The Value of Canned Ham

Many moons ago, I shared an office with a brilliant corporate video and meeting producer named Gerlinde Puchas. She didn't usually do commercials, but she did one about canned ham for a supermarket chain. She put it in a top hat and tails, and had it dance. It ran for years. And it sold a lot of canned hams.

Then one day, a man called and said he wanted her to do a commercial about the ham he sold. "You've come to the right place," she said, "I actually did a commercial about ham once before. "Yeah," he sniffed, "but that was canned ham. I sell fresh ham. Do you have any experience with fresh ham?"

I've giggled over that story for years. I tell it when I am trying to explain that experience and expertise in marketing is what counts, not the marketing of a specific type of ham, or widget (before widgets took on their current cool iteration.)

These days, I often tell clients that story when I introduce ideas about new media marketing. I warn them: "OK, here comes a canned ham idea. I know it doesn't apply exactly to your business. Please think about the concept." It often helps to open their minds to new ways of looking at marketing.

Try it!