Embrace the pain

Read an interesting article the other day that spoke of the 1/100 rule where its usually your 1st idea or your 100th that kicks ass but you won't know the 1st one rocks till you explore all hundred. Easier said than done... I've always been a believer in the "creative process" where you put your head down and keep going at it till it hurts and i mean really hurts, till you start picturing your copywriter partner's head exploding...

I don't do it as often as I should, mostly because of the "ridiculous timeline" driven world we live in. One of the most useful things an ex-copy partner showed me was a grid used by David Droga - probably the most talented creative director around. While climbing up the creative ladder he'd create a grid that could house close to 100 thoughts on a A3 sheet (that's tabloid for you folks in North America) and wouldn't let up till he filled the entire grid with a 100 unique thoughts.

And yes the urge to cheat with filling the grid up with "meh" thoughts do play on your mind but I've found this a really good way to keep it going even after you hit your wall and are struggling to work up that awesome concept.

So i say lets embrace the pain and you never know you might end up with a beauty like this

Trusting the impossible

Buying an idea in its infancy is amazingly hard.

I get that. To see a couple of sketches and a few mood boards with a bunch of words about what it could be is a tough buy. And that's when the people doing the buying need to have faith, just a little smidgen of trust that this could become something bigger than all of us thought or expected. We all know advertising is not an exact science but we all draw from thoughts and ideas that resonate with a human truth

I love when clients point to awesome campaigns like "Impossible is nothing" and say "we'd like something like this", but think about where that started out, just this little speck of a thought with a line that contained all the potential in the world.

And for people who aren't the most visual thinkers, it helps to trust the people whom you've turned to for a marketing solution instead of going out duck hunting because if they keep that up sooner or later people are going to get tired to being shot down.

So, lets show a little trust in what we can't see...yet. And take that leap together...

Pure beautiful

I spend a fair bit of time looking at creative from around the world,  with a lot of so-so creative out there, and there are ads that just make you stop in your tracks and watch 'em over n over again. This is one of them.


Don't know if there's any integration or social mumbo jumbo, all I know is its gets its point across in the most memorable way possible. Pretty sure guys in SA will think twice about drinking and driving.

Where's the line

Today, I heard about someone who decided to walk away from the world of advertising and it made me think - where do we draw the line? Do we wait for our significant other to walk out on us before we cut the "it's for the award" or "great work requires dedication" bullshit. In the constant struggle for great work vs a great life, which one wins? and if so, would you miss the other?

I've recently rediscovered my vibe, my buzz, my "whatever you call the thing that make you want to do good ads" again...

This paradox that so many of my fellow creatives struggle with make me wonder how long this relationship with advertising will really last.

The only thing i ever thought about was winning that gold pencil/lion/cube and now i think i'll still try and make the best ad i can and if the award comes so be it if not i guess i'll have a coke and a smile and shut the fuck up.

2Day

Yawn

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Frustrations of an adoholic

Advertising...

Ahhhhh. I do love my job. I love every part of it. Getting paid to come up with fun, kooky, insightful, mind-bending ideas everyday is just pure beautiful...

And that's why it sucks so much...

to see you little babies get decapitated right before your eyes just cause someone else doesn't get it.Or make an attempt to get it. or just lacks the balls to say "Fuck it, go do it, I got your back.

And then there are clients...