What If Bill and Ted Gotten a Marketing Instead of a History Assignment?

Have you seen the cult movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure? That was a silly question to ask, of course you have. Do you remember that crazy and memorable scene where the VIP friends from all periods of history have their fun in the local shopping mall? To make the long story short, Mozart is in an electronics store. A local salesman has the nerve to ask him an annoying question: "Are you a musician?" Or, something like this. The next thing you know, Mozart gives him that look are-you-kidding-me and then he shows why he deserves a place in history by playing on an electronic keyboard. So, what is the catch and what this scene has to do with Internet marketing?

How About Internet Marketing Instead of History?

Imagine this scenario. Bill and Ted instead of a history assignment get a marketing related assignment. So, they travel back in past again, but instead of Napoleon or Mozart, they have to bring back with them some of the marketing pioneers. We are all eager to see how these marketing brainiacs would perform in the digital age. So, who would you bring?

I was thinking about Jerome McCarthy and Jay Conrad Levinson, among others. As we all know, McCarthy gave us the timeless 4Ps concept product-place-promotion-price. On the other hand, we have the father of Guerrilla Marketing - Mr. Levinson. Now, imagine that one of these two marketing legends jumps out of Bill and Ted's car and you ask a question, do you know a thing or two about marketing? Oh, that would've been a scene worth seeing, wouldn't it?

A Genius is a Genius Regardless of the Time and Circumstances?

If this is true, then you explain to Napoleon that tanks are the modern time cavalry and the planes are, well they are flying cavalry. You don't mention nukes, because you don't want to confuse the great Napoleon. It goes without saying that Napoleon would make an excellent NATO commander. Yet, what about our two marketers McCarthy and Levinson? How would you explain Internet marketing to them?

You can surprise these marketing legends. Why? Well, it turns out that I lived for a considerably long period of time. McCarthy was born in 1928 and he died in 2015. Levinson was born 1933 and died 2013. Can you believe it? They both had a unique opportunity to live for more than a decade in the 21st century dominated by the Internet marketing. So, they don't need Bill and Ted's time machine in the first place, do they? Yet, while consulting Google about these two "marketing time travelers" I couldn't find a single piece of information that interests me the most.

How Do You Feel About the Future?

Is it a great thing or a curse to live long enough and witness some mind-blowing changes? To see how your ideas survive or disappear despite or because of the time. So, we have two marketing grandpas Googling about themselves. Imagine your grandparents on Facebook or while they are sending emails. It isn't an exciting thing to see, but it is a real one. What kind of an advice you can possibly ask? Maybe, these two marketers were heartbroken. You know that you'd become a legend, and at the same time, you realize that you are no longer needed. Why bother talking to a person, when you can find all you want to know online in a matter of seconds, literally? You don't need people, only the useful "things" they've left behind.

Yet, a guru is a guru. It's easier for me to imagine a grandpa marketer rocking in some modern advertising agency, than I can imagine a cyber marketer trying to survive in the world without Internet, social networks and smartphones. At this point, I'm not saying that Bill and Ted's machine has just become totally useless. On the contrary, we just need to rethink our time travel priorities. Instead of paying a visit to historical figures, we should rather focus on historical moments. So, how about checking out the set specially designed for the historical "1984" Apple's Macintosh ad? Or, if I'm not mistaken, this was the very year when the Guerrilla Marketing was born. Isn't this just great, you can hit two marketing targets with a single time travel shot?

Hot Tube Time Machine Lesson

Oh dear, I just thought of a movie that's even better for the moral of my story. Forget about Bill and Ted, they had their chance. Lou in the Hot Tube Time Machine taught us all a lesson. He went back and launched "Lougle." He even had time to tour with the "Motley Lüe." So, my plan is to go back and reinvent Guerrilla Marketing. No, wait, I will meet with some of the Google guys and present them with the SEO concept. Why should I bother with boring historic or marketing lessons, when I can use the knowledge of the future for the innovations in the past, which will make me filthy rich in the present day? Right?

Wait, wait, this is getting better and better. Gray's Sports Almanac 1950-2000 in Back to the Future was an ATM for Marty McFly. So, I can go back and reinvent the Warrior Forum. How should I call it? "Nesha Warrior Forum" or "Warrior Nesha Forum?" And what about Guerrilla Marketing? Should it be "Nesha Guerrilla Marketing?" Wait, why to bother when I change Marketing into "Nesheting?" I mean, the possibilities are endless, aren't they? Now, all I have to do is to find those two idiots Bill and Ted, so I can "borrow" their time machine. Who could've thought that examining Internet marketing from the time travel perspective is so interesting? Don't worry, there's no way I could forget to have a sneak peek into the marketing future. Oh boy, that would've been a sight worth seeing first-hand, wouldn't it?