Antoni Porowski, the "Queer Eye" star turned Nat Geo host, says "taste" — one of the buzziest words right now in both Silicon Valley and the ad world — isn't actually what leaders should be chasing.
"The word taste makes me uncomfortable," Porowski said during a live discussion in the Business Insider suite at Cannes Lions.
Porowski traced his thinking back to school in Montreal and a sign that read: "Generality is the enemy of art."
"I like the idea of specificity. If something is general, it's not going to be sticky to people," Porowski said.
Broad storytelling does not appeal to audiences, he added.
"They're not really going to be able to relate to it," he said. "If I go personal and specific, I think that's where I'm able to tap into what my perception and concept of taste is, and whether people disagree with it, they're still commenting, so there's still engagement."
The fish stick test case
Porowski pointed to a campaign with Gorton's fish sticks.
The brand's ask included a particular request beyond the caption: the inclusion of 12 fish sticks.
"It was a very specific brand thing that some executives decided was a thing that was going to work, but it didn't necessarily make sense," Porowski said.
Instead of executing the brief as written, Porowski found the personal connection. Porowski grew up in a Polish household where most meals were made from scratch. The only exception was when a babysitter, who couldn't cook, served him fish sticks, peas, and ketchup.
"I think we need to go full camp," he recalled telling the brand. "Let's do a full fisherman outfit. I'll wear the waders, and instead, why don't I have a long fishing line and have Gorton's fish sticks hanging from the fish line? It came out on Halloween, which they approved."
Porowski has been applying this personal approach to campaigns since then.
When the brand pushes back
The reality is that not every collaboration goes as smoothly as the fish sticks one. Porowski has some advice for working through the friction.
"The truth is there are brands that really have strong guidelines and points that they really want to nail," Porowski said.
"And if I experience a lot of pushback, I always ask for a Zoom," he continued. "It's not just about charming them, but if I can relay my honest passion for what it is that I'm fighting for 99 times out of a hundred, they're going to be like, 'Okay, let's do it.'"
If a brand is persistent, Porowski insists on putting in the extra work to get the campaigns he wants to post.
"I ask, 'Can we get the shots that I want to get? Let's get the ones that you guys want and then let's have a conversation.' I'm not kidding you. I don't think there's been a single time where they were like, 'No, no, we're still going to go with ours,' which has been incredible," Porowski said.
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Kim Last is the Editorial Director of BI Live, Business Insider's live journalism platform. Last joins Business Insider from The Wall Street Journal where she most recently served as Head of Live Journalism and Special Content. At the Journal, Last expanded The Future of Everything event franchise and played a pivotal role in driving the publication's event efforts globally. Prior to the Journal, Last held stints at Vox Media, Quartz and Fast Company where she helped launch The Fast Company Innovation Festival. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, young daughter and miniature poodle.
