When the message is a service

My son goes to a really great school. It’s the polar opposite of my professional world: no logos are allowed, no characters, no team-wear, screen time is officially frowned upon, wood is preferred to plastic, live music is preferred to recorded, there is no candy, forget soda.

Which is what makes this little sheet of paper all the more impressive. It was handed out at a school meeting the other night.

Let me get this straight, teacher. You, the anti-commercial, are handing out the words from a TV spot as inspiration and grounding to your parent body? Wow, that’s when you know you have a viral message that will echo on for many years. That’s when you know you’ve hit a deep truth – “the people who are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do.”

“Advertising” has taken plenty of kicks to the groin, and deservedly so. It’s largely ineffective. It’s mostly irrelevant. “Services” do a better job of communicating. All true. Except for the rare occasion when the message itself is a service.