Advertising Is a Haiku. Purpose Is a Novel.
If you're in the brand business, you’re living somewhere between the two.
Advertising is the fast hit. The sprint. The clever turn of phrase that fits on a billboard, gets a spike this quarter, and maybe wins you a few trophies along the way.
Purpose? Purpose is the slow burn. It's the story you write over ten years. Maybe a hundred. It's not a line you buy—it's a life you build and the influence you earn.
Both are necessary. But they are radically different games.
The Haiku of Advertising
Advertising is about now.
Right now.
This quarter's KPIs, this campaign’s engagement rate, and this week’s cultural moment you have to jump on before it’s stale on Monday.
It’s small, fast, and brilliant.
A distillation.
A punchline.
The best advertising compresses complex emotions into 15 seconds and leaves an impression.
But it’s designed for an ephemeral impression, not loyalty forever.
The Novel of Purpose
Purpose doesn’t happen in sprints. It’s slow, heavy, and long.
It’s messy middle chapters and arcs you can’t predict.
It’s the decades it takes to become Warby Parker—not just claiming the intention.
It’s Bombas donating socks, underwear and T-shirts for ten straight years. And after 100 million items given away… showing up on Monday to do it again.
Purpose isn't something you launch. It’s something you live.
And if you think you can shortcut it, you're already losing.
Where Smart Brands Go Next
If you care about winning the next news cycle, keep writing haikus.
If you care about winning the next generation, start writing your novel today.
Here are 6 moves for marketers who want to do both, but better:
1. Stop Asking for a Purpose Campaign. Start Asking for a Purpose Strategy.
Purpose isn't a spot. Please, please… please don’t make it an ad campaign positioning your brand as some kind of savior. It's not a social post. It's a system, building from the inside out.
2. Commit to a 10-Year Story Arc.
Write the ad headline for this quarter.
But write your brand’s novel like you'll still be proud of it in 2035.
3. Blend the Two.
Use advertising sparingly to make others aware of the successive chapters in your novel (instead of the opposite, random acts of storytelling).
Every haiku should advance the longer story you're telling.
4. Connect with Culture.
Advertising isn’t always cool. Purpose isn’t always dull. Both are tools to reach people.
So shift some media spend into something that actually moves the mission—something you’d be proud to explain at dinner with your mom.
5. Measure Different Things.
Haikus are measured in impressions.
Novels are measured in trust.
Track both, but know which one you’re actually investing in.
6. Play for Real Stakes.
Brands are getting judged like people now.
You can't pivot your way out of a novel that's written poorly.
Mean it. Build it. Stick with it.
FINAL THOUGHT
Fast can win the hour.
Slow wins the decade.
The best brands? They’re playing both games—but they always know which one they’re betting on.