I came cross the top left piccie of Faris the other day on a PDF entitled
Are All Ads Spam? in a piece for something called 'The New Next' - not
entirely sure why I saved it - 'cept it does have some interesting bits about
all advertising being spam unless it adds value. I thought at first it was
connected to Chris Brogan
and his manifesto sorta thing (worth a read
incidentally) - but I can't
find a link there to the article and it doesn't seem
connected. I digress.
Anyway, the thing that struck me (and I'm sure you) is how he has changed.
I wanted to post it for a giggle really as the later pics are - well - somewhat
'different', and it reminded me about the conversations I have had many times
about Keef and how on earth he ended up looking like he does now.
And then syncronistically this appeared on Facebook last night...
...which is a rather neat little thing from Fast Company: to celebrate the third
series of MadMen which aired on Aug 16th:
...which has Faris as Harry Crane - erm - no actual resemblance and actually
not that much in common really, but heck, its great to be recognized in that
way right?
Anyway - that's not the point. The interesting thing is that the pic of Faris BH
(Before Hair) was all fresh faced and sincere - and the second AH (After Hair)
has taken on a sort of messianic appearance, and well, we all know what
happened to Keef.
So I am left wondering how much personal transformation or style is a
result of circumstance and context - it' s the B.F. Skinner in me folks -
or does it work the other way round - we are what we are and then things
happen as a consequence of that. Interesting as outlaws in popular culture
mostly define the antithesis of tribal behaviour and yet are often the most
revered, and yet we are constantly looking for the things that make us like
everyone else from a brand planning perspective.
And therefore could the secret of success in future be to look less like
everyone else - be more individual rather than play to the community
perhaps? Have to think on this one as it seems to run counter to a lot of
what is being written currently.
And then yet even more syncronicity this morning as Rory and the IPA
posted a very interesting book and also seminar to come to by a chap
named Geoffrey Miller who has written this:
Spent argues that many of our product choices are driven by the desire
not
to feel good, but to look good, by displaying our evolutionary
fitness to those
around us.
Apparently it goes beyond the big 5 trait displays (watch out for that meme in a
presentation near you soon): openness, conscientiousness, extroversion,
agreeableness and emotional stability and provides some clarity as to why we
are like we are and why perhaps we look like we do.
I shall have to wait to read it but in the meantime perhaps Faris himself has
some answers for us...
P.S. Not sure if this will work actually but here is a link to the file mentioned above:

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