Avocados Are Violent: Don’t Build Your Brand On A Fad

Avocados? Violent??

There must be more to the story.

You’re right– there is.

I did the above illustration for a Wall Street Journal article about food fashions. Here’s how it begins:

“You can’t be a vegan if you eat avocados,” said a teenage brother to his sister in a family that I know. “Avocados are violent.”

His point was that her supposedly ethical decision to replace butter on her toast with avocado was hypocritical: The avocado trend has made life dangerous for many Mexican avocado farmers, thanks to the rise of violent cartels that control the business.

My first thought: you can never be 100% pure in your choices. There’s always a wrinkle, and there’s always someone ready to
say: “Gotcha!”

The author goes on to mention almond milk and quinoa, both hot food trends in recent years. Turns out there was a catch with both.

Demand for almond milk meant a lot more almond trees got planted in California. Thirsty almond trees. Which contributed to the state’s drought.

World demand for quinoa pushed up the price six-fold. Result: the Bolivian farmers who grew it could no longer afford to eat it. They had to switch to cheaper, less nutritious carbs– like instant noodles.

Which made me think of the law of unintended consequences: actions always have unintended effects. Sometimes good, often bad.

Negative effects can put an end to fads: almond milk drinkers and quinoa eaters started feeling guilty and making new choices.

A brand can get lucky and turn a huge profit on a fad, but it’s a mistake to build a brand on a fad. Fads come and go.

Fads also come and go in social media marketing. The Shiny Object Syndrome. What Andrew Davis calls FOMOOASP: The Fear Of Missing Out On Another Social Platform.

I’d put podcasts in that category. The most successful ones seem to center on news, politics, comedy, entertainment. The usual suspects. I don’t see them as a particularly good choice for brands. And yet a lot of solopreneurs have started podcasts.

They wind up interviewing their friends, and promoting each other. I think their time would be better spent identifying and pursuing new clients. Just my opinion.

A more subtle danger with fads: they can distort your brand voice and confuse your target audience. Suddenly you’re trying to be something you’re not.

Case in point: when I first acquired Photoshop and was learning to be a digital illustrator, I got smitten with photo-illustration: using bits and pieces of photos to construct an illustration, and blending it together seamlessly.

I got pretty good at it. You can see some examples at the bottom
of the Portfolio Thumbnails on the right. Like this one for The Partner Channel Magazine.

I still like it. It’s cool. I remember how proud of myself I was when I got the rain effect. But it took so much time. And looking at it now, I’m sure there are copyright issues since I lifted Gene Kelly from a famous movie.

Sometimes I’d have to abandon a good idea because I couldn’t find a photo that would work. I was suddenly losing my edge because I was trying to do what a lot of other people were doing. So I gave it up and went back to real illustration.

So beware of fads. Keep your brand voice consistent. You’re trying to become an easily identifiable and authoritative source.

And don’t waste your time trying to be perfect. There’s always a wise-guy teenage brother out there waiting to say, “Gotcha!”

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About Mark: I’m an illustrator specializing in humor, editorial, branding, social media, and content marketing. My images are different, like your brand needs to be.

You can view my portfolio, and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Questions? Send me an email.

Follow @mrstrongarm