A couple of words on one word equity

Had the pleasure of reading Lord Saatchi's speech at the Cannes this year on onewordequity. He is the modern day Mark Anthony who's come to praise advertising, not bury it. The speech reads much like a Roman emperor holding forth to the subjects, except in this case, I am not sure we are happy about lending our ears.

According to him, the future of advertising lies in trapping the brand in just one word. This seems the path to salvation in an increasingly digital world. It is quite an eloquent heartfelt speech, no doubt. With no disrespect meant to Lord Maurice Saatchi, it is precisely this kind of thinking that blows across the marketing world as the next big thing. I can imagine marketers and advertising people alike scurrying forth with their thesauruses and dictionaries looking for that one elusive magic word that captures the essence of their brand bang on.

In an age where people are shying away from the written or the printed word (why else would Harry Potter be credited with reintroducing the love of reading amongst adults and children alike?) and absorbing visuals, be it the television or the internet, we are carrying out reductionism to the extremes by hammering a brand into a unidimensional word.

As the environment becomes more complex and the navigation of brands even more so, I feel we need to understand the complex nature of brands and try to communicate its multidimensional nature rather than practice the art of reductionism.

In sum, what I am saying in two words is 'Get complex'.

My humble apologies, Lord Saatchi