20 minutes read

A familiar slogan, isn't it? Probably it is not even necessary to introduce its author — Lenin. We begin with him, not with Mayakovsky: it is important to understand who was at the origins of marketing in the USSR, what Mayakovsky had to do with it and how the first advertising agency appeared in the USSR.

Let's take a look at the slogan. What can we see immediately? The division into three target audiences and offers for each of them in one slogan. Lenin was great at the ruling of Soviet government and selling himself as a leader. In the 1920s, two people came to his aid: his namesake poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, whose works he did not accept at first, and the artist Alexander Rodchenko. But we'll talk more about both of them.

This is a quote from the main character in the film «Moscow 2017». There is truth in his words: Lenin really formed the basic theories of marketing long before Philip Kotler did, who only in 1967 wrote the book «Marketing. Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, Control»

Watch the video: this is an chapter from «Moscow 2017» - the main character talks about why Lenin is considered the creator of marketing. Also, you will see Mayakovsky's posters in this snippet.

Marketing was invented by Lenin. But even with his talent, it was impossible to entirely devote himself to marketing and advertising in the USSR. In these pages of the leader's life we notice Mayakovsky.

Their first encounter in absentia did not go well at all:

— Lenin remarked expressively and reproachfully. And in vain: Mayakovsky was on his side, after all Vladimir Vladimirovich is one of the creators and marketers of the revolution. But Lenin stuck to his line:

And a personal acquaintance should have broken all ties between them:

Mayakovsky could not come to his senses after this conversation for a long time.

Mayakovsky, in turn, admired Lenin, as evidenced by his works:

I would have learned Russian

just for,

the fact

that Lenin spoke it.

But who
can refrain,
to praise
to our Ilyich?

Lenin soon realized that Mayakovsky should not be feared - he should be cooperated with:

Thus, Mayakovsky and Lenin found each other not only as people with the same views on politics and revolution, but also as a powerful marketing duo, which later turned into a trio.

No, it's not a hoax to recruit likes. Mayakovsky is really a bit of a designer.

Before we begin, answer yourself this question: what skills should a good marketer have?
You probably have a monkey with a plates in your head right now and thoughts like, «Uh...well...the ability to entice people»

The most experienced guys will tell you that a great marketer necessarily knows how to do a little bit of everything: set up targeting, do design, mount creatives with animations, and analyze conversion rates to subscriptions.
But as a rule, the marketer knows the majority of topics superficially, and gets deeper into only one or two of them. And this is logical, because you cannot control many tasks at the same time.

Mayakovsky did not know then that he was a good marketer and followed his intuition. In 1911, he struck the charisma of all the students of the Moscow School of sculpture and architecture. The poet drew in absolutely different styles: the phrase «A talented man is talented in everything» extended not only to his classes and hobbies, but also to subgroups within these hobbies. It sounds complicated, but it is simple to understand: almost everything that Mayakovsky undertook, whether it was poetry, painting, drama - it worked. And inside these activities is the same fractal: paintings in the styles (and there were many) in which the poet painted - great.

Though his paintings were not perfect - a marketer doesn't need it. Mayakovsky's canvases were seldom praised and seldom scolded by his teacher: he was often worried about the poet's rebellious character and his behavior in school.

Mayakovsky's genius was distributed, including in paintings. But what can a good marketer do without design? Here you either have to learn it yourself, or... work with a designer. Which, in fact, is what Mayakovsky did.

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We go straight back to 1919. It is no longer the mice, but the salesmen who hang themselves on the shelves of stores from the lack of food.
A logical question arises: why do we need to advertise products that don't exist? The answer is not obvious: we need to advertise against what made the products disappear.

The state appeals to ROSTA for a series of posters, and once again Mayakovsky got lucky: he saw one of the slogans on the street, threw his beloved woman, Lilya, into the reeds, and ran to get a job at the agency. Although in reality Lilya did not experience the happiness of basking in the swamp, at that moment it dawned on Mayakovsky that it was advertising he wanted to do.

Mayakovsky's unique verse and poetic style more than suited the purpose of advertising: shouting, aggressive appeals. This Mayakovsky knew how to do.

Mayakovsky worked with the government for two years, and as soon as the NEP was adopted, the cooperation between the newly minted marketer and the officials ceased. But this is only the beginning of the story of Mayakovsky the marketer. And we are back on board the time machine. Let's fly to the designers. Oh, sorry, wrong century! Artists and photographers, of course.

A Soviet photographer, Alexander Rodchenko, was once asked to make an advertising poster for Dobrolet. Rodchenko agonized for a very long time, and this is more than understandable: he is not a wordsmith, he is an artist. Get a copywriter to layout the site in HTML, and you'll get something equivalent to Rodchenko's poster (in terms of text, of course)

Mayakovsky saw his work and laughed heartily (as a layout designer would have laughed when he saw a copywriter's website). Rodchenko took offense: he is actually an artist! And coming up with texts is the job of poets. Poets like Mayakovsky.

Vladimir did not like to procrastinate - he immediately went to GUM and negotiated with the administration for advertising. And then he made a deal with Rodchenko, too: he began illustrating his slogans.

Congratulations! We have reached the point of opening our first silent advertising agency: Advertising Designer Mayakovsky-Rodchenko.

They both did not tolerate simplicity. Mayakovsky disliked everything that was ordinary: «Advertising should be variety, imagination». Rodchenko supported him.

And entrepreneurs are thinking about original advertising for their products: they realized that just sell with a nice smile - not relevant anymore.

Thus, the Mayakovsky and Rodchenko advertisements were radically different from other posters. There were no clichés and clericalisms in the agency's texts, and the posters were distinguished by their richness, brightness, and unusual appeals. See for yourself!

The Mayakovsky-Rodchenko tandem became a full-service advertising agency. Mayakovsky began his normal day by making his rounds of businesses, and in the offices of the directors he played the play «Hello, I'm Mayakovsky, I'm increasing sales». And it worked: during the day he would come to Rodchenko with a briefcase full of information about clients. They used it in advertising. In the evening, they developed texts and drawings. Incidentally, Mayakovsky often offered ideas for the design, which Rodchenko politely ignored.

The creators of the agency did not treat their work superficially, but seriously and thoughtfully. Each new order was not «just another one», but they saw it as a creative challenge and a challange. And, it must be said, these challanges they always won. For some projects, Mayakovsky even attracted Lilya Brik.

The poster with Lilya

And the work of the outstanding duo was noticed: in Paris, which Mayakovsky loved so much, they won second place at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts.

«Advertising Designer» ended its existence two years after the start, but during this period, their posters became recognizable due to their unique slogans, creative and bright design, and, of course, a special style that no one has been able to repeat since.

How much did it cost to order advertising from the best marketers in the USSR?

Philip Kotler, whom we mentioned in passing at the beginning, is considered the creator of marketing. But I will try to argue: the genius of marketing and master of delivering the right idea to the people was born and formulated the basic theories of marketing much earlier than Kotler. And no, it is not Lenin - he was able to sell, but was not a pro at making a marketing strategy. But Mayakovsky was.

How did he do genius things? Why did his slogans zombify people? What was his advertising strategy? Let's explore this in three languages: Russian, the language of the advertising people of the time, and the language of modern marketers.

First, Mayakovsky treated advertising with all his love

Secondly, as we have already said, the poet insisted on advertising without clerical language and complicated terms: there is nothing worse than advertising that is not understood by the people.

The appeals in the ads sounded simple, clear, and direct to the reader. The aggressive imperative inclination «Come on!», the calls which left no choice «Only Mosselprom!», «Nowhere but in Mosselprom!» gave a special charm to Mayakovsky's advertising. That's what the poet wanted to achieve: in his opinion, advertising should look so that a person after a fleeting glance at it gave up everything and ran to buy the product depicted on the poster:

Take a look at any advertising banner of that time: you are unlikely to have the desire to stop and examine it in detail. Mayakovsky and Rodchenko used bright colors and unusual illustration techniques to form the rule of three seconds: the reader has only three seconds to decide whether to go into that store or not.

And Mayakovsky honored this rule: his posters don't just make you pay attention, they draw you in for a long time: it's interesting to consider every detail of the drawing.

The Three-Second Rule

Back then, it seems, advertisers didn't know about CTA, the call to action. Now every marketer, even those who took a two-day course on Instagram, will tell you that the CTA is an integral part of any ad. And Mayakovsky knew it. «One must call» he repeated. And this «calling» he was good at!

СТА

The best photo for an ad is one in which a person is doing something with your product. Any interaction is always helpful, it increases the effectiveness of the ad: on a subconscious level, we want to repeat what is depicted. Mayakovsky's posters have people not just standing next to the product, but doing something with it.

I want it like the picture!

We unconsciously trust those around us more: friends, colleagues, relatives. Mayakovsky used this perfectly: his posters depict ordinary Soviet people in ordinary clothes. And no Morgenstern.

Along with the people

If we said this to Mayakovsky's face, we would have already received a couple of caustic responses. But he's not here, so we'll discuss it quietly:

Mayakovsky was a great playwright and marketer. Do you smell that? Genius content strategy. All of your favorite bloggers' Instagram stories and progressives are based on dramaturgy and the basics of marketing.

Mayakovsky made more than one film, and very successfully (just look at «The Lady and the Hooligan») - many considered him a genius director. And why the poet was a brilliant marketer, we have already told and hope that convinced.

So, in 1926, Mayakovsky wrote an article called «How to Make Poetry?»
And there hasn't been a better textbook on content marketing since 1926. And after watching a couple of Oxхxymiron's battles and listening to a couple of other rappers' songs, you'll be surprised to realize that this article is also a primer on rap.

Mayakovsky formulated truths in simple terms that are still used today. These are adapted rules, borrowed from Alexei.

1. There must be a social order for the text. The presence of a problem in society, the solution of which is conceivable only by a poetic work or text.

2. One should take up the pen only when there is no other way to speak but verse. One should produce ready-made things only when one feels a clear social order. If the problem can be solved in some other way, not with a text or a verse, it's better not to get the paper dirty.

3 To understand the social order correctly, the poet must be in the center of affairs and events. He himself must be in the struggle, personally feel the need.

4. Poetry is a production. The hardest, most complex, but a production.

5. The poet's work must be done daily to improve his skill and to accumulate poetic procures.

7. A good notebook and the ability to handle it is more important than the ability to write without mistakes in deadpan sizes.

8. A text that fulfills a social order has value. Rhythm, form, beauty, and manner are extremely important, but they take second place.

9. There are no secrets in creating text, what matters is a burning desire to do it, a struggle (social order) and daily practice.

10. If you want to be a poet, be a poet. Talk like a poet, dress like a poet, write and drink like a poet.

Apply a little creativity and analyze what you see on Instagram right now. We, having drawn such parallels, were greatly surprised.

A lyrical digression that applies not only to marketing

Mayakovsky did what he loved and loved what he did. So he was used to sleeping four hours a day (if not less) and giving his all to his work. Take 3 minutes and watch an excerpt from the TV series about Mayakovsky's life, «Two Days»: without this excerpt, reading on is pointless.

The episode very vividly reflects Mayakovsky's attitude to his work. He did not know how to live a mediocre life - in the words of Lilya Brik, he was afraid of «complacency», afraid of life.

At first glance, Vladimir Vladimirovich seems wild and crude. In fact, Mayakovsky is a very kind man and in essence an altruist. He wanted to do everything in his power for the people, for Lily, for his comrades. Work for him was the meaning of life, which is why everything he touched became unique.

Here's what the poet himself thought about it:

Mayakovsky was undoubtedly a marketing genius. He knew what to say and how to show people exactly what he needed. He skillfully used it in life as well: can you tell me the number of all his women? Mayakovsky's actions were and are watched by many advertising agencies. The fact is that Vladimir Vladimirovich formulated the basic unspoken truths and rules of marketing long before its official appearance. His posters are still on everyone's lips, and marketers take his example.

Mayakovsky is a genius as a poet, as a playwright, and as a marketer!

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