was such a strong campaign at the time, and why 17 years later the third weekend in January is widely believed to be the most depressing day of the year.

Why? Because it could be plausible.

The creators of the campaign took inspiration from the context and situation- the "universal truths", that many people reportedly felt in January.

Post-Christmas fun times, the days are dark, by now winter seems to have been going on for a very, very, very long time, and yet summer seems very far away.

They then packaged the problem and then placed the travel company as the natural solution.

17 years later, the connection to Sky Travel has been diluted as many, many brands have jumped on the bandwagon, but the insight still remains plausible and this is why every year it keeps coming back.

How you can you do this? Ground your campaign in an insight that reflects how people either see themselves or the world that they live in.

“Creativity is the ability to take existing elements from the psychical world, thought world, any domain of life and reorder them into novel combinations. When we see or experience something truly creative it reveals something about the natural world or the way that we work” 

This is an extract from a Huberman Lab a scientific podcast that dived into the science behind creativity.

Many things hit the novel button, they offer up a new solution a new combination of seeing the world. They generate a fleeting glance, a mild appreciation.

But for creativity to be truly impactful and to make a make it needs to have the ‘reveal’ the ability to connect the dots for us, and offer us something that we didn’t know or understand.

This is why it is so important to spend as much time as you can immersed into the world of your customers. Understand their perspective of the world, the themes, where are they going for inspiration- their muses.

If you are looking for a memorable campaigns that really cuts through I would love to chat.