Design for Narcissism and Win with John Petty from Wieden + Kennedy
The year was 2001, and a young John Petty (JP) had just finished watching Allen Iverson make his one and only NBA finals run, losing to the dynastic Lakers 4 –1. After the final game was over, an electric Reebok commercial took over the screen. AI is featured showing off his ball-handling skills with Jadakiss rapping in the background. A hard-hitting beat formed by the sounds of bouncing balls and swishing hoops drives the commercial forward. Cultural infusion, moments, and music all blended together to inspire and move JP. It wasn’t the Reebok A5s that JP wanted to dip his toes into, it was the world of advertising.
Fast forward 20 years and JP is now the head of Social Strategy for Wieden + Kennedy (W+K), the largest independently owned advertising agency in the world. W+K is responsible for Nike’s “Just Do it”, Old Spice’s “The Man You Could Smell Like”, and many other iconic campaigns. JP works with some of the biggest brands in the world such as McDonald's, Bud Light, and Ford, and was gracious enough to join the Cornell Tech Alumni at 2020’s first After Hours.
JP has a deep understanding of the advertising landscape and how it has changed over time. From creative copy in the ’50s, to striking images in the ’70s, and cultural moments in the ’90s, JP has studied how to get consumer attention. In 2020, Social is king.
Today, “we scroll about 300 feet a day”, coaches JP. We get our messages from family members, friends, and influencers. Media is hyper-targeted and art or copy doesn’t work for grabbing consumer attention. What does work, is celebrating the moment.
When you think about grabbing people’s attention, there is no better way to incentivize participation than giving people the opportunity to put themselves in the center of that moment. JP teaches that the best way to reach an audience is to give that audience the ability to say “I was there…where were you?” This is why designing for narcissism is so effective. While all people live on a spectrum of narcissism, everyone wants to feel like they are part of the crowd. And within that crowd, they want to have a unique voice.
When JP designs a campaign, his goal is to transform people into brand advocates. He wants to design for narcissism so that people will see his work and carry it on. He gives people the ability to choose their own adventure and fill in the blanks. For every campaign, JP asks three questions: 1) Can people see themselves in the work? 2) Can people make it their own? and 3) Will people feel cool by making recommendations? Does it give them social currency?
We are living in the movie “The Joneses”, where brands arm neighbors and friends to do the selling for them. In today’s landscape, brands get you to sell products and experiences to your networks by broadcasting the living of your best life. You are part of the moment… where are they?
Designing Campaigns isn’t about the celebrity anymore. It’s not about hard-hitting cultural moments that JP was inspired by back in the days of Allen Iverson and Jadakiss. It’s not even about the data or technical science (though these certainly help). Marketing is about putting people in the center of their own unique and special story. JP is the man helping you to fill in the blank, choose your own adventure, and most importantly, tell your friends.
