“One for One. For One Another.” Well done, TOMS. Again.
I just came across this recent Fast Company article and short video interview of TOMS founder and my former boss, Blake Mycoskie:
https://www.fastcompany.com/embed/7db5f9c320ac6?rel=1&src=embed&veggiemode=1
At the end of the segment, Blake shares TOMS’ latest commercial (below) and why TOMS recently added the sign-off, “For One, Another” after their now famous creed, “One for One.”
I’ve just got to say, “Well done team.”
This is a brilliant commercial.
Not just for the great song, “Nothing More” by The Alternate Routes. And its lyrics which obviously sync up well with each clip intentionally… But for all the people.
Because TOMS is about people.
WITH EVERY PAIR YOU PURCHASE, TOMS WILL GIVE A PAIR OF NEW SHOES TO A CHILD IN NEED. ONE FOR ONE.
On the surface, that might seem a minor, grammatical change – and in some ways it absolutely is – but how we choose to speak about ourselves, our work, and each other is no minor, inconsequential thing.
As Adam Braun of Pencils of Promise says,
As much as this applies to people, for a company to ignore this is an equally missed opportunity. For a company building an intentional brand – a brand that matters – it is not something to be overlooked.
Our words are incredibly important – even something as simple as a slogan.
Especially a slogan.
It directly expresses the vision in the TOMS brand. One for One.
For one another.
Yes.
So don’t overlook that. For yourself or your company.
(But for now—and as this is the blog of an editor— I am going to have to overlook the glaring comma typo here in writing “For one, another”…)
Once again, I must also note, this is not just about the semantics of branding or marketing.
This is the TOMS vision made manifest in a great commercial, with all those people participating, front and center–those receiving AND those giving–as always; and secondarily is the branding component.
The branding works only because that first part is genuine. And it shows really well here.
More companies are catching on to all this psychology though. So as they do, we consumers will have to hone our discerning eye to spot the trend-following frauds from those genuine.
A warning: It will become more difficult.
I’m happy to see that this thread of collaboration and purpose – the same reason I proposed “with” in place of “for” – continues to run through the intentional fabric of TOMS still.
Messaging on point.
Again, well done Blake and the current TOMS team! Cheers to 10 years.
