Unintentional Remark of the Week goes to branding guru Al Ries, who published a rant in the latest issue of Advertising Age on the mistake of diluting brands via new media. Ries wrote:
“‘Multi’ is one of the most dangerous words in the dictionary. Multimedia, multiplatform, multifunction, multichannel, multidigital, multifaceted. Whenever you hear the word ‘multi,’ you can be pretty sure it’s a sign of trouble.”
Hmmm. Wonder how advertising agencies desperate to sell clients on integrated marketing—hyping services with the terms above plus multidisciplined and multitalented—might react to Ries’ proclamation.
But it’s certainly true that Madison Avenue has long viewed as dangerous the word multicultural, avoiding it with multiple excuses and a multitude of lame alibis and outright lies.
Ries likely abhors the word himself, as the man’s company is co-operated by—you guessed it—his daughter. They’re both probably multimillionaires. And Ries is multilingual, displaying fluency in many forms of bullshit.
classic.
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