Dispatches from Dreamland: Branding the Branders

Every day I watch ads. It’s part of the job. I watch way more than the average person. I sit punch-drunk, on the receiving end of a barrage of mostly uninspired images while I attempt to uncover those rare gems that inspire and provoke me to write.

Of late it seems that ads that impart value and meaning to the audience, that resonate and raise the bar are becoming rarer and rarer to find. It could be that our transmedia world and proliferation of technologies delivers a downpour of yet more avenues of persuasion, meaning a broader band of content to wade through.

As I continue to ponder advertising’s shifting visual surface I feel that production companies have a special role to play in a healthy society. The problem is most are the shallowest of ad-makers, the majority pushing rosters of questionable talent who manufacture empty, meaningless spots, implicitly endorsing an environment of banal messaging that create an immeasurably harmful code of public discourse.

Often it’s an obsessive game of how cool an ad looks, rather than with what it is really saying.

Few of our experiences in everyday life are free of advertising’s alchemical touch. We absorb advertising so deeply into ourselves that we don’t recognise the myriad ways in which it prompts, cajoles, disturbs and excites us.

It’s no exaggeration to say that directors are engaged in nothing less than the manufacture of contemporary reality. The director, at the end of the day, is a skilled professional manipulator and their role is one of the most important facets in advertising today.

Therefore, I’m in favour of a more useful, lasting and – dare I say it – democratic form of production company, environments that are a mind shift away from the aforementioned passive, mindless push-and-shove techniques. And it’s not just local TV fare. The most lavishly funded and widely disseminated ads are just as guilty of procuring DOA experiences.

Yet some companies do have the right alchemy – companies such as Furlined and its new identity “f“.

“We seek to add value to our directors and our clients, ”explains exec producer Diane McArter on the modus operandi of the company. “We mine for a depth – a richness of thought and meaning - in everything we do.”

The company’s new logo hints at this, embracing a new attitude while it carves out meaningful branding for the masses:

“I feel that those companies that are connected to humanity will prevail,” she continues. “Happiness is important to success. The company is truly about our directors. Agencies need to think of them as adding value and meaning to the process.”

Of the company’s many inspirations McArter nods toward cognitive anthropologist Dr Bob Deutsch. She quotes him directly:

“If you want to make great advertising, forget about advertising, think about LIFE. Forget about consumers and think about people. The only way to make great advertising is to make magic for people – that is, uplift and expand peoples’ ideas about themselves and the world. That’s the function of art.”

“This is also the function of advertising,” adds McArter.

“We try to live up to that quote on every job, make magic for people and uplift and inspire them. It’s expanding people’s ideas about themselves and the world. That is the function of art, and it is at the heart of good advertising. This is what we aspire to do and what our new identity symbolizes.”

It’s also about the notion of happiness: “Our directors mix it up and keep connected with each other,” she adds.

“This creates sustainable performance. They are more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty. It’s a thriving workplace where people have fun within a caring culture. It’s important to radiate positive energy and show a passion for learning.”

That spirit of community, of generosity and sharing is exemplified by director Yael Staav’s recent collaboration with cohort Ted Pauly to create the short film Sam's Formalwear; Pauly wrote the script while Staav directed the spot.

The company also continues to add specific new talent that adds to the equation. Feature director Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Plasantville, Seabiscuit) springs to mind.

“The lines between advertising and entertainment continue to blur as directors like Gary bring tremendous added value to brand storytelling,” explains McArter on his addition. “We’re already bidding on a Super Bowl spot for a major brand and agency with him.”

Saam Farahmand is also working on a project of note for the Grammy’s through TBWA/Chiat/Day:

“It will make spirits soar,” predicts McArter. “This piece of content is a perfect example of where culture meets commerce. Saam’s work exists within the cultural context of art and music. He is a true translator of culture.”

Looking back on Furlined’s year there has also been work successfully rousing and engaging the public. Rise for Assassin’s Creed III springs to mind. Carved by director Björn Rühmann through Sid Lee Paris, the film has a spirit of revolution that inspired viewers to claim their independence.

The spot bares an overarching theme of great advertising - to incite the human spirit and transcend limitations. Rise garnered over 35 million impressions in the first week after its release back on 4 July.

Furlined is an exemplary company that expresses what I feel is at the heart of advertising today. It also underlines what people in production need to ask today more than ever – and keep on asking: in whose interest, and to what end? Who gains by our construction of reality?