Marc Babej asked Douglass Rushkoff about Saatchi & Saatchi CEO, Kevin Roberts, a.k.a. “Mr. Lovemarks.” Rushkoff interviewed Roberts for his PBS/Frontline documentary “The Persuaders,” so it was a question, he was prepared to handle.
Kevin seems like a smart and sweet guy to me, for sure. I’ve got no problem with him. I just think his company – what’s left of the ad agency that used to be Saatchi and Saatchi – really lost its way. Their original error was leaving the ad business to become an ad conglomerate. They weren’t experts at being a holding company – the Saatchi’s were experts at shmoozing clients. So they lost the plot of their own business, and lost it.
Now, Roberts is in charge of what amounts to a boutique agency. And his way of marketing his skills is to brand them as “lovemarks.” At best, he’s doing for brands what Aristotle did for plays. Still, it has nothing to do with creating them.
Ouch. The truth hurts. 😀
Post hoc rationalisation and the myth of leadership
Marc Babej (fellow Corante Hubbite) interviewed Douglas Rushkoff recently and got his reflections on Kevin Roberts and Lovemarks. Rushkoff is a big sceptic about advertising and essentially said what Roberts does with his Lovemarks schtick is identify …