The great David Ogilvy spent most of his lustrous career in advertising. He said, "I had about ten great ideas in my life, advertising ideas, which aren't many but more than most people had." I have witnessed far less for the past 16 years. Talking about the ideas, I have worked on in one way or another. If I were to make a list, the one I'm writing about would be at the top.
It would be unfair to take any credit for it. When I joined Stellantis, the idea for Jeep was already in the making. Hence, all the credit goes to the wonderful team at Stellantis and Publicis Middle East. My involvement came towards the end of the project, but I'm happy and proud to be a part of it.
While waiting to get some news from The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, I wanted to reflect on the idea. It will not be anything that you might have heard in the case study or have read in the articles. It is my personal view and what the idea means to me.
The Object Of Beauty
Let me digress for a moment. I'm a big fan of Andie MacDowell. You probably remember her from the "Groundhog day." She also acted in "The Object of Beauty" with John Malkovich. A less-known movie than the previous blockbuster.
Spoiler alert! (in case you haven't watched it yet).
In "The Object of Beauty" movie, John and Andie play a couple that possesses an expensive little sculpture. It got stolen, and the person who did it was a cleaning lady. Nothing unusual about that. The cleaning lady was caught and asked why she did it. Her answer surprised everyone. It wasn't about the money, as she didn't know the actual value of the sculpture. She said she felt that the sculpture was talking to her and kept it at her home. It sounds odd. It would sound even weirder as the cleaning lady was deaf.
Whether it is art, an idea, or a piece of advertising, we connect to those as it speaks to us. It has nothing to do with physical senses but much more about how it makes us feel deep inside. This makes the whole advertising industry an industry of feelings. And feelings are the ultimate truth that we abide by.
Morse Code Idea Speaks To Me
Years ago, I was a boy scout curious about the world. Still, remember all the moments. The trips to the mountains, staying in lodges in a room with 40 bunk beds. All the pseudo-military discipline & learnings. We all had to learn the morse code as part of the study. During our stay in the mountains, we would never know which night would have an emergency - code red. Seniors would wake us up at 2am, and we needed to get ready as if it was a matter of life and death. They would divide us into groups, and each group had a mission. We would reach our destination after marching through the woods in the night full of stars. As a part of our mission, we would start passing the messages with our lamps in a morse code to different groups. What an adventure and excitement it was for all of us.
As soon as I saw the Jeep Morse Code idea, it transported me to my period of boy-scouting. All the memories and feelings started to come back. I loved the idea for the same reasons, and if any automotive brand could tap into those feelings, it would need to be Jeep. And Jeep it is.
No other brand has enabled boy-scouting adventures for everyone as much as Jeep did. In a way, it became a bridge between people and nature. Today, more than anything else, the world needs that bridge. Hence, Jeep life is calling. It sends a message in a simple binary language, the Morse code. A language of nature if you like. It happens to be that the dots and dashes of the Morse Code are already part of Jeep's iconic front grill. That is why the idea cannot be more uniquely Jeep's and dear to all boy-scouts out there - me included :)
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will soon announce the winners - exciting times. Meanwhile, I'll keep annoying my wife with a couple more messages like this: - .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-!
https://www.jeeplifeiscalling.com