“Nothing is more colourful than black and white.”
If done well, it's possible elevate a proposition to a provocation. This masterful Leica ad shows how it's done.
Brian Chesky, Airbnb: “You can’t build a product unless you know how to talk about the product.”
Bill Bernbach, DDB: “It’s all about how you say what has to be said."
Neville Brody: “The way something is presented defines the way you react to it.”
Product truths and positioning can go down many expected paths. But finding an angle—something that's truly provocative and creates contrast within its context—is harder to do brilliantly.
A camera that only shoots in black and white - an intentional limitation aimed for a very specific group. It could’ve been pitched as a classic, one used to take famous photos with, or one that's just for the real pros who get it.
Instead, it transcended the "who it's for" or the "what it does" with a unique, least expected pitch that flips any limitation on its head: "Black and white are all the colours, whichever inspiration decides."
That is a product truth well told.
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Vilav