Constitution Club

Sometimes you just need to follow a link.  Our Sage decided to give some space to a quote from Michelle Malkin regarding the Absolut Vodka ad imbroglio. Ms. Malkin’s site has no shame and Dave should follow links.

Please understand this: I seek not to defend Absolut’s stupid ad, nor the ridiculous concept of reconquista as it relates to the USA and Mexico. I do want to point out that certain extremists seek out opportunities to rabble rouse and they are not above employing propaganda based on lies. Michelle Malkin’s site is sometimes guilty of that. Lets see how this is one of those times…

“The advertising firm that created the Absolut Reconquista ad is Teran/TBWA. Teran is based in Mexico City. The company’s website boasts a pretentious statement of philosophy advocating “disruption” as a “tool for change” and “agent of growth.” (Scroll your mouse over the little buttons in the upper-right margin.) The firm advocates “overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas that help create a larger share of the future.”

Translation: The company advocates overturning borders that get in the way of imagining new maps of North America that help Mexico create a larger share of the continent.” - blogger Michelle Malkin

Well that seems direct and clear! Pretty darn definitive in anyone’s book. Except for just a couple of things. Teran is the Mexico City office for the US owned and New York City headquartered TBWA Worldwide. TBWA is owned by the Omnicom Group which is the largest advertising agency holding company in the world. They are located fittingly enough on Madison Ave in good old New York City. I just wanted to make sure we all are clear on the pedigree here folks; because it matters.

Disrupt or be disrupted. Disrupt or die. This is the captivating story of implementing the most powerful idea in the business today. 

Tom Peters author of In Search of Excellence

This quote is on the flash introduction to TBWA’s website. If you actually GO to their website you may peruse their ideas regarding disruption . Tom Peters is one of capitalism’s towering gurus. I am quite sure that he would be surprised to learn that his words are helping to forment reconquista through a cunning vodka ad.   

Jean-Marie Dru is the CEO of TBWA and has written a number of books. Among them are Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace (Adweek Magazine Series) and Beyond Disruption: Changing the Rules in the Marketplace. These books have been hearld as a new and dynamic approach to marketing. Dru has built upon Peters approach. TBWA’s clients love this approach and their continued patronage has made the agency the envy of the industry. They continue to garner awards and rave reviews. They are an AMERICAN sucess story.

 The statement that should cause us concern Malkin says is…

“overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas that help create a larger share of the future.”

What Malkin does not “share” is that TBWA goes on to say over and over its their client’s business share they are talking about. Wekipedia puts it this way…  

TBWA tries to change the rules of the market place to give its client a “greater share of the future”. Disruption is seen to be an important part of TBWA’s DNA and has evolved in many markets to a separate company called the “Disruption consultancy”.

Come now, let us have some shame. Demonizing people is disgusting.  Malkin offers up her summation…

Translation: The company advocates overturning borders that get in the way of imagining new maps of North America that help Mexico create a larger share of the continent.” -

They neither said, nor did they advocate any such thing. I hope they sue her. Malkins words are pathetic. Some principles are important I believe.

Here is a little info that is available if you just follow some links.

TBWA = Disruption.

Disruption is a tool for change and an agent of growth: a working methodology and a life view philosophy.

The word is difficult, uncomfortable but “Disruption” is not destructive. It is creation. Disruption is a means of creating something dynamic to replace something that has become static.

Disruption is the art of asking better questions, challenging conventional wisdom and overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas.

Disruption is a system for people who hate systems. Similar to the concept of open-source software development, Disruption has evolved and matured as communities around the network use, adapt and reinvent Disruption tools for specific market or client needs.

The methodology and process can be employed universally to answer just about any challenge that a brand or company may have. Disruption is not limited to marketing and communications but can be applied to deeper levels of an organization including products and services or the core business offering.

Through the course of a one or multi-day workshop, both client and agency engage in a series of exercises that are designed to explore a specific issue. Highly collaborative, strategic and creative in nature, these workshops facilitate actionable output. Using a selection of tools from our bank of over 50 diagnostics, we explore three distinct domains necessary for success: Convention, Vision and of course Disruption.

Conventions are the limiting definitions (either real or perceived) that organizations often unknowingly adhere to: aspects of communications, consumers, the marketplace and the company itself, that have always “been done that way.” By identifying existing conventions and asking “why” things are the way they are, we are able to overturn conventional thinking to the benefit of the company. Insights or hidden truths can subsequently be leveraged to help our clients define a fundamentally different vision of the future, one in which they have not only a greater share, but unlimited potential.

The vision becomes the guiding premise that opens an organization’s horizons, both in communication and action. In many cases, our clients have visions that are strong and future forward, but they haven’t been articulated in a way that translates to employees or consumers. A well-articulated vision inspires the people behind the brand, changing the way a company thinks and acts. It provides a rallying cry that propels the brand into the future. As Lee Clow says, “A brand is the sum of all its actions. Who it is, what it does, what the world expects of it… If the brand is passionate, honest and committed, innovative and, at the same time inspirational, if the brand is true to its history, its passion and true to itself, the world will love that brand.”

Disruption seeks to retire old, low-yielding ideas and launch new, highly profitable ones. A disruptive idea is quite simply the best and fastest way to overturn conventions and achieve a vision.

Over the past three years, TBWA\ has conducted more than 500 Disruption Day workshops for our clients around the world, including Apple, Standard Chartered Bank, adidas, Nissan, PlayStation, Pedigree and Whiskas. Each of these workshops identified new opportunities to redefine how these companies operate, what they offer and how they communicate.

Based on feedback from existing clients, we now ask potential clients to participate in a Disruption Day as part of the pitch process. It’s a fun and rewarding exercise for both the prospective client and the agency. Plus, the collaborative nature of Disruption helps both parties ascertain upfront whether they are a mutually good fit. 

Some of TBWA’s clients. Omnicom’s client list is just about everyone BTW.