What is cool? That’s one of those questions where you could ask a hundred people and get a thousand different answers, right? For creatives, it's crafted into the work. For clients, it's collecting interest on the bottom line. But there is definitely a unifying thread. And here’s where I found it.
Back in January 2000, I was hired to be the writer for the Winter X Games in Mount Snow, Vermont. In addition to writing scripts for the on-camera talent, my main responsibility was working with the producers to write the voiceover scripts for preature elements - teases, bumps, tonight/tomorrows, etc. – all of the cool emotional videos created to hype the events and connect with the viewer. That year, the preature elements featured beat poets spitting mad rhymes about the events and the athletes. And there was one poet onsite if we needed any additional rhymes or voiceover work. That cat was Sage Francis.
To give you context of what transpired next, the Winter X Games lasted five days that year, so there were five broadcasts and five individual teases produced. The tease team of director/producer Rico Labbe and editor Jeff August first brought me in to write a couple of lines for the first tease. And we hit it off instantly. For the fourth tease, we were kicking around ideas and we started discussing the definition of X. What began a few years back as the Extreme Games had become the X Games. And we wondered what it now represented. I suggested we ask an expert who happened to be hanging out in the production center – Sage Francis.
I brought Sage into the audio sweetening sound booth, and with Tim Spero, the man who introduced me to the X Games at the board, I interviewed Sage. I asked him a range of questions about the X Games and what made them so appealing. He became really real really fast. I’m paraphrasing but he broke it down like this, “X means something different to each athlete and fan. It’s kind of like asking me what is cool? You can’t fake cool. Cool is you being you. And the moment you try to be cool, you’re no longer cool. It’s the same with the X Games and what X represents. X represents something there isn't a word for. X just is. That’s the concept.”
Cool just is. You know it when you see it, hear it, experience it. Cool has a way of connecting with each of us at an emotional level and make us want to be part of it. But you lose it the moment you try to be something you aren’t in the pursuit of “being cool”. That rings true for every brand as well. Be true to who or what you are, present your brand in a creative compelling manner and your cool – your natural appeal – will come through.
But how do you present it, advertise it, share it? Make it simple, relatable and compelling. Here’s a quick example of a series of teases I wrote for the NBA Finals Countdown show. The creative team I collaborated with, Jeremy Anderson and Lucas Nickerson, had a great idea that followed this path: The NBA Finals > the pursuit of the trophy > the trophy is made of gold > the Cleveland Cavaliers and oh the Golden State Warriors are pursuing that gold > let’s bring in the Golden State’s hottest MC > create a set of elements and a character all dripping in gold > and write scripts that bring it to life.
Here’s another recent client example and how their cool was brought to life. Client: Space Florida Mission: Encourage vacationers to spend more time on the space coast Concept: The Vacationauts. A space-themed crew who’s mission is to help vacationers make space an epic part of their Florida vacation. The results: Increased space tourism, a payload of awards and international recognition.
Yes, it is possible to make any product or service cool, even those that don’t blatantly possess that characteristic. And no, budget size doesn’t matter. There are tons of product demonstration videos being shared around social media that prove it. Why? Because they connect with the viewer. They’re compelling. They’re memorable and shareable. They break through.
To me, the creative business is about more than making ads to sell stuff. It's about creating moments that connect people with opportunities to improve their lives through branded experiences. Those experiences could be through the use of a product or a service, watching a show, video, performance or event, engaging on social platforms, playing a game, or through spending time within an environment like a destination or an attraction. There are other examples, of course, but they all have one thing in common in order to be successful. They have to be cool.
The truth is you don't have to create great advertising for your clients to make it work. There are multiple infomercial channels on DirecTV that prove that point. (Full disclosure, I have written an infomercial or two.) But when clients give you the opportunity to create experiences that can positively effect people’s lives, shouldn’t we always strive to be great? To make those experiences special? To connect with our audience on an emotional level? To create something cool?
What do you think? Thanks.