Categories: Articles

Creativity Is Alive And Well

Don’t worry, the robots and artificial intelligence-driven creatives will have a hard time doing this.

The rock band OK Go make some of the most astonishing and creative music videos. In fact, I’d argue that they are much more than just “music videos,” but rather engines that inspire creativity – on many different levels. Many believe that we live in a world, where it is increasingly difficult to do anything that is original. How does a brand create a message that can cut through the many levels of noise that we’re all exposed to? Is it even possible to have viral video breakthrough without spending a ton of money on media? Well, OK Go did it in only 4.2 seconds. Still, what makes this so creatively exciting, is that they took this 4.2 seconds of rapid-fire explosions and slowed it down to match the four-plus minutes of the band’s song, The One Moment. It’s amazing how they did it (and they explain it, in detail, right here: Background Notes And Full Credits For The One Moment Video). For those who don’t want to click over for the full-rundown, the TL;DR is this: math.

New and improved with… salt?

The big winner in this video (from a marketing perspective) will, ultimately, be Morton Salt. Yes… a salt company. Apparently, Morton Salt has a new initiative titled, #WalkHerWalk (a CSR program to support a group of young people, who are making a positive difference in the world by tackling some tough issues that we all face). The brand collaborated (paid? sponsored? supported?) this video. I believe, the payoff on views and attention will be well-worth whatever deal was brokered behind the scenes. Let’s see if this is true… or if there is a backlash (which, again, might still give the brand countless impressions, PR attention and more).

Well, here is your moment of creative zen… OK Go – The One Moment.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.