Creativity

Brand damage does interesting things to companies. In the last two hours I've seen a new Apple ad that talks about how green the new Macbook is. The Macbook being released just in time for the holiday's doesn't have PVC in it. This is the direct result of several interesting consumer campaigns asking for Apple to lead the industry in the elimination of toxic chemicals and upping their awareness and therefore innovation into decreasing the environmental and health impacts of the lifecycle of their products. Nicely played Apple. People will now see the latest Greenpeace guide to greener electronics rating and think wtf? I thought they were the greenest? and maybe just maybe dismiss the results that they are nowhere near leading the pack.

Another good ad campaign is run by the American Chemistry Council. I don't have a tv, so I don't get to see them as much, but I like to visit bars. Many bars have tvs. You get the idea. So these ads are really well done and talk about how important chemicals are to our world and safety and quality of life. These ads are doing wonders for their reputation, that people might even be forgetting about their less than stellar record. While giving a presentation the other day on the importance of understanding the lifecycle of products and the precautionary principle, a teacher said yeah just like those chemistry ads on tv.

Creativity is an interesting phenomenon. I read a lot of articles and books and magazine about creativity. I like understanding how the brain works and how to change your prespective in order improve what you do. Creativity provides an interesting and challenging path to how our world develops. I.e. misleading ads that mask the real actions of corporations.

While reading Businessweek (know thy foe) I found this really great article.

Renee