At the recent High Point Market there were some incredible examples of brilliance in marketing. Perhaps my favorite was Creative Director Mike Farrell’s “Amazed.” He compared out current times to that of Dorothy in the Land of Oz but instead made it the land of AHHHS! I’m sharing an excerpt here from the press release as it quotes Farrell directly.
“This October market in High Point we’re all Dorothy. We’ve seen houses drop from sky high prices and wicked witches confess to be just normal gals with a wretched story. Financial Wizards have had their curtains drawn to reveal all and would have fled the scene in a hot air balloon. Everyone seems to want the same fabulous pair of shoes. Our grayscale world has turned into a place of a billion digital colors.
Yes, this is Glinda, that divine Good Witch, crafted from pink bubble gum, red licorice and bubble wrap to showcase the fragility of not only dreams but womanhood. Notice her cocktail glass with bubble makers next to it to her right.
We’ve discovered our wanderlust and run away to see exotic faraway lands and glittering cities. An organic-green fever overcame us. We went to hoe in our gardens, and city rooftops. We shunned the supermarket and flocked to the farmers market. We stopped throwing everything away and made “recycle” fashionable. Suddenly we are men and women made of used tin or biodegradable straw, with hearts and brains, and proud of it. More than ever before; we are not whole without our Toto’s.”
I have to say it was singularly one of the most engaging creative displays I’ve ever had the privilege to see. Farrell co-opted the talents of a team of creatives including local high school students and walked us, his audience, through the fallen Land of Ahhhs. It was thought provoking, eye opening, and entirely unforgettable.
And of course, here is the infamous Wicked Witch of the West created from tootsie rolls, black licorice and sporting a Nyquil martini, the better to “soothe you with, my dear.” I can hear her cackling now!
My favorite is her hilarious shoe fetish as evidenced by the stack of boxes nearby.
Farrell took it a step farther (or several) with his collage of the Yellow Brick Road in Starbucks cups and his image of the Land of Ahhhhs (Emerald City) in Nyqil boxes flattened. Your browser may not support display of this image.
Yes, it does make a political statement, but what Creativepreneur doesn’t have a statement to make?
This got great traffic, entertained people, while stirring the pot, so to speak. And there was no pitch, except to make us think much harder about the times we live in, our impact on the world, and the power of brands. What would your response to today’s times look like if you collaged it with contemporary brands?
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