The big idea, again.

I came across another blog post talking about a blog post that talks about the death of the Big Idea. To the contrary, Edward says:

"...I’m referring to things like The Ultimate Driving Machine, Just Do It, Got Milk, or Dove’s campaign for Real Beauty.

My guess is there’s not a brand in the world that wouldn’t die for an idea like that."

And here's the root of a lot of the bullshit surrounding this -- are those big ideas really dying because we live in a 'new age'?

The Dove campaign is one of the most awarded campaigns in Canadian advertising history. Sure, it's a nice sentiment. Give yourself a hug, you're beautiful in your own way. Maybe it could have won awards simply for that. But I think the real reason it won so many awards is because it pushed the boundaries of advertising in the current age. The Big Idea worked amazingly well across a huge variety of media, events, and anywhere else Jancy and the rest of Ogilvy could think to put it. It used media, pr, the web. It used traditional techniques and new technologies equally well. It built communities and it became cultural. It engaged consumers and solicited opinions. It never lost sight of the big idea, it transformed a brand. And it helped to sell soap.

I'll admit the campaign for real beauty is the exception, not the rule. But it suggests that the Big Idea is not dead.You just have to be exceptionally creative to come up with it, be smart enough and resourceful enough to evolve it, and have the courage to believe in it through its life-cycle.