Thinking Outside the Box - Creativity in the 21st Century
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“Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of something different”
These are questions that I am often asked, as an authority in the buzz marketing industry I have studied these questions for many years, and today I am going to attempt to get your creative juices flowing with a series of examples of creativity from the world around us.
There are many aspects to it, but essentially you are taking an existing idea, notion, object etc… and then combining and mixing them to create something new.
Do you want some examples?
Ok, well, Gutenberg took the wine press and the die/punch and produced a printing press, and we all know how important the printing press became.
Ok, I admit it, that was a boring example, let’s look at some more modern versions.
Quite a simple and boring item… right?
The above bag was given when you bought a book by a famous crime-writer from Belgium.
Again, a useful product, but very boring. So how do you promote something so dull? With a little twist of creativity:
We are not endorsing drug smuggling, but if drug lords can be creative, then surely we can?
Below are thinly sliced sheets of Cocaine designed to look like Pringles.
It is fair to say business cards are pretty dull and boring, for decades we have all had boring business cards with virtually the same designs, but check out these creative business cards :
“Can you spare any change?”, those are the words we generally hear when we pass a homeless person on the street. But it is amazing what a little creativity can do:
the following year he upgraded to sign 2.0…
Lego is a great way to demonstrate and encourage creativity in children, check out this life-size model of R2D2:
Check out this great 404 error page for a poetry website.
How cool is this advert for National Geographic…
And finally, we finish with one of my personal favourites… the creative billboard ad:
I hope you have enjoyed this journey through creativity, and perhaps it will spark some creative ideas of your own.
If you want to see how creativity has been applied to my life to generate huge amounts of buzz and viral success, check out my free case studies and reports at: www.webtrafficorgasm.com
Dean – DeanHunt.com
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on February 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am ¶
[…] Net Frontier Marketing wrote an interesting post today on Thinking Outside the Box - Creativity in the 21st CenturyHere’s a quick excerpt “Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of something different” What is the most effective way to create linkbait? What is the main reason that web content goes viral? What is the essence of creating buzz? How do you make blog posts that stand out from the crowd? These are questions that I am often asked, as an authority in the buzz marketing industry I have studied these questions for many years, and today I am going to attempt to get your creative juices flow […]
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am ¶
I wondered why those killer bunnies I saw last week were yellow, I guess Nationwide wasn’t on their side….
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am ¶
Great and creative ideas. I especially like the man who is 98 cents short on ransom keeping up with new technology. It reminds me of the guy who couldn’t leave the forest till he sang lullabies to some killer bunnies.
To go viral I guess I need to get creative and name my dog Max instead of Buzz
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am ¶
Next you will be suggesting that the Easter bunny is from the Killer Bunnies marketing department and we choose to view the furry vermin as cute and cuddly when in actual fact they steal our kid’s baby teeth either directly from under the pillow or later when they fall out after eating all the candy. Guess it’s all about how you view life
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:28 am ¶
Finally, we’ve begun to address the lack of killer bunny talk on this blog. It was about damn time too.
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:41 am ¶
I like pics because they are better than 1000 words or killer bunies or buniies…
For spelling/grammar correction it this post check
http://www.strategicprofits.com/blog/welcome-to-the-attenion-age/
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:50 am ¶
Those are the kinds of ads that people discuss around the water cooler, which I’m sure generates plenty of word-of-mouth advertising. I used to refer to these ads as “stick and carrot” ads because of the way they drew peoples’ attention and got the reaction the advertisers were looking for. However, after being threatened by the KGB, I had to stop calling them that. Former Soviets? No. Killer Gray Bunnies.
on February 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am ¶
The business card Idea gave me a lot to think about the next time I order business cards. After seeing these creative ways of thinking I can really come up with some ideas of my own, but first I have to confer with the Killer Bunnies
on February 6th, 2008 at 12:12 pm ¶
I for one am quite impressed by Dean’s use of a Digg post (seen by me last night) to properly portray his point. Now Dean, how about some some creative use of killer bunnies for the rest of us?
on February 6th, 2008 at 12:52 pm ¶
Great ads, great creativity. This is the kind of thing you remember when seeing it. It always start with an idea, but you could also get shot by killer bunnies with this kind of plastic bag.
Dean, have you noticed the spelling mistake in the web 2.0 sign ? Hey you inspired him ! He might be one of your subscriber.
on February 6th, 2008 at 1:06 pm ¶
Those pictures really challenge you to expand your thinking on what creativity is dont they! Wow…I love that gun one, but im not sure how safe it would be…
on February 6th, 2008 at 3:42 pm ¶
I’ve heard of land sharks, but that is just ridiculous! If those killer bunnies decide to get on that bus, man, they haven’t got a chance!
You can find a few more of those cool bags at http://www.funny-potato.com/cool-bags.html
Thanks for another great post Dean.
on February 6th, 2008 at 5:32 pm ¶
Great post Dean. Really entertaining.
Some of the great comedians, like Seinfeld and George Carlin, always seemed to find the hilarious in the mundane, everyday things we do.
I like the billboard with the post through the head. We should try that with those damn killer bunnies……….
on February 6th, 2008 at 6:03 pm ¶
when it comes to art my brain just does not think outside the box - but I do love seeing this stuff especially the image on the bus doors - that is cool. I have to wonder what they will put on the next bus to get out attention - killer bunnies perhaps?
on February 7th, 2008 at 3:50 am ¶
The panhandler is a con - he’s never got the 2 cents change if you proffer a $1 bill. What kind of low trick is that cheating you out of 2 cents?
“Caveat emptor short change & kill erbun ni es” as they say in Rome.
BTW - how they gonna get that paint back in the can when they need the billboard back for the next ad?
on February 7th, 2008 at 8:16 am ¶
The creatives behind the Duracell ads have made
me take notice of the power of batteries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWOjIyXFBO4
I bought a couple of those killer bunnies for my
wife and mother-in-law
on February 7th, 2008 at 9:56 am ¶
Hey Dave,
I can understand the killer bunnies for the mother in law, but for the wife?
Guess it depends how long you’ve been married
on February 7th, 2008 at 5:48 pm ¶
Hello,
I ‘m very enjoy reading your content.
Thank you for information
I will come back to read more.
on February 8th, 2008 at 8:19 am ¶
killer bunnies is just hard to misss…………..
on February 8th, 2008 at 8:47 am ¶
hey alex, that’s a nice article… i think u forgot to add my business card to the list lol
the paint building wrapping is so nice…
but u forgot the multimedia creativity… let me add this to it…http://www.jean.ghalo.com/2007/07/26/honda-accord-fantastic-add.html …
you gave me another idea to post some good *things* about creative works on my blog!
cheers!
jean
on February 8th, 2008 at 3:04 pm ¶
Hey Guys,
John and Dave: those are some other excellent examples.
As for the killer bunnies: carry on, as you were.
on February 9th, 2008 at 6:24 pm ¶
Hey Dean
awesome article. Great idea the remember us that MARKETING has something to do with creativity. Be creative, do things different then the others.
Me for example, I started to use killer bunnies for a pre launch of a new killer eBook form a friend of mine, Damien Speck. SEO Pro and for over 20 years in the Internet business.
Forget “Mass Control”, and “Internet Marketing Explained”, those cost fortunes. We operate with normal levels.
See here by yourself how many bunnies I killed
http://www.squidoo.com/doitlikethebigdogsreview
Cheers
G.
on February 9th, 2008 at 6:31 pm ¶
Dean
Congrats to this article. Couldn’t be explained in a better way how to use creativity for market any kind of boring stuff.
Duracell for example, if they would use Killer bunnies in their ads they would be even more recognized.
Tell to Carl to post here as well, he has great ideas.
From a Internet Marketing buddy
Guido
http://www.squidoo.com/wealthyaffiliate-hotreviews
See this great Squidoo Lens to get closer to your IM success.
on February 14th, 2008 at 9:43 pm ¶
Dean,
Thanks for providing us with a short collection of
of outrageous yet surprisingly simple “real life”
examples of how to market effectively using creativity…
The examples you’ve chosen are so attention-getting that
they could even stop a herd of killer bunnies dead in their
tracks!
on February 21st, 2008 at 4:39 pm ¶
Holy smokes, those were some great finds to prove your point in the article. I especially love the shark on the bus doors.
Oh, and the first one, the plastic bag gun. Very creative indeed. It has sparked an idea in me for a blog contest.
Thanxs for the creative juice. Good stuff.
on February 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm ¶
[…] National Geographic Clever Marketing Idea […]
on February 29th, 2008 at 1:56 am ¶
Thinking outside the box is the theme of a book I have just read called Blue Ocean Strategy. It is a business strategy with the core idea about creating a leap in value for both the company and its buyers by breaking the differentiation/low cost trade-off and to align product value and profit propositions. It offers theoretical approaches and practical tools to create and capture “blue oceans” of uncontested market space ripe for growth. Cirque du Soleil is one fine example. So don’t get caught the the “red ocean”, where industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Those sharks bite.