Big Tobacco to Government Contracts: Building Breakthrough Brand Campaigns | Mike Martin, Ep 37

On designing the Truth anti-tobacco campaign

“The moment you tell a teenager not to do something, they're going to want to do it even more. So we had to figure out how to go about messaging all the danger. And what we realized about teenagers, still universal today, is if you are what they consider two-faced, if you are manipulating a teenager, that's unforgivable.”

“I would much rather if I had a company, I would much rather create content that drives conversation and dialogue, even if half of it is opposition. I'm not looking to proactively offend people, but there's millions of brands every day whose content is swiped past. If you create content that people are talking about, even if it's debating it passionately, that is a huge win.”

“You don't own your brand. You can influence your brand, you don't own it. Who owns your brand is your customer. The perception they have of the company in their minds is the brand. And if there is a, you can help shape that, but that collective belief in the brand, that is the brand. They own it, not you.”

“I would argue it's far riskier to create unmemorable work. It's more memorable to take a risk and do something provocative and create dialogue and have awareness around your brand because you had the courage to take a chance.”

On being fired after confronting an abusive boss

“I never regretted being fired for the right reasons and I never regretted standing up for people who deserved it. Maybe that was the hand of God kind of sliding you over to where you need to be again, right?”