When the World Zigs, Zag

July 8, 2022

16 min 18 sec

In 1982, advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty launched a campaign for Levi's black jeans. Black denim wasn't a thing. To sell it, they filled a field with a hundred white sheep all facing one direction, and one black sheep going the other way. The tagline: when the world zigs, zag.

Most brands don't. They look at what everyone in their industry is doing and do roughly the same thing. Martin Sully thinks that's a gift – because if your competitors are all zigging, the path to being spotted and remembered is wide open.

In this episode he walks through a practical framework for differentiating your brand – including the most unexpectedly fun tool in brand strategy: giving your brand a villain.

Common branding misconceptions

What's Covered in This Episode

The origin of 'when the world zigs, zag' – the BBH Levi's black sheep campaign of 1982
Why most brands default to industry conventions – and why that's an opportunity
You have 2.7 seconds to capture someone's attention
How to narrow your target market as the foundation of differentiation
Finding the unique problems competitors aren't solving
Why always watching competitors keeps you one step behind – look at them once, then forget about them
SWOT analysis done properly as a genuine differentiation tool
The brand villain framework – Luke Skywalker needs Darth Vader. What does your brand need?
The Apple vs PC ad campaign as a masterclass in making a villain work without making actual enemies
The rule: pick one villain, keep it consistent, never make it a competitor

Our Podcast evolved

This episode was originally recorded for an earlier version of the podcast. The audio intro references a previous name – the content is all still the good stuff.

Ready to work out what makes your brand genuinely different?

The How I Think About Branding page covers the strategy-first approach behind everything in this episode. Or start with Mini Martin to dig into your brand's positioning right now.

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Meet Mini Martin