7gen Bloc

IBM recently launched a series of "Smarter Planet" ads, running Mondays in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other publications. The pitches paint an image of IBM as a purveyor of solutions to the planet's environmental ills.

The ads are part of a larger campaign from big corporations to tell us what we don't necessarily believe or want to know. They are expensive and often fail to register on our collective consciousness. But if enough money is spent, they become somewhat unavoidable. This has been the case with BP's "Beyond Petroleum" campaign, as well as with similar efforts from Chevron, Shell, Exxon, and Dow.

Often, Joel Makower investigates an important issue before I get around to it. In this case, he's done an excellent job. So I recommend reading his recent post on IBM's recent "Smarter Planet" advertising campaign.

But if you're not ready to depart from the Inspired Protagonist just yet, I've taken the liberty of quoting extensively from Joel's post.

Joel writes: "IBM's recent campaign goes well beyond mere image -- and beyond green -- to envision a 'smarter' world in which problems as wide-ranging as health care costs, energy and resource shortages, government inefficiency, threatened waterways, climate change, and traffic congestion can be addressed by a blend of systems thinking, technological innovation, and computing power. It's an intriguing campaign aimed at helping redefine IBM from its roots as a computer maker to its more recent incarnation as a self-described "global services company."

"The vision for a 'Smarter Planet' was laid out in a November 17, 2008 speech by IBM chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano. 'The world will continue to become smaller, flatter… and smarter,' he said. 'We are moving into the age of the globally integrated and intelligent economy, society, and planet. The question is, what will we do with that?'

"The 'Smarter Planet' ads -- what [IBM marketing VP] John Kennedy calls an 'op-ad' campaign -- are Palmisano's answer. They are designed 'to get a reader to think about the world from a systems point of view, and along the way, describe these opportunities for systems,' says Kennedy. Each week's ads cover a different topic: energy, traffic, food, infrastructure, retail, banking, and more. The schedule posted on the IBM website has ads slated weekly through early March."

Joel concludes by noting (and I totally agree), "Can a series of ads really start a conversation with customers that will lead to profitable engagements, unprecedented partnerships, and systemic transformations that improve all of our lives? I'll reserve the right to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism. But you've got to like IBM's bold, clear vision, and its recognition that this is a moment in time where the need for dramatic societal change transcends political campaigns and corporate slogans to demand new tools and fresh thinking on the part of leading businesses.

"Here's hoping it works."