Thank gawd! It’s taken me forever to find a copy of this ad by Ogilvy for Cisco and their Human Network campaign. I could only find the Italian dub, but here’s the gist: a skateboard executive sends around a prototype of a new board to a bunch of skate rats. The skaters send back pictures of alterations like shortening the board, adding better wheels and then, large design elements. The executive goes to his board and presents this totally different prototype. Everyone is excited, thrilled even. Why? Because the got a board completely designed for them for free using the human network! They’ve saved themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars by not releasing their original prototype. Plus, they don’t have to pay a dime to the actual creatives, the skaters themselves. Sweet!
Yes, I understand the ad is about the power of the Cisco Human Network, collaboration and how it transforms your business. Some of the other spots aren’t bad, but this one – It’s a bit of a shit, ain’t it? Call me sensitive, but way to alienate every creative who has ever had some massive corporation steal their idea, but could also use the brand’s human network to connect with their collective, pitch concepts and manage their freelance career. These people are everywhere; creative class and all that. Check out the website You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice as a primer.