“The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.” - Banksy

A rather harsh critique coming from a guy who won’t show his face in public, but there’s a lot of truth to his words. In a world of over-hyped products, marketing campaigns, sweepstakes and scams, art is quickly becoming monetized to splash a fresh coat of paint on the tried and true tactics of advertising.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Banksy, he’s one of the few guys out there who’s managed to make a living running from the cops and spray painting his unique brand of tongue-in-cheek art on walls worldwide. How do you make money with graffiti? By making yourself a brand. Eventually people came to know his style, his brand, and his name. Once you’ve got a name for yourself and people like your product, you can set any price you wish.

Let’s turn the mirror on ourselves. In the realm of branding, personal or corporate, it pays to be different, but trying something new can be risky. It takes a well thought out plan of attack to make it effective and innovative. The smallest idea can set you apart from the rest of the pack. We can employ an army of artists to create endless variations on a theme, but getting to the heart of the matter can be as simple as one word on an otherwise blank page. Saying something prophetic about yourself, your brand or your product is far more likely to secure you a spot in the history books than repeating history and not taking the first step.