We are in the business of communication. We come from a time when brands could and did move the culture. Think about how weird jogging was before Nike and “Just Do It.” They changed that, they changed the world. What about Apple and its 1984 commercial, it’s Think Different campaign? We believe that brands actually do have the power to bring togetherness and happiness. Yes, of course they are in business, but they can do good stuff along the way.
Today, for the great American Thanksgiving, we give you a gift: a 70-year-old British pop star in a wonderfully indulgent video for a storied UK department store. Watch it and feel happy. It’s great.
There is zero branding until a tag line at the end. There is nothing remotely transactional. There is nothing to click, nothing to buy. This is advertising at its best. It is about telling a story beautifully, and this merchant just happens to sponsor it.
Only the really smart brands, the Nikes, the Apples, understand that communication is about feeling, storytelling, and aligning one’s self with an idea or a movement.
Sure, click and buy works, but not if you want to change the world. To do that, you need to convince people’s hearts that they want to be on the journey with you; you need to aim high and think big.
Aim high in all you do, be the very best version of yourself. This is AGEIST; this is what we stand for in everything we do.
I don’t know Elton John, I don’t know the people who made this film. But I can assure you that making something this good cost money, time and even more important, a dedication to making the very best work they can. This was hard work; they didn’t phone it in, they sweated the details. They wanted us to feel deeply, and it works. It also helps that it is Elton John that they chose for this story — Yellow Brick Road was absolute genius.
Our message to our readers this Thanksgiving is: be thankful, have gratitude for having made it this far and for the wonders in your life, and also keep pushing, keep aiming high. We are here with you.
Thanks to our favorite ad guy Bob Hoffman and his brilliant weekly newsletter for alerting us to the Elton video.
