Sometimes a piece of advertising transcends this thing called Advertising. In honor of Steve Jobs, Apple’s “The Crazy Ones.”

Full disclosure, this film was made by TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, Los Angeles.

Source: Rob Schwartz, Chief Creative Officer, TBWA CHIAT DAY, LA on forbes.com.

McCafé Germany has launched their new brand belief “everything good begins with a good cup of coffee” in the beginning of the year. Part of the brand’s new communication were also new to-go cups in the brand’s recognizable colours and featuring conversation starters. These proved to be especially popular, so much so, that McCafé Germany is bringing the second edition of the cups to their restaurants in September.

For this purpose, McCafé Germany has just started an activation on its facebook page, inviting its fans to create their own McCafé To-go cup with their own smart, funny and intriguing texts. Among all applied, the best ones will be put to the public vote on the 5th of July.

The one with the most votes will be produced as a part of the new edition of the McCafé to-go cups.

Jean-Marie Dru, Chairman of TBWA\Worldwide, is the Jury President for the first ever Creative Effectiveness Lion at Cannes this month. Here he talks about his role.

You’ve attended Cannes a few times now. How much has it changed?

I’ve only missed one Festival since first attending back in 1973. At that time, it was not as prestigious and impactful as it is today. The Americans participated with only a few entries and the Festival was primarily European. Only creatives used to attend. “Creativity” was not really a popular subject among clients, who saw it as a means for agencies to talk among themselves, in their own self-indulgent language. Today it’s very different. Last year at Cannes, there were more people attending from some of the big multinational clients than there were delegates from our network, TBWA. In forty years, Cannes has become everyone’s business.

Now you’re Jury President for the first ever Creative Effectiveness Lion. Is this proof that the debate about creativity and effectiveness has been settled at last?

Creativity sells. But from now on, with the Effectiveness Lions, advertising will be judged on tangible evidence. Our panel will evaluate campaign results in a factual way. ROI will enter into the language of Cannes.

Surely there’s more to effectiveness than numbers?

Don’t forget we’re talking here about “creative effectiveness”. A message that sells, but that is not based on a fresh or breakthrough idea is unlikely to attract our interest. Because Cannes aims first and foremost to reward efficiency achieved through creativity. It should make for some lively debates with my fellow jury members.

How has the digital era changed notions of effectiveness?

Younger generations show interest only in messages that engage them. Otherwise, they just ignore them, or zap. Creativity is no longer optional, it has become recognised as being essential.

If anybody out there is hesitating about coming to Cannes, what would you say to convince them?

It took years for the idea of creativity to become accepted as a source of effectiveness. Cannes has participated in raising that awareness. This is the place where we can see the things that will pave the way forward for our industry; it’s where we can keep ourselves on top of the emerging creative trends, and it’s where we feel the pulse of our industry.

A conversation between the CEO of TBWA Germany Dr. Sven H. Becker and William C. Taylor, Co-Founder and Founding Editor of Fast Company on Disruption and its role in a booming economy.

Practically Radical: Manifest für Erfolg durch Wandel (engl.) from TBWA Germany on Vimeo.

For any comments or suggestions, send an Email to Ulrich Proeschel.

Co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company magazine, Bill Taylor is the author of a new book about disruptive businesses. He took time out from a tour of TBWA offices to talk to us.

How did the book come about?

To a certain extent it was provoked by nostalgia. Fifteen years ago, when we founded Fast Company, we organized a meeting based around the premise “How do you overthrow successful companies?” The participants weren’t young dotcoms, but companies that were already large and successful, and wanted to consider ways of engaging with the exciting new landscape that was emerging around them. It struck me that you could organize the same meeting today and ask exactly the same question. The book is an attempt to answer it.

What for you then is the key to success? Is it enough to be disruptive?

It’s no longer enough to be pretty good at a lot of things. You goal should be excellence in a chosen field. The most local, the most global, the most exclusive…the point is to stand for something. Too many leaders want to stay in the middle of the road, which is the road to nowhere.

Thanks to the digital revolution, we live in an age of transparency. Do you find that the most disruptive companies are also the most authentic?

It’s certainly true that you can’t behave one way in the marketplace and another way internally. Your brand must be a reflection of your culture. In that context, your hiring policy and the way you treat your employees becomes vitally important. I’d even say that the “power couple” in this new environment are the marketers and human resources department, because your talent strategy and your brand strategy must be in synch.

Can you give a concrete example of this?

One of my favourite brands in the US is Zappos.com. In just ten years it has become an iconic brand, by doing something is banal as selling shoes on line. The way it uses customer service, performance and theatricality to make technology more human is outstanding. A lot of this is based on its hiring strategy. When you join the company, you embark on a five week training period. Then they offer you 5000 dollars to quit. It’s a way of acknowledging that the company isn’t for everyone, while ensuring that only those who are truly committed to the brand stay on. That’s just one of the reasons why it’s become a passion brand of the highest order. The staff believes in it as well as the customers.

Is being “practically radical” – or “disruptive” as TBWA would call it – essentially about taking risks?

During my research, I unearthed an academic study that identified two different forms of risk-taking. The first might be termed “sinking the boat”: taking a risk that didn’t work. But the second is “missing the boat”: failing to take a risk that might have worked. Too many leaders fail to innovate because they’re afraid of sinking the boat.

In advertising, there’s sometimes a feeling that originality requires big budgets. How do you feel about that?

If you look at any truly creative organization, it’s not about how deep their pockets are, but how original their ideas are. Once again, that stems from their people. And by the way, these people don’t have to work FOR you. It’s enough that they work WITH you. You need to find people who excel in their field and get them involved. It’s the team that counts – I’m a firm believer that you’re never as smart alone as you are together.

Having said that, there is an element of self-help to your book. Can individuals apply your ideas to themselves?

Absolutely. In the last third of the book I talk about how to become a high-impact individual in your field. Just like brands, we should all consider what we stand for and what legacy we want to leave.

TBWA is famous for its work with brands such as Apple and Pedigree. How do they fit in with the theme of your book?

For me, the key to Apple is that it decided that it was not going to be a company that introduced new electronic devices, but one that reshaped what was possible. It doesn’t allow what is currently known about technology to limit its imagination. Instead, it imagines the impossible and then endeavours to make it happen. It’s the ultimate example of starting with a blank sheet of paper.

Pedigree is a completely different example in that it’s a company with a long history. The temptation in this case is to disavow your past in order to carve out a new future. Instead, Pedigree rediscovered and reinterpreted its heritage. The company was started by people who genuinely loved dogs, but somehow over the years that message had gotten watered down.  All large but somewhat stodgy companies were based on an original innovative idea. Sometimes you need to go back to that idea in order to reinvigorate your business. Never be afraid to seek inspiration in your past.

Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry and Challenge Yourself, is published by William Morrow & Company.

For any comments or suggestions, send an email to Ulrich Proeschel.

Nicolas Bordas, author of “L’idée qui tue” (“The Killer Idea”) and President of the TBWA France has shared on his blog an amazing charity idea developed by TBWA London. Check this out and give eggs:

I was in London the other day, and I discovered the “Eastern Egg” operation.  The idea is simple: buy a beautiful painted wooden egg (done by one of fourteen designers) for £10 and the money goes directly to the Red Cross in Japan.  The eggs are painted by an awesome “egg bot” (see below video).  To place your order, just go to www.eastern-eggs.com. What’s more thanks to PayPal you don’t have to be in the UK to participate!

Eastern Eggs from TBWA\London on Vimeo.

Users of the iPad can usually change their world with a swipe of the finger. But new ads for the mobile device shows that violations of human rights aren’t quite so easy to remove.

Amnesty International Deutschland iPad ad (engl.) from TBWA Germany on Vimeo.

TBWA\Berlin has produced two mobile ads for Amnesty International in Germany. They will also be available on  the tablet edition of Die Welt – one of the leading German  dailies.  iPad users can interact with Amnesty International through an alarming scene of a human rights violation. Attempts to wipe away the image fail. After several attempts a message appears: “Torture only disappears when you’re doing something about it.”

The ads use the gesture technology of the iPad. They make it clear that daily human rights violations can’t be simply wiped away. With one click users can directly support Amnesty International Germany.

For any comments or suggestions, send an email to Ulrich Proeschel.