The Right Kind of Advertising

Matthew McConaughey is smart, and so are the people at Wild Turkey, a Kentucky maker of bourbon. They approached the actor to be the celebrity spokesman for their product. You've seen it a million times before. But Matthew wanted more. He said that he wanted to dig in and get his hands in the clay of it all, to be a bigger part of the story and not just a character in it.So now he's their creative director. His first project? This six minute documentary. It starts out the way you'd expect, but I like just how quickly it goes into the details of the people behind the drink. It's easy to forget that every product has a story, but that's where McConaughey can prove his mettle. His job is to show us why this bourbon is what it's meant to be.

The Right Kind of Advertising

There are two ways to advertise: fling products at people who might be potential buyers, or seek to build connections and potential relationships with those who see themselves as belonging with certain people, with a certain product.

Cynics will say "He's getting paid. It's just a job." But I can tell you that we pick and choose our jobs and we choose the brands where we align. For every Lincoln and Wild Turkey, there are hundreds of products and services that McConaughey turned down.

I love the brands I work with and I love other brands I've yet to work with but support because I see them doing great things. I want to build bridges between the products and services I love and the people I think will benefit from using them. I see that in McConaughey's project, as well as his getting the chance to direct a short film (even if it's a documentary-style ad).

Seek out those brands and businesses where you feel you belong. Be more conscious about where you spend your money and where you don't. And support the brands that tell stories you want to be a part of.

That's some of what we work on with the Insiders. And you could do the same.