Behind the name
Are you elect?
Magus Marketing is inspired, in title at least, by my favourite novel, The Magus, by John Fowles, published in 1966, but written, and re-written over several preceding years and later completely revised, and re-published again in 1977. Upon its original publication the London Evening Standard described it as 'very bizarre indeed' but it was also called 'an astonishing achievement' by The Listener and 'brilliantly entertaining' by The Sunday Times.
The novel itself centres around a self-centred middle-class Englishman who takes up a post on a Greek island in the 1950's in order to escape a relationship he feels is weighing him down, and also as an attempt to conquer a creeping and profound feeling of ennui, as well as the conventions of post-graduate life for a certain class of man at that particular time in England. Nicholas feels crippled by a sense of prosaic conformity, stoical post-war convention and ultimately a life of plain old fashioned boredom fulfilling long-standing societal expectations and everyday mundane routine.
What has this got to do with a marketing agency you might ask, and the answer is - not a lot really, other than the association I make, with great fondness, to this formative piece of creativity. But, underlying the title, there is a good story which does suitably fit the scope of marketing agency, and that is revealed within the inspiration behind The Magus, which is the Tarot card of the same name, also known as The Magician. The Magus card is all about transformation and creativity and manifesting a vision. When the card appears in a spread, it points to the talents, capabilities and resources at the seeker's disposal to succeed. The message is to tap into one's full potential rather than holding back, especially when there is a need to transform something.
It is not my intention to come across in any way as esoteric, but (along with the nice alliteration), I have indulged myself in this small way, nonetheless. Incidentally, the book was made into a major feature film for 20th Century Fox in 1968 (the year of my birth – another point of synergy) by director Guy Green, starring Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn, Anna Karina and Candice Bergen – and was once mentioned by Woody Allen when he said: "If I had to live my life again, I'd do everything the same, except that I wouldn't see The Magus."
One of the questions posed in the book is "Are you drinking the water or the wave?" I'll leave you with this puzzle...
