Another foray into London yesterday and happened upon the pub sign for The Old Red Cow. What lesson in creativity and innovation does this simple and creative sign provide us?

Combination’s!  The simplest way forward to something new is to combine two or more old things. In this sign they’ve taken the image of the cow and combined it with human effects.  The bowler, the monocle, and the pipe.  Very English!  The contrast in the combinations is what makes this a successful sign. Of course it’s incongruous to see a cow smoking a pipe! That’s what gets our attention.

So, if you want to create a new product or service, look around at the elements you have, or can get, and mash them together. It works well for the Old Red Cow, and didn’t work too badly for the company that made those sneakers with the flip up wheels.