Lindsey’s Daily Deal: And Now For Something Completely Different, I Can’t Live Without You Products and If You Don’t Like ‘Em, Change Your Mind

By Lindsey Campbell, Captains of Industry

Hey Captains’ readers,

Here’s your Monday Deal:

1. And now for something completely different

Who better to give advice on creativity than John Cleese? Not only is he a talented actor and comedian, but he also writes and produces his own films—and has won countless prestigious awards for most of them. He’s the kind of guy that not only thinks outside of the box, but would somehow make the box itself hilarious. And fortunately for us mere mortals, he opened up at the Creativity World Forum on how to tap into your own creativity again and again.

According to Cleese, there are a few simple ways to produce better ideas. For one, don’t over think it. Once you feel like you can’t possibly think anymore, stop what you’re doing and go to bed. Most times, Cleese said, you’ll wake up and wonder why you hit a wall in the first place. Also, while you’re sleeping, Cleese explains that your unconscious mind is still working and processing—which explains why almost all of your ideas get better the more they marinate in their own creative juices. After all, the ferocious beast that was the killer bunny didn’t just manifest from just one brainstorming session.

To learn more about Cleeses’s take on creativity, check out his entire talk at the Creativity World Forum. Or, if you’re in the mood for a laugh, take a look at “The Institute for Backup Trauma” created by the Captains. It stars Cleese in the role of Dr. Harold Twain Weck for LiveVault, an information management company. The film tells the story of hapless IT managers that suffer from Back-Up Trauma – a psychosis that takes hold when out-of-date tape-based backup systems fail.

2. I can’t live without you

There are certain products in which I will only buy the brand name. GoLean Crunch Cereal, Over the Moon Milk and Hellmann’s mayonnaise are just a few. Don’t ask me why. Even thinking about purchasing a different brand is completely out of the question. And I’m not alone. We all have those certain products that, for one reason or another, are near and dear to our hearts. But according to Ted Mininni at MarketingProfs, more and more consumers are opting for store brands rather than national brands. In fact, a recent survey by BrandWeek reported that 61% of consumers are now more price-conscious and 31% are less brand loyal since the recession. Which means that most consumers aren’t letting brand recognition rule their purchasing decisions. In the aftermath of the recession, consumers are really thinking about the products they are buying and going the extra mile to save money. However, there are still products that most consumers are not willing to sacrifice. In fact, the BrandWeek survey reported that, “It’s not that the economy has made people indifferent to brands. Rather, it has made them more discriminating about brands.” The study showed that 75% of respondents stated that this economy has helped them discern which brands matter to them, and which ones don’t. As marketers, how can we make our products a must in the marketplace?

3. If you don’t like ‘em, change your mind

K-Swiss, the American footwear company, has finally come out with an athletic sneaker to rival Nike, New Balance and Reebok—the KSwiss Tubes. What makes the Tube sneakers so special? Well, the soles are made out of, well, tubes. According to Kenny Powers (AKA: actor/comedian Danny McBride), a world-class athlete, the tubes give you enough support to “melt your face off.” Although the new commercial for the KSwiss Tubes is mildly funny (sort of a mix between The Old Spice Man and Ben Stiller’s character in Heavyweights, Tony Perkis), the icing on my TV spot sundae is the tagline: “Tubes, if you don’t like ‘em, change your mind.”

Isn’t that really what all advertisers secretly want to say to their consumers, anyway?

Until tomorrow,

Captain Lindsey