“Cigarettes are the only legally available consumer product which kill people when used exactly as intended,” he says, addressing the delegates of the 21st PAC.
It is BJ Cunningham, and he’s talking about Death, the cigarette brand available in Japan, South America, the Bahamas, and a nightclub in Manchester.
Introducing his marketing management (mis)adventures on brand Death, Cunningham’s stress points include prohibition. “I have no respect for anybody who tells me what I should be doing,” he says pronouncedly. Ban is a cute word that removes the rights of an adult in a free society,” he adds.
Instead, he espouses grabbing the opportunity to create a new brand with unique promise that is “the truth”. Though there is no singular truth, what matters most is what your customers believe. Cunningham practices what he preaches. Death cigarettes advertising poster copy reads: They’re every bit as good as other cigarettes and every bit as bad.
In marketing, everyone is competing for attention. “A brand is not a logo. It is not a pantone color. It is not even a name. A brand is an idea. A promise. If a brand is strong enough, you don’t need a logo,” he emphasizes.
“Brands do not believe in the boardrooms, or the creatives of the agency—it is in the minds of the customer. Brands are signposts and the customers choose which road to take. Engender belief – belief is everything!”
The self-professed management failure, Cunningham admits he is only good at initiating action, but horrible at overseeing. He therefore recommends hiring people better than (you). Yet, he dispenses sound management. “Don’t be like Zeus looking down on the company. Instead, be like Atlas holding everything up,” he advocates.
