be stupid?

 Perhaps some of you have seen Diesel's 'Be Stupid' advertising campaign. It was released in the beginning of 2010, I know that throughout the year I have spotted many of their adverts dotted around Amsterdam and other cities, and they never fail to grab my attention!

The advertising campaign has been pretty controversial, as not only does it appear to have nothing to do with the actual brand of clothing, but it seems to be encouraging people to act stupidly, something which is usually, and supposed to be advised against...

 However, since seeing the adverts I've been meaning to figure out exactly what their intention was with this advertising campaign, and I stumbled across their manifesto:

Like balloons, we are filled with hopes and dreams. But, over time a single sentence creeps into our lives. Don’t be stupid. It’s the crusher of possibility. It’s the worlds greatest deflator. The world is full of smart people. Doing all kind of smart things… Thats smart.
Well, we’re with stupid. Stupid is the relentless pursuit of a regret free life. Smart may have the brains…
but stupid has the balls. The smart might recognize things for how they are. The stupid see things for how they could be. Smart critiques. Stupid creates. The fact is if we didnt have stupid thoughts wed have no interesting thoughts at all. Smart may have the plans… but stupid has the stories.
Smart may have the authority but stupid has one hell of a hangover. Its not smart to take risks… Its stupid.
To be stupid is to be brave. The stupid isn't afraid to fail. The stupid know there are worse things than failure… like not even trying.
Smart had one good idea, and that idea was stupid. You can’t outsmart stupid. So don’t even try. Remember only stupid can be truly brilliant. ( Source from Diesel )

 Even though I am not usually one to advocate for acting stupidly, after reading their manifesto I sort of find myself agreeing with the notion of sometimes actiny stupidly. They seem to be using smart as a metaphor for behaving rationally, safely with their defintion of stupid, which seems to imply that acting stupid would be doing the opposite, and would be referring to living and acting in the moment, without worrying about consequences ad simply just enjoying yourself, which I know is some advice I should probably take...

Either way, I admire their different take on advertising, as instead of advertising the brand, their seem to be advertising a different attitude to life, not something you see everyday...

What do you think? Good advice and marketing, or just plain stupid?

 X

P.S this post has to be dedicated to Sascha who has the whole 'stupid' attitude totally worked out, even though it doesn't always turn out too great ;)