How boring is your model?
Copywriter Vikki Ross and Mellor & Smith's design director Paul Mellor have made it their business to end the reign of bland branding. They released the Bland Book in 2019 to mock the rise of companies that rely on empty statements and equally empty design.
"We did it so that brands and agencies would recognize themselves in it – either through work done or through the people they worked with," says Ross. "We want them to see that they shouldn't produce anything boring as that will never force consumers to get noticed."
What was originally just a set of guidelines has now grown into a fully fledged website with contributions from creative industry figures from around the world. And it deals with a long list of offenses, including terrible press releases, diabolical briefs, and a sarcastic social media guide aimed at getting brands to rely on influencers and pay lip service to diversity.
It makes for amusing and potentially uncomfortable reading, and gets to the heart of why so many brands feel so low-key. The boring thinking piece, written by Amy Kean, Brand and Innovation Director of & us, is particularly succinct. In it, she perfectly mimicked the jargon-heavy sucker many creative firms believe will pass, as well as the magpie-like attraction of the industry for the next new one.
"Our industry has faced a sudden, unprecedented exponential revolution for unquantifiable years," she writes. “No living or deceased human, animal or mineral can keep up with the pace of change. The pace of change has been so fast that it is even faster than 5G, which is also a revolution, but an additional one to the one we are currently in. "
"Bland is the new oil and oil is the old data," she continues. Failure is the glue. But what drives it? Let me introduce you to some innovations that we have absolutely nothing to do with: AI, VR, AR, drones, Bitcoin. Our proprietary methodology and artificial approach combine every technology ever invented into some sort of boring machine. "
It's all fun, but underneath there are some key lessons that brands, design studios, and creative agencies need to understand. These habits may be easy to fool, but they are just as easy to fall into.
blandbook.com