By Dominique Trudeau

Today, I have a story for you, a bedtime story for advertising moguls. A classic revisited; new and improved, naturally.

nce upon a time Goliath was big, strong and rich. He was powerful. He was the undisputed master of his kingdom. His wealthy neighbours respected him. He was not really a great sport, nor was he that good with his subjects. But hey, when you rule, who cares? He didn’t.

One day, he caught a little guy kicking at his butt. He felt nothing really. He had more important things to which to attend. So Goliath just ignored him. He did what he had planned that day. He had a big party with his big neighbours to talk about big ideas and some big business. He might have smoked a cigar, but no first-hand, nor left-hand witnesses recall it for sure.

That night, at 4 a.m. flat, he remembered the little guy. You see, he couldn’t go to sleep. Something was bugging him – a weird sensation. He never felt it before.

But you know Goliath. The next day, he went on doing his big business. It was another lovely day on Earth.

nce upon a time David was clever. That’s about the only thing he was. He didn’t run fast. He couldn’t fight (he was kind of weak since his early childhood). On top of that, he was really small. Not just small. More like tiny small – tiny, mini small. He lived in a kingdom ruled by some big giants who nobody really liked. So it had been like that for more than a century.

One day, when he felt he had nothing to lose (he never had anything anyway), he decided to kick some butt – the big ones. So he chose to start by kicking Goliath’s. You see, David didn’t care if the ruthless big dude couldn’t feel it the first time. And it was a good thing to say the truth. So he went on, undisturbed.

That night, at 4 a.m. flat, he decided to make this affair official – he made a big decision. He would start a mini, tiny business of his own. Kicking ass would be his main line of business. He told everybody that the best way to kick ass was to stay small. Remember, David was very clever.

Kicking ass worked! Suddenly, and in no time, many villagers and farmers wanted to do business with him. They loved him. He shared the work and the fame – a real sport. It was good and he felt good.

avid defeated Goliath. It’s a fact. The story says it. The legend says also Goliath felt so much pain in his butt he had to retire to the Côte d’Azur. But nobody knows for sure. Just before he left he was such a pain in the ass and so needy, even his big, rich neighbours preferred the company of the little dude.

In the end, Goliath never met David. He just had the sensation of his existence.

Dominique Trudeau is founder and president of Couleur Locale.

Illustration by Jean-François Poulin

Letters courtesy of Shutterstock.