In the brand arms race for supremacy the middle ground has become a minefield; a ‘no mans land’ with an increasingly high toll of the dead and dying. Just in the last 5 years alone, we’ve seen Woolworths, JJB Sports, Comet and most recently, BHS take a direct hit with many more brand casualties of war who are seriously wounded or might not make it.

Just look at brand behemoths like Coca Cola and McDonald’s who are desperately backtracking their broad appeal and investing millions to appear more niche and pander to the ‘millennial mindset’. But are they really fooling anyone by denying their true identities? It’s a bit like when Cliff tried to do mean and moody with ‘Devil Woman’; pointless, transparent and more than a little bit awkward. Go down this route and it’s nigh on impossible to make the very people you’re trying to entice laugh with you, not at you.

So with all of this in mind, I approached with trepidation some recent projects working on a few, what can only be described as ‘squeezed middle’, brands. These brands aren’t premium, nor are they niche, artisan or crafted. They’re not worthy or world-beating. They are, in fact, mainstream (gulp) and dare I say it, middle ground. But does broad appeal have to boring?

It occurs to me that we are in danger of becoming so polarized and pin pointed in branding terms that being mainstream could actually play to your advantage, if approached correctly. Call it deadly weaponised normality or just plain cynicism, but there’s something to be said for being comfortable in your own skin and not desperately trying to please. I’d take Terry Wogan’s laid back, slightly bumbling delivery over Chris Evans’ highly polished mania any day of the week. Why? Because Tel couldn’t give a monkey’s and there’s more than a whiff of desperation coming off Chris these days.

So when it comes to middle ground it’s about channeling a brand’s inner Terry – championing the beige with a twinkle in the eye and a tongue in the cheek. When you’re quietly confident there’s no need to shout.