Less is More
Just ask Winston Churchill. Well, maybe that won’t be so easy unless of course you’re a clairvoyant with a direct line to the hereafter. But if you could, I’m sure the famous Prime Minister of England could teach you a thing or two about keeping it simple. During World War II, he took a ‘less is more’ approach to his daily briefs from his many subordinates scattered over the globe. Forced to make quick decisions, the pressure on Sir Winston was immense. To aid his thinking process, he demanded that these briefs be summed up on one page. Starved for time, he had a vast amount of information to digest each day and needed it ‘boiled down’ to the bare facts. He simply could not process all the information coming across his desk during this crazy time. His strategy would appear to be successful.
Welcome to 2010, the information-crazed apex of modern history. Consumers today face a daily onslaught of information that would have made Churchill himself cringe. We can only process so much information. All the really good advertisers know this. Unfortunately, most advertisers want to tell us everything they possibly can, believing that we need to be told about all the wonderful details about their product so we can run out and get it right away. This assumption will almost surely lead nowhere, a wasted attempt, blending in with all the other ’noise’ out there. Advertisers first need to get people’s attention, and once this is accomplished (a not-so-easy feat), quickly and simply convey a single thought that we hope stays with our audience. Anything more is fruitless. If the consumer decides they need to know more, they will seek you out whether it be by phone, web or word-of-mouth.
Less is More… keep it simple, let your message breathe!
This video is a great example of this mantra:
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sean Cadigan, The Idea Factory. The Idea Factory said: Just ask Winston Churchill – Less Is More – Read more: http://ifactory.ca/2010/06/04/less-is-more/ [...]
Winston would be proud. I’ll keep this simple and use the philosophy of a well known sneaker giant to decipher your message: JUST DO IT.
Good post Ed. People are constantly getting slammed with information, and as the video shows, when you clutter a piece with too much it gets ignored. I’ve always tried to go by the K.I.S.S. rule (Keep It Simple Stupid).
Nice video-a splinter group of Salter Street did this one a few years ago (NSFW) worthy of sharing in your atelier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_VtqtxCHY
It doesn’t matter how much someone talks or how much information they relay in the conversation, people are only going to remember the key points that interested them any anything else will put them to sleep.