A bit of batshit is good for business

What a vacuum cleaner from the 1970's can teach us about creativity.

My three year old nephew is obsessed with Henry vacuum cleaners. Like, properly obsessed.

He has a toy Henry and a toy Hetty, at least one of which is within his immediate vicinity at all times. He has pictures of them both on his wall. And he experiences an earth shattering sense of glee whenever he sees one in the wild that makes me wonder if I’ve ever been that happy to see anything.

To anyone with kids, this might not be surprising. I suspect a lot of children are obsessed with Henry vacuum cleaners. What is surprising is that a three year old should give a shit about a vacuum cleaner at all. It’s a vacuum cleaner. It sucks up crap from the floor. That’s all it does. But within Henry’s unassuming face lies an important lesson about creativity.

Henry started life as a blank, functional vacuum cleaner. But during a trade show in the 70’s, the people manning the Numatic stand at a trade show were bored, so they started buggering about. They put a hat on the top of one of their vacuums, stuck a mouth under the nozzle and slapped on some eyes. They named it Henry. The next day, Henry was getting a lot of attention, so upon returning to the office they decided to add a face to all their vacuums. And from humble beginnings a legend was born.

Turning Henry’s face into a unique brand asset was a huge risk. A totally mad idea in the bland world of vacuum cleaners, but it worked. And it worked well, which is why you’re reading an essay about it over decades after its launch.

For better or worse, it isn’t the 1970’s any more. But you would still have a hard time convincing any self respecting brand that putting a face on their functional product would improve sales or transform it into a cult icon that my nephew squeals at the sight of. It would cheapen the product. Trivialise the positives, detract from the performance. We’re making vacuums here, not toys. What was a revolutionary and bold risk then is largely still considered a revolutionary and bold risk now.

But the truth is that difference becomes distinction, and distinction draws eyeballs. Being bold in a sea of bland is a risk, but doing exactly what everyone else is doing is also a risk. Having the confidence to be bolder, more distinct and different can be scarier than toeing the line, but the ceiling for reward is infinitely higher.

Which is why we work with our clients to find their weird. Find the odd things that make them tick, that make their product special, and help them build an authentic brand around it.

And in case Henry’s face isn’t compelling enough, Chris Duncan (the sole owner of Numatic and the man to slap the smile on Henry) has an MBE and is worth north of £150m. And from the joy he has given my nephew, I’d say it was well earned.