Effective campaigns and brands are built upon opinions. This is why you shouldn’t ask AI to create them.

Charlie GosPorT – that’s what I call Chat GPT (see what I did there?!?).

Like all employees, tools, software and resources, you get to know their strengths and weaknesses.

As we know, Charlie’s intelligent. Some say an IQ equivalent to that of Einstein.

But what Charlie doesn’t have is an opinion.

And as the saying goes, “Opinions are like *rseholes – everyone’s got one”

Well, Charlie hasn’t. Neither has Claude. Nor Gemini.

Amongst other creative projects, I’m working with a consultant who’s rebranding and repositioning from one-man-band territory to micro-agency. Essentially, I’m helping them punch way above their weight in order to attract prospects who also want to punch way above their weight.

Said consultant initially turned to Charlie for brand name and proposition advice.

They fed in their thoughts, ideas, and even the front-running audience-seducing name.

The consultant admitted it felt rather good to have Charlie validate their thoughts and even compliment them on such a brilliant brand name and proposition.

Problem was… it wasn’t.

They knew it. Their gut knew it. But Charlie didn’t.

I’ve found myself in similar situations. 

Charlie’s blown similar smoke up me too. But when challenged, Charlie’s u-turned quicker than you can say “spineless yellow coward”.

Now, quick etymology lesson. Yellow, relating to cowardice, is from the medieval notion that the liver was the seat of courage. And thus, a person with a weak liver would not only appear yellow but also have no courage. Therefore a coward.

Quickly, let’s jump from yellow to purple.

Seth Godin’s 2003 book title says it all: Purple Cow.

Amongst a sea of hot-air-emitting sameness, the brands, consultants and agencies that stand out are the purple cows. They look different, they sound different, they act different, they make you feel different. Not just for the sake of it. But it’s how prospects distinguish.

History lesson number two: The word branding comes from the Norse term ‘brandr’, which meant to mark cattle to identify them.

So if you really want to stand out in your field – pun intended – you can’t blend in.

But had said consultant taken Charlie’s flattery-driven advice, that’s exactly what would’ve happened. They would’ve blended in with all of the rest of the buzzword dot com’s and name-surname-brigades ’ forgettable names and indistinct propositions.

I work with a brilliant writer. But as I’ve said to him, I don’t just work with him because he’s good with words. I work with him because he’s got an opinion first. And then incredibly talented at transforming those opinions into compelling copy.

And speaking of, let’s return to my meeting with the consultant in search of a compelling new brand and proposition.

I gave them my sugarcoated-free opinion:

“Go to market with that name… and you’ll really struggle”

Because their preferred brand name needed a lot of explaining to create the aha moment. They got it. It made sense to them. They had the curse of their own knowledge. But it would’ve taken some rather long hops, skips and jumps for the audience to get it.

And that reminds me of the joke about misdiagnosed trapped wind: If you need to force it… it’s probably sh*t!

It’s important I give my clients this critical friend opinion. It’s not easy being this honest; it’s a skill I’ve honed over almost 30 years in the industry. But either I can tell them now (and save them a lot of money) or their prospects will tell them… by not working with them.

Whether it’s a campaign, brand name, proposition or reposition, it has to be built upon a distinctive opinion. A position if you will. Many in marketing use the term ‘purpose’. What is purpose if not an intention-driven opinion.

A good opinion in your marketing is the equivalent lettering through the stick of rock. It helps draw audiences in at the top of the funnel. And it can help validate purchasing decisions and create the tipping point at the bottom of the funnel, too.

Ultimately, opinions can only be formed upon experiences and observations formed over many many years.

So this isn’t ai-bashing. Charlie is simply a tool that should be used strategically.

We all have that friend who we turn to when we want an honest opinion. And we secretly respect that person even more because they have the chutzpah to say “don’t blame the clothes, your *rse looks big in everything”.

Jokes aside, effective marketing needs truth tellers. Especially in the all-important ideation phase.

Paying for lip service at such a critical stage is dangerous.

Because if people like me don’t have the courage to have those up-front challenging conversations, then at the end of the campaign you’ll have an even harder conversation with the powers that be – where you need to explain that the budget’s gone, along with months of resources, and the KPI’s look more depressing than you do.

I love Charlie. I wouldn’t be without ‘her’. But for the foreseeable, I wouldn’t be advising anyone to outsource important, high-stakes opinion-based strategic marketing to her.

This isn’t an anti-ai rant. It’s recognising strengths and weaknesses in the tools and choices available to us.

And after all, it is just my opinion…

an opinion (formed over three decades in advertising and creative marketing) that’s helped create brands and campaigns that not only win awards, but hearts and minds… and rather lovely profitable results.

In need of some very effective strategic creative? let’s chat

Baz Richardson is the Founder & Creative Director of
Bravo Creative