A Cynical Ode To Those Without An Idea

The following is part of "If a Clown," a poem by Stephen Dunn that I saw in The New Yorker. It reminded me of a few clients that come from cultures that don't make it easy to communicate beyond the hard-sell tv spot. Unable to see Importance through the hard-sell trees, they seem to want to push people into doing stuff and reluctantly accept that––damn!––they need a little joke, some levity in a spot. To me, it seems like empty wit.

If a clown came out of the woods,

a standard-looking clown with oversized

polka-dot clothes, floppy shoes,

a red, bulbous nose, and you saw him

on the edge of your property,

there'd be nothing funny about that,

would there? A bear might be preferable,

especially if black and berry-driven.

And if this clown began waving his hands

with those big white gloves

that clowns wear, and you realized

he wanted your attention, had something

apparently urgent to tell you,

would you pivot and run from him,

or stay put, as my friend did, who seemed

to understand here was a clown

who didn't know where he was,

a clown without a context?

What could be sadder, my friend thought,

than a clown in need of a context?...

When brands are either commodities or perceived to be commodities, the thing that can, over time, make a brand important to people is a point of view. Without it, we are, at best, witty communicators making goofy faces to get attention.