What I Learned from Professional Wrestling

Last week marked the another death from one of my childhood legends, Rocky Johnson. He was one of the first black wrestling champions (in fact, the first tag team champion) and brought class to sport that is seldom know for that characteristic.

RIP Rocky Johnson.

Saturday mornings were never the same without you.

His death reminded me of the ridicule I received at school and in my neighborhood towards my affection of professional wrestling. “Fake!” the haters would bellow at me, very much like the wrestler would in their interstitial interviews between matches. “You’re wasting your time watching that stuff. Read some Shakespeare”, my English teachers would lecture. Other would caution, “You’ll never get a date if girls find out you watch that junk.”

Little did they know that this was all part of my master plan of life education that taught valuable strategies about advertising much in the same way the book “The 48 Laws of Power” teaches you how to navigate the politics of work. Even at 12 years old, I theorized that you could learn a great deal from professional wrestling. I always believed that using the principles of being a great wrestling draw could make you successful in your career. Little did I know how perfectly these principles would apply to advertising. What are these principles you ask? Here they are—learn them, embrace them, love them:

• Wrestling is outrageous and entertaining. Advertising needs be, too.
• Great production values will only get you so far.
• Be the black hat.
• Be a jobber occasionally.
• Find your reality.

Have you ever really watched wrestling and tossed away all the testosterone oozing from every inch of the telecast? They are a lesson on how to suck viewers in and hold them breathless, an hour at a time. They are the sports version of soap operas, inching along the storylines and filling up arenas and pay-per-view purchases.

Well, BROTHER (!), if you haven’t watched a professional wrestling telecast, you’re not prepping for your big moment in the advertising world. Imagine a comic book mixed with Roman gladiators, with incredibly gifted, larger-than-life athletes who have the gift of gab, saying whatever they want (as long as it follows the script) and make grand entrances to their offices.

So where’s the advertising sagacity in all of this? Let’s go back to the six principles…

Wrestling is outrageous and entertaining. Advertising needs be, too.

The action is real, but the outcome is fake. Deal with it. When you go to ballet, you go for the story and the athleticism displayed on stage. In short, you are there for the content. Professional wrestling is built the content. The personalities. The performance. It suspends our skepticism. It allows us to escape and appreciate the outlandish showmanship.

Advertising, like wrestling, one part inauthentic, two parts showmanship, three parts branding, and two parts concept and follow-through. We defend the work and that’s why clients trust us with their brand. The creative is the showmanship that grabs attention and makes consumers respond to the campaign. If you’re in the industry you need to embrace that we need to be the best part of our clients’ day. Emancipate your creative and have some fun with it all. Do your research, down some coffee, and then get a little funky. I can’t underscore enough to have a little bit of fun. Your craft and your finished product will be better for it.

Great production values will only get you so far.

Always Be Closing.

In wrestling, the performers are either pushing for the big match via their interviews or looking for a three count in the ring. In advertising you have to have a similar mentality. Get those approvals. Close new business. Don’t let roadblocks get in the way of performance. Years ago, I wrote a column about closing and some of the keys to closing. Read it. Embrace the key points.

Be the Black Hat.

The black hats are the bad guys who use everything at their disposal to achieve their goals. They steal. They lie. They cheat. Honestly,  the black hats are the guys they get the boos, but also the coolest cats in the room. The bend the rules and puff their chests out while doing it. You would do well to recommend that your brands channel their black hats. Get upset. Raise a ruckus. If you tell the truth, will it hurt? Hell yes it will. That’s good. The truth will set you free. The best creative involves that legendary work tension that leaves everything on edge. Stir it up and you’ll see how everyone melts into place. (Just don’t be unethical. That will get you fired.)

Take the Loss.

There’s a certain thing that happens in wrestling—being a jobber. When you do a job, it means you take the L. You job out. Sometimes you have to be the punching bag and take the heat. It’s part and parcel to being in the industry. You can’t go undefeated. I have a thing called the quarterly battle system where I only go to the mats on one project per quarter. Other than that, nothing is that important. Remember, if you lose splendidly, you look good even in defeat. All of us that have been in the industry for longer than a cup of coffee take the L. Do it, occasionally.

Find Your Sweet Spot.