FOAMY CARPET
There have been many triumphs along the way and many notable successes, one of which was helping the BAFTA Film Awards become a widely recognised global event.
However, in 2002 we moved the event to Leicester Square away from the dull corporate environment of the Grosvenor House. All was going well until “Health & Safety” pointed out that the red carpet was a fire hazard. I said it wasn’t but a fire retardant liquid was quickly sprayed onto the offending item which put minds at rest until a rainstorm turned the carpet into a foam wonderland.
The resulting farce gave the event it’s biggest publicity to date and most attendees took it in good part with Stephen Fry, the show host, reflecting that it was the ”years of greasy flattery given to actors which is finally bubbling up” It did, however, give us the opportunity for massive branding after I raided the merchandise cupboard at Orange for umbrellas.
Orange was widely recognised as the brand of the 90's not only for the way it transformed the Mobile Telecoms Industry and the massive commercial success it enjoyed, but for the extraordinary advertising created by WCRS and the revolutionary brand image and positioning from Wolff Olins led by Doug Hamilton.
It spawned, almost single handedly, a torrent of Brand Consultants intent on making the simple, complicated, making the passionate, dull and above all making as much money as they could from eager brand owners anxious to join the growing belief that Brand Values and Positioning were the answer to their prayers.
Ian Cassie, of The Black Arts. was privileged to have stolen much from the Marketing teams at Orange and their extraordinary Agencies and to have contributed with work on the Brand Internally, across Sales Channels and externally with F1, BAFTA, the IPO and the projection of the coming 3G revolution with the "Orange World" film that both inspired people at Orange and the Analysts from the City who followed the sector closely.