Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.
What distinguishes a wonderful storyteller from someone who merely thinks they’re a wonderful storyteller?
Is it their timing? Is it the tone of their voice? Is it the words they use?
A good story surely has a certain rhythm, punctuated by pauses and surprises.
Yet in our world of Gimme Everything Now, such rhythm can be lost.
Which can make it quite difficult for brands.
They bemoan the lack of consumer attention. Yet brands are constantly insisting that they have a story to tell.
Perhaps, though, they just don’t have the patience, guile and rhythm to tell it well.
Sakeru Gummy is an exception.
This Japanese candy brand created a saga that is so beautifully put-together and absurd.
Demented even.
But it’s constructed with such exquisite rhythm that, as you watch one little episode after another, you can’t help but be enthralled.
Next level Japanese ad pic.twitter.com/uZZoe9WNqD
— Mothership.sg (@MothershipSG) May 2, 2018
Yes, you might say it’s all based on a slightly rude old joke.
But it’s taken that joke to a place where it almost seems worthy of a psychologist’s treatise.
Freud would likely look at this and reassess every last theory he peddled.
When you watch one of these ads, you surely want to watch the next.
You want to see how the dynamic changes between the characters, even when you know what the core joke is.
You also want people not to guess the ending. See if you do here.
Somehow, the shorthand for people to get to know you often begins with: “What’s your story?”
You’re supposed to have a ready-made answer.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos insists that he refuses to allow PowerPoint in meetings, instead preferring his employees to prepare a six-page story. (He claims it should take a week to write.)
So many walks of life demand stories, but often aren’t prepared to accept the level of painstaking art that goes into them.
Sakeru Gummy, the long and the short of it is that you have created a masterpiece.