The Originality Delusion
Marketers have a problem. They’re obsessed with newness. New platforms. New products. And above all, new ideas. The bigger, shinier, never-been-done-before, the better.
It sounds exciting… until it isn’t. Because here’s the inconvenient truth: your customers don’t actually care about newness. They care about relevance, clarity, and trust. In fact, humans are hardwired to be cautious of the new. Evolution didn’t reward risk-takers; it rewarded the cautious, the familiar, the tried-and-true.
Case in point: Tropicana. A bold redesign of their iconic packaging nearly destroyed the brand, costing $60 million before they reverted to the familiar original. And research confirms it: most “new” campaigns don’t outperform existing, battle-tested creative. Customers respond to ideas that feel familiar and understandable, not the latest, flashiest concept your team cooked up.
So what’s the takeaway? Don’t confuse originality with effectiveness. Build on what works, iterate carefully, and use new ideas strategically - always anchored in the familiar. Surprising familiarity, not shock-value novelty, is what makes ideas stick.
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👉 Read the full article here: The Originality Delusion
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