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Q&A: Scott Bedbury

Bull eye: Ad whiz

Scott Bedbury, of 'Just Do It' fame, claims Starbucks' experience-focus as the second big feather in his cap. Ever the intuition man, he warns BT Online's Kushan Mitra of the perils of pretesting ads, just as he prepares for his new life as Coca-Cola advisor.

Q. How did your association with Nike begin?

A. In 1987, Nike was a laggard brand. It did have Michael Jordan under contract, but after he broke his ankle, it had no superstar. The company had essentially become a company run by young people who liked running who made shoes for young people who liked running. They appealed to a 15-22-year-old essentially white male audience. It was No 3 in America after Adidas and Reebok. Basically, it was a brand in serious trouble.

Q. So what was the strategy you cooked up?

A. Expand your market presence, make products that appeal to a larger number of people. Appeal to other sports and women, and we had to showcase our superior technology. We could not afford to retain our exclusive, elitist stance. And the advertising had to show that. We had to tell people that there is 'a place here for you'.

Q. So how did 'Just Do It' come about?

A. Very strangely, it just popped up at a brand strategy meeting, and to be very honest I did not like it. I do not like taglines. They tend to become like crutches at times. But yes, it did become an umbrella. It meant different things to different people, but it gave them all a sense of confidence that no other sports brand gave them. On the back of that, Nike was able to say that 'our products are superior', that 'we make better shoes'.

Q. But Nike is also often about celebrities. After all, Michael Jordan was Nike, Andre Agassi is Nike, Tiger Woods is Nike... how important are celeb sportspersons for Nike?

A. Very Important, but not all that important. The message is that the people at the top of their game also use products that are the top of the league. And the point remains that someone can just walk into a store and buy the very same shoe that Michael Jordan uses. If you're size 13 and a half, it is exactly the same shoe. And people can believe that the product can help their performance. But I'll give you two important examples over here to prove the contrarian view. The very first 'Just Do It' television spot featured an 80-year old man who jogged 17 miles a day, Walt Stack. Again, the first Spike Lee spot we did made fun of the advertising. In the ad, Spike Lee says, 'It is all about the shoe', but MJ keeps on saying, 'No, it's not', and at the end of the advert, the message that goes out is 'The views expressed by Michael Jordan are not nessesarily the same as those of Nike Inc'.

Q. And what when celebs go wrong, like what is happening to Kobe Bryant today?

A. I have not been associated with Nike for a long time, but what I do know is that Nike has a 'Morals Clause' in their contracts. If Kobe is found guilty, I guess he will be out on the street. But, to be honest, Nike has been extremely lucky with its superstars, and certain people like MJ and Agassi have been with Nike for years, and have become integral to the brand.

Q. And how much did you spend on the initial campaign?

A. Just $8 million --- that's it. It was a small campaign, just 10 ads with very little airplay. I believe that ads should never be rotated very heavily. If they are, people get bored of them, and it insults their intelligence no matter how good the ad is. I do not know the scenario in India, but I suspect that it is the same as in America.

Q. What according to you is the biggest problem afflicting advertising today?

A. Pre-testing. This is a major problem affecting the industry. This happens because clients want a Return On Investment (ROI). Every second company that approaches me wants a 'Just Do It'. But can you ever quantify this? How can you pre-test creative concepts? There are no 100 creatively minded people out there who can pre-test an advert... it's all bullshit.

Q. You said you do not like taglines... why are you so averse to them?

A. The best ads are those with no copy, no headline, just an image. The best Nike ads I did for print had just a picture and the swoosh logo. The swoosh logo is one of the most powerful logos I know. It is so dynamic and represents a kind of motion. I love logos.

Q. It was logos that you played around with for Starbucks, right?

A. True, and me and my team had great fun doing that. I told my guys to just lose it, to let the Starbucks siren out. Some people believe that it is sacrilege to do that, which is load of crap. Logos have to change and be representative of that change. So when someone walks into a Starbucks, and research has shown that the average Starbucks customer visits Starbucks 18 times a month, he sees something different every time. We played round with the wallpaper, putting sea-motifs. One of the alternative logos had the siren's hair going all over the place --- the 'bad-hair day' logo. The chain got its name from the supposedly coffee guzzling first mate in Hermann Melville's Moby Dick. And the idea is to play on it. Don't ever punch the customer with a closed fist on the chin; strike him softly with an open palm on the temple. Trust me, he'll give you more respect. A great brand is like a mythological story --- something is always happening, it is always reinventing itself, and people who read or experience the story see the change happening.

Q. Any other major lessons?

A. Most advertising, and I mean television advertising, falls short. Advertising should sometimes be self-deprecating and make fun of itself. Change. Tell different stories. Otherwise people get bored. The fact is that in the world today, everything is so similar, everything is a commodity. You have to stand out. And standing out doesn't happen by product claims, in fact most consumers disbelieve them. Most companies and some advertisers are always looking for product benefit, and not emotional connects, which is far more important for the brand in the long run. There has to be a brand resonance.

Q. Any other work with logos?

A. Pick up a Diet Coke can and you'll see. The Dynamic Ribbon Device (DRD) on the Coke can is something that I believe can one day be the swoosh for the company.

Q. And other work?

A. I am working with a company called Jones Soda in Seattle, and this is a small soft-drink company, but it has quickly become a great brand. And the reason it is great brand is because it connects with its target audience through the Internet. People can upload images of themselves or whatever they think is cool onto their website and they have a technology which allows them to transpose those images onto the bottles. And young people across America see the bottles and they can see what exactly is cool and what is not cool. I am also working with another company from around Seattle, it is also a great brand, but a very polarizing one - Microsoft. These guys are actually a very forward thinking company, they don't believe that they have an overtly loyal customer base, their base is more passive, people don't have a choice. And the work with them is to get people to not have extreme opinions about Microsoft, and build an emotional connect with the company.

Q. What has been your opinion of Indian advertising?

A. I have only seen a very small sample, so I really can't judge. But from what I have seen, I believe that the advertisements are very similar to what is available in America. Mostly of it falls short and is very vapid. I'm sure there are great ads, but I'm just talking from what little I saw.

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