D&AD recognises the value of real products

At the D&AD awards last week the Guinness Surfer ad rightly ran off with the most prestigious prizes. Apple followed Guinness as one of the most successful client companies for its product design work.

At the D&AD awards last week the Guinness Surfer ad rightly ran off with the most prestigious prizes.

Apple followed Guinness as one of the most successful client companies for its product design work. What really sampled the mood of the times though, was the way in which Stephen Fry, as master of ceremonies, showered genuine flattery for the work of Jonathan Ive, Apple’s design supremo.

As opposed to the well-humoured nonchalance he reserved for the advertising winners, Fry was undoubtedly blasé about his former profession and respectful of the designer of a range of products he’s nutty about. But he also taps into a deeper undercurrent of people finding all the talk of brand this and intangible that, just a wee bit tiresome.

While the pundits get moist about living on thin air and virtual brands, it is real things that really turn people on for anything more than 30 seconds. People actually yearn for authentic products, experiences and relationships.

“I am not a target market” is a phrase that sums up the cynicism towards corporate motives, fused with a reaction against what is perceived by many as the “marketisation” of everyday life.

When it comes to products people are confidently making up their own minds based on their own opinions and the integrity of the product.

Kevin McCullagh

Senior forecaster

Seymour Powell Forecasting

Kevin.mc@seymourpowell.co.uk

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