Grand Slam
/As a massive tennis fan, some games will remain etched upon my memory forever.
For example, that time when a super young Taiwanese-American named Michael Chang won his round of 16 against Czech-American tennis legend Ivan Lendl, in the 1989 French Open.
Or when Brazil’s very own Gustavo Kuerten drew a heart on the Roland Garros red clay after claiming his third French Open trophy in 2001.
And of course, how can I forget the day when Switzerland’s Roger Federer won his 15th Grand Slam and sixth Wimbledon’s title over American Andy Roddick in 2009?
Those were amazing, unforgettable displays of grit, determination, skill and sportsmanship.
But there’s one game that always gives me goosebumps, for some reason: the 2012 Australian Open final, when Serbian Novak Djokovic beat Spain’s Rafael Nadal after battling for almost 6 hours. I mean, SIX hours. That wasn’t a match. That was a dogfight. That was a war. That was tennis at its utmost finest.
Djokovic is the one of eight men in tennis history to complete the Career Grand Slam, which means winning the four major championships of the ATP Tour:
The Australian Open in mid-January,
The French Open from late May to early June,
The Wimbledon Championships in the UK, in June-July and
The US Open in August-September.
Ok. Tennis. Djokovic. Grand Slams. What does that have to do with concepts?
Well, a lot actually.
Because tennis players, especially elite tennis players (a.k.a Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams) tend to have their own personal logos, besides those that belong to their official sponsors.
And only a few months after that incredible match against Nadal, Djokovic reached another milestone in his stellar career, one that impressed my creative self as much as his unbelievable Australian Open win had amazed my sports aficionado self: he unveiled HIS personal logo.
And he did it in the most irreverent, cheeky and informal way possible: by uploading a video on his personal Youtube channel. ;o)
The video is a bit over 2 minutes long and it perfectly shows what I mean when I say “with concepts, there’s always a reason-why”. From the meaning behind the logo to the symbolism it carries, the animation explains why certain creative choices were made in the process of building the logo, where the inspiration to make these choices came from and why the result – simple and classic – is so incredibly valuable.
I watched it.
I watched it again.
And I watched it one last time.
And it was as if the seas had parted.
I say that because that was the first time that I’ve seen a concept explained in such a detailed and easy-to-understand manner. Everything was so logical, and yet, it made so much sense emotionally. Complex thoughts were expressed with simplicity and clarity. My reactions while watching the video went from “yes, of course, that makes total sense!” to “wow…really? I did not see that coming”.
Now, up until that point, I myself had already done the same thing hundreds of times: explaining concepts to my peers, selling them to creative directors, pitching them to clients. That’s part of the job. As a matter of fact, I must say, that’s one of the most exciting and fun parts of the job.
But for some reason, at that time, when I watched Djokovic’s video, it felt to me as if the folks at PRpepper (the agency that created the logo – and the video) somehow raised the bar.
By using a visual montage to explain every single “reason-why” behind the concept, they accomplished something far greater and much more significant and important than just showing how the logo was drawn or constructed.
In just two minutes:
They showed how, in every creative endeavor, the abstract drives the concrete.
They showed all the intangible thinking that goes into a tangible deliverable.
They showed that what you don’t see (the idea) is usually more valuable than what you do see (the logo)
They succeeded at conveying this idea and communicating this value.
Now, creatively speaking, THAT’s a real Career Grand Slam, right there. ;o)