I personally hate Diet Coke—or all soda for that matter—but I feel wonderful every time I watch this commercial.
If I had to put it in words, I’d say it’s an effervescence you only feel a few times in your youth—the utter abandon to the bliss of a sensual summer day of copious sunshine, warm sand, music, roller skates and a beautiful girl. And oh yeah, Diet Coke.
There aren’t enough people striving for magic these days. You’ll often find there is great utility and maybe even wow factor in the things being built at breakneck speed, but there’s not much magic.
I’m not being judgmental, though—sometimes magic must be sacrificed in the name of scale and growth and speed. Facebook is a great example of this: they’re huge and awesome and powerful, but they’re not magic. I don’t feel charmed when I visit my timeline.
Apple, on the other hand, is magic. I still marvel at my MacBook Pro every single time I use it. It’s beautiful, complex, intelligent—like a really good friend that know me and knows exactly what I want.
Facebook is a service that keeps me in touch with my friends; Apple is a machine that’s my life companion.
You either got it or you don’t. Remember that you’re the person behind the product, and you can’t manufacture magic without getting caught (oh you know who the fuck you are). When you approach people, they’ll know in a second who you are. That’s why I had trouble where I was—they knew exactly what moved people, but they were unable to bring it to life. The result is the machine.
So I say every act of creation should strive to make magic. Of course it’s harder to do and takes eons longer, but it lasts. It’s legacy.
Don’t manufacture until you can first enchant.