Plato believed that this was an imperfect world.
But somewhere there existed perfection, what he called “Forms”.
He said there was a perfect Form for everything.
Identifying the Form starts with the commonality in a group of things.
For instance, what do a Shetland Pony, a Shire horse and an Arab Stallion have in common?
They’re all different versions of a horse.
But somewhere there exists the ideal concept (the Form) of the perfect horse.
The absolute perfection that all other horses can only aspire to.
The same with chairs, or trees, or circles, or the colour red.
Whatever group a thing falls into, there exists a perfect Form.
Nowadays we think that’s silly.
Because we know whatever Form we have, it’s never perfect.
It can be improved upon as circumstances change.
For instance, a Shetland Pony isn’t great for a horse race but an Arab Stallion is.
But an Arab Stallion isn’t great for teaching little children to ride, but a Shetland Pony is.
So: horses for courses.
But that’s a modern concept.
There isn’t a perfect Form for all occasions, there’s only ever a better answer to a problem.
As the problem changes so must the answer.
That’s why, the best guide to how good an answer is, is the Bauhaus maxim: Form Follows Function.
The operative word being ‘Follows’.
Anything’s final form must be the result of how well it does the job.
So Form FOLLOWS function.
So a crucial part of the job is defining the function.
Because if we get the function wrong, we must get the form wrong.
Which is why I’m always amazed at how little thought is given to the part on the brief that says: “What is the purpose of advertising?”
Surely this is the function any form must follow.
This IS the strategy.
But most so-called strategic thinkers quickly kneejerk past this to get onto the part that interests them: the brand, the insights.
Because for them, the only interesting part is the brand or the insights.
They simply want advertising that displays their insights.
They want to go straight to the Form.
Consequently we end with the advertising we have today, that everyone agrees is pretty dire.
Because we have it backwards: Function Follows Form.
Because we’re ignoring the function to get straight to the Form.
Because everyone is trying to go to Plato’s Perfect Forms, without worrying about the job to be done.
Advertising hasn’t just gone back to the 1950s, it’s gone back to ancient Greece.
We don’t solve problems, we are now advertising philosophers.
We make a pretty object without questioning the job it has to do.
We assume if the form is liked, that’s job done.
Function Follows Forms
Simple answer: focusing on form is much easier, and saves us from ever having to get too specific.
Most great advertising flows from a very specific purpose, and a very specific observation about human behaviour. Both of these are hard to work out and there’s the possibility you might be wrong. So people like to retreat to grand, nebulous proclamations while simultaneously going ‘well we all know what media channels we’re going to apply this brief to so let’s not even start mucking about with that too much.’
I heard someone refer to a ‘campaign in a box’ the other day. Seems like an exercise in missing the point.
Always enjoy your posts, Dave, and agree about form following function. I still remember reading your post a few years ago about the concentration camp survivors wearing lipstick, despite having much greater, life-saving needs, in order to regain a sense of individuality. As a novelist, I use form following emotional function to achieve certain objectives. Lots of ways to skin a cat.
Hi Dave,
I’m facing some wall lately. I remember your post about “content” when you attended some meeting about the future of it. You had concerns about what content is exactly.
Fast forward, today I’m receiving more and more messages about “SEO content” – the content that helps you reach better rank in Google.
Isn’t it like your lorry from your story: A new fancy way to deliver? But now it’s not only about the delivery system. Now you even need to adapt to this delivery system, to make sure they will deliver.
People obviously got crazy about it, and the marketing agencies are having the new resurrection era, as they feel more needed than ever.
My question is: is it worth doing?
In my case, I have a very precise market, and people are not landing on my page by accident. They are looking for my solution.
I want to cool down people around me, but maybe there is something I’m missing.
Always good to ask smarter people, cheers.