What does "trilemma" actually mean?
As if dilemmas weren't difficult enough, to add to all the misery in the world, trilemmas are popping up everywhere. Not only in world politics, the global economy or the world climate debate, but increasingly also in more banal realms such as advertising and marketing. The "trilemma" is a newly launched, linguistically ancient expression, with which an already existing word (dilemma) [...]
As if dilemmas weren't difficult enough, trilemmas are popping up everywhere to add to all the misery in the world. Not only in global politics, the global economy or the global climate debate, but increasingly also in more mundane areas such as advertising and marketing. The "trilemma" is a newly launched, linguistically ancient expression that complements an existing word (dilemma) - just like "proactive", for example. So if you want to tackle a trilemma proactively, you'd better be suspicious. Because the use of such exaggerated neologisms always has something boastful and exclusive about it. They are perceived as appropriate for a certain period of time and spread rapidly before they - usually rightly - sink back into insignificance. The dilemma, on the other hand, is holding its own in our industry. And not just since Henry Ford's attributed quote "Fifty percent of advertising is always thrown out. But you don't know which half that is". Even if this "rule" has lost much of its charm in the age of data-based marketing, at least it was reliable.A new word at the right time
While we only have to choose between two options in the good old dilemma, the trilemma complicates the situation massively. Nevertheless, agencies still tend to suggest three routes when presenting naming, branding or campaigning solutions to clients. In doing so, they usually not only overtax themselves, but also their clients. This is because the choice of three options, each of which is unacceptable, often leads to the emergence of a fourth, which is a toxic mix of the three. Although everyone hopes it will be a convincing result, the opposite always happens. Even in the best-case scenario - a selection of three good proposals where only one can be chosen in the end - things remain difficult. In the end, it is often the arbitrariness of superiors or customers that decides. Therefore: avoid trilemmas and rather work out just one proposal. Because the "real" world is already full of real trilemmas: political, economic, ecological and psychological, there's no need to create artificial ones.* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.
