What’s worse than looking like a dog’s dinner at your mate’s wedding because you have the complexion of a guy who kipped under the grill?
Looking like a dogs dinner at your mate’s wedding because you got drunk at the cricket, told a concerned fellow spectator that “suncream is for cowards,” and so have the complexion of a guy who kipped under the grill
What’s worse than spending half of March limping round on a walking stick because you’ve twisted your knee?
Spending half of March limping round on a walking stick because you fell off an incorrectly installed pull-up bar, smacked your head on a doorframe and concussedly tripped down the stairs while going to tell the Mrs.
What’s worse than waking up on the wrong side of the bed and having a foul mood three days in a row?
Waking up on the wrong side of the bed, reaching for the vape you binned three days ago and being in a foul mood for the third day in a row because you relapsed yet again having seemingly quit nicotine for the nth time back in bloody January you absolute fucking fool.
Let’s face it. None of us like it when things go wrong. Delayed trains, meetings cancelled (or called) at the last minute, Sainos being all out of Branston beans and having to slum it on Heinz. Life’s full of little irritations.
When it’s someone else’s fault, we get on with it. Shit happens, off we go.
But when it’s our own stupid fault, there’s a spiral of recrimination. It’s your own fault for not checking the bar was set properly, for leaving your sun hat at home, for deciding Andi Smith was right in 2001 and that smoking was indeed cool.
Fuck-ups happen, but they’re hard to live with when it’s you who fucked it.
In business, as in life. Sometimes things go wrong. Lose a contract, miss out on an opportunity, have to cancel a conference because the world’s ending?
Shit happens, off we go.
But when it’s our fault. When we just assume our colleagues will psychically brief themselves for a phonecall from a lead while we’re away, or when we forget to turn the PPC campaign back on after three weeks in Canada and the pipeline evaporates, or when we decide we’ll have a crack at the web copy instead of getting a professional in, that’s when things going wrong really hurts.
Like some bloke once said, control the controllables. Do your part right, or hire someone who can do that part better. Then even if things go wrong, you’ll be able to live with it.
Something mint - these Irish road safety adverts
When everyone’s tuning out your well-meaning but slightly hectoring public safety messaging, do something unexpected. Like hurling a hatchback at a nursery class.
Or tossing a car at a young couple snogging on a wall.
Speed kills is a hell of a message. These ads take the word kills, stick it in all caps, bold and underline it. Good luck forgetting these the next time your phone bleeps while you’re driving.