‘Imagine,’ by Jonah Lehrer
By CHRISTOPHER CHABRIS
Published: May 11, 2012
Have you ever wondered how Nike came by its famous slogan “Just Do It”? Neither have I, but it’s an interesting story. Dan Wieden was searching for a tag line to unify a series of ads his agency was making for Nike. Late one night he suddenly thought about the convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, whose last words before his execution were “Let’s do it.” Sitting at his desk Wieden turned that phrase over in his mind until it became “Just do it.” Accolades ensued.
Illustration by MSMDNYC
IMAGINE
How Creativity Works
By Jonah Lehrer
Illustrated. 279 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $26.
Reflecting later, Wieden realized he’d thought of Gilmore because someone at work had mentioned Norman Mailer recently, and Wieden knew that Mailer had written a book about Gilmore. Without that serendipitous chain of associations, Nike might have wound up with a different slogan: “A sneaker is forever”? “Got kicks”?
Jonah Lehrer tells many stories like this in “Imagine: How Creativity Works.” Along with admen, his examples come from famous musicians and poets, obscure scientists, even large corporations like 3M and Eli Lilly. He deploys them to illustrate the science of creativity, and he derives from that science some tips for readers to become more creative and for society to promote innovative thinking.
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