Marketing Examples - I'm back

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New essay: There is no AI prompt for conviction

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Hey — It's Harry.

To long-time readers thank you for your patience. To first-time readers a warm welcome.

Today's newsletter is different. It's an essay that I wanted to write for the last three years. Last Saturday night, in a hotel foyer, I did!

Before we begin... a big thank you to this week's sponsor.

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I am sitting in the foyer at The Hoxton at quarter-past eight.

Half working out what I'm trying to say, half watching a date one table away. Both man and woman have seemingly given up and are now showing each other crap on their phone.

Thinking is hard, so here's me eating pasta in Greece. Thinking is hard, so let's pay Kendall Jenner to hold a Pepsi.

This is an essay about big ideas. Where did they go? How do you find them?

Let's start with the problem. A tagline isn't a big idea. A trend isn't a big idea. A moodboard isn't a big idea. A list of adjectives isn't a big idea. Dancing isn't a big idea. Let's A/B test it isn't a big idea.

All this crap is stuff you talk about when you don't have a big idea.

A big idea is... well, I haven't quite worked it out yet!

Imagine writing a few words on a sheet of A4 and turning an ‘ugly car’ into the best selling car of the 20th century. Or writing a rhetorical question and creating a $72 billion diamond industry. Or faking your mascot's death and every kid at school is talking about your app. If only!

Where did they all go? Let me read an iMessage from Casey Neistat.

“The best steak houses serve their filet on a plate with nothing else. Shitty franchises cover theirs in sauce and other shit to distract you from the fact you're eating dog food.”

So, what happened? ‘Sauce and other shit’ got incredibly cheap!

Here's an unlimited amount of words. Here's 100 Canva templates. Here's a camera, a drone, a library of special effects, a tool that tests it all for you.

I feel safe. No blank page, no writer's block. The tools comfort me.

No, they are the life preserver that sinks you.

You are supposed to feel afraid. I've never gotten very far without PANICKING!

* * *

I'm still sitting in the foyer at The Hoxton, the time is now quarter-past one at night, and I've ordered another Coca-Cola.

I've tried and failed to write this ending four times now. I'm still here because I believe I have something to say. I just don't know how to say it.

A long time ago (with no proof whatsoever) I tricked myself into thinking that I am a genius. I know what a good ending looks like. And I'm not leaving until I find it.

How do you find big ideas?

I've tried it all — walks, deadlines, formulas, fasting, thieving, reading old ads, sprinting through the park, cafes with no wi-fi, foyers with Coca-Cola. Here's the only thing I've worked out.

Big ideas are less about creativity and more about conviction.

In fact, I think your conviction in an idea is more important than the idea itself. You have to be willing to stop the meeting, stand on the table, with just six words on an A4 pad, and say ‘this is the idea’.

And when someone replies ‘we can't possibly get someone to lie underneath a suspended Volvo’ you have to be prepared to say ‘I guess, it's me then’.

And then you micromanage every word, every line, every take, every edit.

There is no AI prompt for conviction. So I can only tell you what I tell myself.

You are a genius. You know what good looks like.
Don't leave until you find it.

I don't usually share my newsletter on social media, but made an exception. If you enjoyed this — any love on LinkedIn / Twitter is appreciated.

Thank you for reading. The 3-2-1 format will be back next week.

I'll end with a meme I made, inspired by a Dave Trott blog!

Thank you for reading — Harry

P.S. Song of the week

Thanks to Tom and Sheehan for helping edit the essay!

Enjoy the newsletter? Please forward to a pal. It only takes 4 seconds. Exactly the amount of Coca-Cola's I had writing it!

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Marketing Examples - I'm back

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