The Permanent Pitch: Why Modern Brands Need a Strong Center and a Loose Edge

Pitches hold a special place in the advertising world. We read about them in the pages of Ad Age. We see them dramatized in Mad Men. We trauma bond with the people we pitch with and even those we pitch against. But why are they so famous? So magnetic?

It’s not because they’re about being right. There’s always more than one right answer.

Pitches stick with us because they’re about being interesting. Quickly. On a shoestring. And with swift and often savage feedback.

I’ve participated in pitches that ended with actual, literal applause. And some that ended with us walking out in silence, already knowing we’d lost. But none of them were boring. Because the point of a pitch isn’t to be correct.

The point of a pitch is to be unforgettable.

You want to spark something. Earn the next conversation. Open the door to a relationship. And you can only do that when you come to the process already knowing who you are and what you believe to be smart, cool, or meaningful.

The best agencies understand this. They don't play it safe. They show up with work that has a spine. As a company, they have a clear point of view and the confidence to express it without apology. It's harder to win when you don't know what you're fighting for.

Brands Pitch Too.

Now imagine if brands operated the same way. What if they invested deeply in their perspective and their take on the world, and got fast and loose with the tactics?

Some already do.

Look at Kraft. They’re on an absolute tear recently. They aren’t making the world’s most polished 360 campaigns. They’re making culture. And lots of it. Kool-Aid sneakers with Nike designed around nostalgic flavors and dripping with attitude. Jet-Puffed marshmallows repackaged as an Easter egg dye kit, at a time when egg prices were spiking and familes were looking for alternatives. And most recently, a 14-karat gold macaroni necklace for Mother's Day, echoing the yarntastic creations of kindergarteners everywhere.

These ideas aren't flawless. But they shipped. And there's lot of them. And they’re unmistakably Kraft.

These moves work because they're from brands know who they are and what they’re trying to do. They have a strong center and a clear, consistent point of view that fuels the ideas. As a creative who has flamed out in more than one Terrytown meeting room (that normcore campaign for Miracle Whip would've been dope) I assure you this wasn’t always the case. This is recent. And it’s intentional.

But most brands don’t play that way. They underthink their perspective and overthink their tactics. They sand down the edges. They second-guess boldness and ship blandness. The result? A tidal wave of forgettable content. AI will make this much worse by the end of this year.

The RFP

Brands, and the agencies that serve them, are invited to a new RFP. We’re invited to stop obsessing over perfection and start committing to personality. Because in today’s landscape, speed wins. Specificity wins. A clear center and a loose edge beats a tight brief with no soul every time.

So how do you get invited to the Permanent Pitch? You already have been.

Start with your point of view. Is it sharp? Is it real? Do your people know it? Does it shape your homepage? Your packaging? Your partnerships? What about your hold music?

If it does, then you’re ready. Get loose. Ship faster. Take swings. Not everything will land. That’s fine. The important thing is that it all comes from the same place.

The job is no longer just to launch campaigns. It’s to build and feed the machine that keeps the brand moving and lets you show up in culture, again and again, with ideas that feel alive. It's to craft the story that powers the whole ride.

The pitch never ends. The carousel never stops spinning. And that’s the opportunity.