Andy Nairn, Go Luck Yourself

In 2021 Andy Nairn, the founder of advertising agency Lucky Generals, published Go Luck Yourself.

The book covers 40 ways in which a brand can stack the odds in their favour.

Here’s five:

• Lucky feet: Peter Mayhew had an overactive pituitary gland & grew to 7ft 3in. An article attracted a Star Wars producer who cast Peter as Chewbacca. Convention says brands need a meaningful difference. Luck says it's better to be stupidly distinctive than deeply different.

• Lucky George: After hunting, George de Mestral saw his dog was covered with 100s of sticky burrs. This inspired George to patent Velcro, with one strip covered in hooks and another in loops. Convention says concentrate on a task. Luck says go for a walk in the great outdoors.

• Lucky Rabbit: In NYC, Walt Disney lost control of a precious asset: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. By the time his train arrived home in LA, Walt had dreamt up Mickey Mouse, the most successful cartoon ever. Convention says losing an idea is painful. Luck says you can come up with better.

• Lucky Hitch: Alfred Hitchcock felt his good fortune came from a flaw. The director attributed his ability to make a good suspense film to the fact that he was a coward. Convention says brands should hide their flaws. Luck says acknowledging a problem boosts your credibility.

• Lucky shot: Colin Montgomerie has the most hole-in-ones on the European Tour. But Monty admits, as he tries to leave the ball 1ft beneath the hole, most went in by fluke. Convention says aim for perfection. Luck says holding on for 100% can be counterproductive.

Go Luck Yourself goes deeper on these five ways to stack the odds in your brand’s favour, as well as thirty-five others.

Highly recommended.

Pick up your copy here.