A Million Stories from Lois and Clow: “The name of the game isn’t technology, it’s creativity”

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CLOW-LOIS.jpgBy Sarah Brown, marketing consultant at Sohnar Traffic LIVE, leaders in studio management systems

Not everyone can say they created “I want my MTV” and launched the original television music channel. Or that they created the original Apple branding and saved the company from going under in the 80s, but between George Lois and Lee Clow, they can lay claim to these accomplishments and many more.

Legends: A Million Stories was an informal chat between the two advertising legends, led by Michael Wolff from USA Today and the stories of breaking new ground in advertising that these two had to tell were too numerous to re-count, but I found extremely engaging to listen to.

lois-clow-final-hed-2013.jpgBut what in my opinion even more interesting than their anecdotes from the days they pioneered advertising, were these two legend’s take on new media and the future of advertising

When George was asked whether he’d go in to advertising again if he’s was starting out in today’s market he stated “if I was to start all again in today’s market I’d create another revolution.”. The man is clearly not afraid of a challenge, having once told Xerox they needed to change their name (to Xerox – which they did) and in doing so broke 15 years of brand building and got fired twice in two days before going on to build an internationally successful brand

Lee Clow of TBWA\ had some pearls of wisdom to share about his take on advertising in the modern age: “The way brands exist in our culture hasn’t changed, the way they express themselves has changed,” he said. “Now every single touchpoint is an ad.” He went on to explain the importance of online, offline, packaging and all other interactions with a customer and how they reflect on the brand, and made a point of stating he didn’t think many companies have really come to grips with this yet

In all, the impression these legends gave me was that not much has changed since their early days and that perhaps even more opportunities to pioneer exist in the modern age “the name of the game isn’t technology, it’s creativity,” said George to resounding applause.