BUSINESS

Just in time for National Poetry Month—and the Stanley Cup Playoffs—the Boston Bruins are using a Rudyard Kipling poem in a new ad. (Boston Globe)

Learn more about The Law for the Wolves (and Bruins).

Discussion Ideas

• Listen to the poem “The Law for the Wolves” in the ad above. Do you think this poem was a good choice to represent the Boston Bruins? Why or why not? If you ran an ad agency, what other products, services, or organizations would you promote using this poem?
  • We think it’s a great ad, beautifully read by the actor. It emphasizes teamwork, individual responsibility, strength, toughness, and tenacity—all things a hockey team needs.
  • “The Law for the Wolves” might also be a good motivating poem for a military unit, a multi-player or MMORPG alliance, or even a start-up venture emphasizing a responsible, team-oriented approach to business.

• “The Law for the Wolves” is actually a lot longer (and, possibly, plagiarized) than the ad indicates. Read the poem here. Why do you think Arnold Worldwide, the ad agency that created “The Wolfpack” ad, did not use the whole poem? Why do you think they chose those lines?
  • The opening lines, used in the ad, are a great metaphor for teamwork. The rest of the poem is pretty specific to Kipling’s story, part of The Second Jungle Book—it sets up the way the wolf pack is organized and governed.
  • It’s also simply too long for a 30-second ad.

• Can you think of other ads for products, services, or organizations that use classic or literary poetry?
  • A lot! Levi’s used Walt Whitman’s “O Pioneers!” to great affect a while back.
  • Apple is resurrecting Robin Williams’ recitation of Whitman’s “O Me! O Life!” from Dead Poets Society in a current iPad Air ad.
  • Volkswagen put Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milkwood” to use for the Golf.
  • Shakespeare could have his own category here. We liked how Levi’s sold jeans with a lovely scene from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

• Kipling was English, but few of his works take place in England. “The Law for the Wolves,” for instance, is from the second of his famous short-story collections called The Jungle Book, set in India. Kipling’s Just-So Stories focus on animals indigenous to Africa (“How the Leopard Got His Spots”), Australia (“The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo”), and the Americas (“The Beginning of the Armadillos”). Several poems captured in our “Khyber Pass” media spotlight focus on Afghanistan. Why do you think Kipling, writing in the 19th century, was writing about such diverse places?
  • The sun never set on Kipling’s empire. His most famous works are set in far-flung parts of what was then the British Empire—which extended to every continent except Antarctica. Kipling’s most enduring works are set where he was born, British India, which today includes the nations of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

• Read our media spotlight “The Khyber Pass.” Is this a current-event connection? Work through the questions for some help.
  • Yes, Kipling’s poetry is as trenchant and relevant today as it was when it was written. Ripped from the headlines.