Tick follows Tock...

No, it's not the letter T in my reverse alphabet of anti postmodernist marketing. But I couldn't possibly put this famous Guinness image up without its catchy catchphrase.

We've actually reached the letter P and a world rich in anti-marketing P-words.

And in these PANDEMIC-ridden days, it is easy to PONTIFICATE on this PANOPLY of Ps. Sorry - I had a beer earlier and am feeling a bit silly. Deep breath... to business.

What is POSTMODERNIST marketing? Well, in a nut-shell, it is doing everything the wrong way and getting the right results. It's ignoring traditional marketing stuff, throwing away SWOT, binning the Ps and then setting fire to the lot of them. Well, not quite, but it's a way of marketing which tries to prove that there is more to this game than just lining up PRICE, PRODUCT, PROMOTION and PLACE, and expecting sacks of money to roll in. In a postmodernist marketing world there's lots of room for PARADOX, PREVARICATION, PROFLIGACY, PROFANITY , PLAYFULNESS and even... PHANTASMAGORIA!

It's basically breaking the established rules and having a bit of fun.

OK... so what's going on here? Well, just look at Guinness picture above - this is from the famous commercial of a sea loaded with surfers and white horses falling onto a black and white shore, with a hypnotic drumbeat in the background and some bloke reciting a totally incomprehensible poem. Oh, and no mention of the drink at all. That's postmodernist marketing in a nutshell - the setting up a sequence of chaotic, illogical, non-sequential images and soundbites and then throwing it at an unsuspecting public.

Or a lot of meerkats capering around in Africa while... get the picture? It's basically doing something odd. Remarkable. Different. And something that will be remembered by the tired punter.

There's lots of other juicy stuff too, but let's leave it at that for now.

As for PARODY and PASTICHE - these are two of the mainstays of the anti-marketing stable. Parody is basically saying controversial or even bad things about your own product. Like Marmite when they actually admit that people HATE their stuff. Or the old YORKIE chocolate bars which put a large stamp on their wrappers saying: 'NOT for girls'. It's deliberately courting controversy by creating a negative buzz simply to be noticed and to get more reaction. As for PASTICHE - this is making a story of the thing by copying a well-known genre. Like the recent AA commercial which used the sci-fi programme Red Dwarf as a backdrop to their services. I could now go on to list the number of corporations that have adopted the Star Wars, Harry Potter or James Bond universes to push their stuff, but I won't.

What of the masses of other Ps now all lining up? Well, there's PRINCIPLED Selling (a way of selling stuff honestly and not resorting to exaggeration, lying or loads of hidden small print), there's something called PARADOXICAL JUXTAPOSITION. Yes really! Don't worry, it's just a lovely expression which means slotting the human element into the mix and not just relying on spreadsheets and what the computer tells you. It's adapting to changing landscapes in a very human and contradictory way.

And there are the DIGITAL 4Ps as well. These echo the original ones but in a far more 21st century way. PROCESS, PEOPLE, PLATFORM and PERFORMANCE.

I could also wax lyrical about PLURIVALENCE or even a real beauty named POIOUMENA, but again, I won't. I think I've wittered for far too long. But if you're interested in this sort of loveliness then please have a look at this masterpiece. It will tell you all in an easy, fun and paradoxical way!

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/adrian-liley/the-anti-marketeers-handbook/paperback/product-1665dwpk.html?page=1&pageSize=4