A lot of brands do amazing things in voicing their equity through ‘potential.’

A computer can’t be high-tech unless there’s Intel inside. Fisher-Price creates a beautifully majestic, open landscape with its sign-off: Play. Laugh. Grow. And every advertiser worth her salt appreciates the unapproachable honesty of the classic ‘Avis. We Try Harder’ campaign.

There’s a fundamental reason that potential is so powerful a message. That’s because we all possess it. Scientifically, work is Mass x Acceleration x Distance. That work is measured in joules. That pen sitting on your desk is ready to work. Just drop it on the ground. BOOM! Work.

We creative types would rather see that pen used for a different kind of work. We see the opportunity for work everywhere. Many of us draw rectangles on an already rectangular sheet of paper, because we can’t wait to activate that space’s potential. We want to convert ourselves into that something on the same level as an oven making a delicious cake, or a lump of coal pressurized into a diamond.

There’s no better feeling in this business than stumbling upon an ad that possesses sparkling clarity and eye-grabbing radiance. Granted, it is a rarity, but it is all the more profound for that reason.

Science can keep the joules. We’ll take the gems.