126: Say “yes”

[Persuasion and Marketing - Final Class] Thank you, Maha Abouelenein + thoughts on Apple's "Crush" ad (I like it)

Maybe the hardest person to persuade is yourself.

Are you and your ideas worth investing in?

Can you, should you, stand up for your creativity?

As Bertrand Russell put it, “Many people would rather die than think. In fact they do.”

I’m so proud of my students for thinking, for questioning, and most of all, for saying “yes” and persuading themselves they are worth the effort. As you may recall, the Persuasion and Marketing class was a fluke. But it became a gift.

Now here we are at the end of the semester. They each delivered brilliant final projects—I’ll be sharing excerpts over the next few weeks once I complete the editing.

Thank you, Maha Abouelenein

And what a way to end the semester.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Maha Abouelenein (LinkedIn), founder of Digital & Savvy, and author of the soon-to-be-released 7 Rules of Self-Reliance for joining us during our final session. (Here’s lengthy background on Maha.)

From Mankato, MN to Cairo; from producing local TV to producing Gary Vaynerchuk’s inaugural Vee-Con; from opening offices for Weber Shandwick in the Middle East to shepherding Google through the Arab Spring, Maha embodies persuading yourself to say “yes” to all kinds of scenarios—even when plenty of forces urge the opposite. She shared the evolution of her sense of self, and the practice required to build and sustain confidence.

The art and science of persuasion and the roots of marketing begin with understanding an audience. Who is it we seek to persuade? That journey begins with fierce listening—and quite often, to yourself.

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AI+Creativity Update

🍎🙄 The good news is Art Changes Everything. Still! A couple days ago Apple released “Crush!” an advert for the new iPad Pro. I don’t mind it.

Some people got upset. “Wrong message at the wrong time” is the general consensus. And, in a rare moment, Apple apologized.

I would not have apologized.

Well, not for running this concept at this time. I might have apologized to LG for borrowing their 2008 camera phone concept wholesale. It’s the exact same idea, but with better music.

No, I don’t believe the complaint is with the idea.

After all, isn’t the creative process itself, the drama inside our brains, more or less the same conceptual premise? Humans mash up, blend and otherwise press together a meatloaf of existing art as a means for developing entirely new expressions. Consider Anna Lockwood’s “Piano Burning” from 1968, Dave Pollot’s paintings re-imagining other people’s paintings, or the Fluxus movement. Apple’s notion is surprisingly familiar. Now, watch the iPad ad in reverse. It’s an even better concept!

I suspect the real complaint is with our time and place.

To quote Charles Baudelaire in 1859: “Photography has become art’s most mortal enemy.”

Apple just happened to ship an unoriginal idea at the dawning of a new approach to creativity, and surprise—some people got upset.

Same as it ever was.