Local Agency Declares War on Tupperware Drawer Metaphor in Creative Briefs
In an unprecedented move, Auckland-based agency Slap+Tickle has released a bold internal memo banning metaphors comparing brand strategy to a Tupperware drawer. The decision follows a six-month stretch where no fewer than eleven creative briefs used the kitchen storage analogy to describe messy brand architecture, confusing propositions, and, once, synergy.
“We’re trying to clean up our lexicon,” said Larissa Dunlop, Head of Strategy and Self-Worth at Slap+Tickle. “If I hear one more planner tell me our target audience is ‘mums searching blindly through a drawer of mismatched lids,’ I’m going to start throwing plastic containers myself. Possibly at interns.”
The agency is reportedly compiling a Style Guide of Forbidden Tropes, with other banned phrases including "like Airbnb, but for dogs," "millennials hate being sold to," and “customer journey = Tinder date.” These will be replaced with more neutral descriptors like "complicated" and "we have no idea what we’re doing, but here’s a mood board with a lot of teal."
The move has caused friction among the account teams, some of whom were heavily invested in metaphoric thinking. “I just pitched a repositioning platform comparing our dairy client’s supply chain to a bento box,” said Account Director Simon Hartley, visibly shaken. “They clapped. Real clapping. Now what am I supposed to do—use linear thinking?”
Slap+Tickle says the metaphor ban is the first step in its larger strategic clarity initiative, which will eventually include a soft ban on the phrase ‘shooting content’ unless it refers to actual firearms. A follow-up seminar titled ‘We Don’t All Need to Say Touchpoint’ is scheduled for Thursday, with wine and passive-aggressive hummus.
“We’re trying to clean up our lexicon,” said Larissa Dunlop, Head of Strategy and Self-Worth at Slap+Tickle. “If I hear one more planner tell me our target audience is ‘mums searching blindly through a drawer of mismatched lids,’ I’m going to start throwing plastic containers myself. Possibly at interns.”
The agency is reportedly compiling a Style Guide of Forbidden Tropes, with other banned phrases including "like Airbnb, but for dogs," "millennials hate being sold to," and “customer journey = Tinder date.” These will be replaced with more neutral descriptors like "complicated" and "we have no idea what we’re doing, but here’s a mood board with a lot of teal."
The move has caused friction among the account teams, some of whom were heavily invested in metaphoric thinking. “I just pitched a repositioning platform comparing our dairy client’s supply chain to a bento box,” said Account Director Simon Hartley, visibly shaken. “They clapped. Real clapping. Now what am I supposed to do—use linear thinking?”
Slap+Tickle says the metaphor ban is the first step in its larger strategic clarity initiative, which will eventually include a soft ban on the phrase ‘shooting content’ unless it refers to actual firearms. A follow-up seminar titled ‘We Don’t All Need to Say Touchpoint’ is scheduled for Thursday, with wine and passive-aggressive hummus.