Can TBWA give Communism a good old capitalistic push?

The Propeller Group, a mutil-talented production house, approached us with just such a proposal.  Well, more of a challenge really…  Could we successfully rebrand the idea of communism?   After all, here was a brand name that has been around for the last 40 years.  

An interesting proposal in and of itself since a marketing agency is one of the most capitalistic services that could ever exist.  After all, what is more capitalistic than creating preference for one service or product over another?

And this was the challenge for the agency; revive an aging brand that was in need of a refresh. The process would be at the heart of TPG’s latest documentary film the premier at the 2011 Singapore Biennale, a showcase of contemporary art.

It was an incredible and exciting challenge for us.  I don’t think anyone was concerned with the subject matter, but more about the sheer intellectual challenge that was being proposed.  When we did our analysis of communications and previous marketing, we came face to face with decades of symbols and marketing that had generated fierce debate over the years.  On the plus side, talk about brand consistency, EVERYTHING was red and yellow.

But the more we looked into this, the more we came to love the brand.  After all, it’s such a wonderful idea, a utopian society where we looked out for the best interests of each other.  It’s a brand that fits so perfectly with where the modern marketing world is headed as well as evidenced by the proliferation of values advertising and CSR efforts. 

Was this about love?  About being good to your fellow man?  About making the world a better place?  They were all avenues we had fun exploring.  Hopefully the result did justice to the Propeller Group’s expectations of TBWA.  


To find out more about The Propeller Group, you can visit www.propeller-group.com or the Singapore Bienalle, visit www.singaporebiennale.org