Where do ideas come from?

Good athletes make the most remarkable plays look easy. It isn’t easy, but their minds and bodies are trained to work in harmony so it becomes ‘natural’.

A stand-out creative idea looks remarkable for the same reason. The creative idea works in harmony with the product to look ‘natural’. 

One of my favorite classic campaigns was the “Big Mac Attack” for McDonalds. I have no idea how it originated but I like to believe that a six year old kid randomly said, “Hey dad, I’m having a Big Mac Attack”.

It was memorable, quickly became a pop culture trend and the idea worked in harmony with the product… effortlessly. It was a natural.

While planning a campaign for the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, someone at Euro RSCG likely said, “Listening to this music is like riding a roller coaster”… and they were right.

Creativity's biggest stumbling block - the Client.

Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) once said he wouldn't make movies in America because he didn't do 'comedy by committee'.

image from fanpop.com

Creativity in the world of advertising is a lot like that, even if the committee is just two people; you and the client.

The rule of a good copywriter is to give the client what he needs, not what he wants*.  When those two things are in conflict, and the client insists on having it his way because he is paying for it, copywriters often default to the second position.  That would be - give the client what he wants, and do your best to craft it in such a way that it is palatable and compelling for the target audience.

This is why copywriters die young.

If you possess a warped and devious mind, there is a third option.

Give the client what he wants.

Give it to him just the way he asked for it. Don't go overboard to add more warts to the concept - it is probably odorous enough as it is.

Then do the concept the way you know it should be.  Often, a client won't have the ability to envision a concept the way a writer can but if he can see it, hear it, or experience it then he will understand the benefits and strategy of the professional idea.

I must confess that in my industry, radio, it was not a huge commitment of time or resources to do two concepts. If you're in television or web design, producing two finished products may not be feasible. But if you're looking for a long term relationship with a client, the short term pain and investment could earn you the trust and freedom you need to create brilliance for an appreciative client.


*Largely Unnecessary Gender Disclaimer That I Am Enclosing Mostly For My Own Amusement:
I started writing "he/she" whenever I referred to the client but it was making things clumsy to read and my rambling copy is confusing enough without that, so I defaulted to 'he' and I will use 'she' next time. Can we all not be offended now?  Thank you.

Time to grow up...

At some point in everyone's lives, they realize they might as well just say what's on their mind because... oh, I don't know... they've finally figured out that political correctness is highly over-rated, or they've realized that they're getting older and running out of time.
(On the other hand, we all know people who come out of the womb shooting their mouths off and seem to have been born without any governor at all... but that's grist for another blog.)
In my humble observations, people generally wait too long to express themselves. Here's a test for you.  Do you have more regret about things you said, or things you wish you would have said? Sure... I'll bet you have a few big blunders that you'd like to undo somewhere in your past, but I'm also betting you have one of those comments that you didn't say and it probably happened as recently as yesterday.
Unless you're old. Then you probably just said it.
A few years ago, we had an elderly gentleman named Les who worked around the building doing odd jobs and maintenance. One year, at the Christmas party, as one of the staff was called up to the front of the room, Les remarked to the people at his table, "Well, she's put on some weight!"
"Les," chided a female co-worker. "I hope you don't talk about me like that."
"No, no..." he replied, brushing off the idea. "You've always been a big girl."
Just to be clear, I'm not saying that you should go out of your way to make people miserable; I just think that there's room in the world for a little more honesty. As for those people who couldn't quite see their way to being honest, well, I suspect they'd be much more cautious about what they said and the questions they asked, if they knew the rest of the world was likely going to give them an honest response.
Don't wait until you're too old to enjoy it. Take a chance on the truth. It's incredibly liberating.

Is Creativity The Tortoise or The Hare?

A number of people have told me that they simply aren't creative. Many of them draw this conclusion because they aren't the quick, flashy and funny people who entertain crowds at cocktail parties.

Creativity isn't a race. And speed is not a factor.

Creativity can be a beautiful and spontaneous experience, but it can also be slow and laborious. It can be impulsive, wild and breathtaking, but it can also be precise, painful and painstaking. I love the way Robin Williams' mind works - his thoughts move so fast it's like he is actually several people all trying to take control at the same time. I also appreciate the meticulous genius of Tom Robbins; he creates truly unique images by defining objects or moments or feelings with traits not usually associated with them. When you read these passages, they ring so true and seem so obvious, you wonder why you never thought of them that way before. I've never watched Tom Robbins write, but I'm guessing it doesn't happen at Robin Williams velocity.

Next time you're in your office struggling to make your presentation 'snap', or writing an inscription in a special book for a life-long friend and hoping it will be memorable... remind yourself that David wasn't chiseled in a day.

Photo: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/michelangelo.htm

Creativity is just the beginning. Bringing it to life is the key.

Nothing undermines a solid creative idea faster than poor execution.

By the same token, a brilliant execution can sometimes elevate a weak concept.

Before I really get started, let me get this out of the way… “When it comes to creativity in advertising, it isn’t creative unless it sells.” Yup, it’s trite and every writer hates to be reminded of this old adage but it’s absolutely true. In effective advertising, there is no substitute for uncovering and highlighting the emotional connection between the product and the target consumer.

My daughter recently introduced me to an ad that I loved on first viewing.  I liked it even more on second viewing and all because of the brilliant execution of the primary actor. As far as the emotional connection between product and consumer… I’m not sure I felt that.

On some levels the commercial works because it’s extremely watchable, memorable and absolutely bullet proof for any moms or dads that might see it.

It doesn’t work because… well, it doesn’t say anything about the car other than it’s a family car, I guess. I suppose you could make the argument that it continues to add to the legendary ‘personality’ of Volkswagen, but that argument is a bit obscure.

Bottom line: the star of this spot is the kid. I’ll tell you in advance that you never see the kid’s face but with his incredible body language, you totally ‘see’ his expression. But, as an advertising weapon, is it effective? I’d be curious to know what you think.

The answer may be no, but did you ask the question?

I've believed in aliens and UFOs all my life. At the very least, I've considered alien life on other planets to be a given. If you think I sound nerdy now, you should have been me in the 60's. It was an intolerent decade. Sigh.

But over the years, people have become more enlightened. Today, most folks would admit that they believe in the possible existence of life on other planets somewhere out there.

Recently the topic of UFOs came up during a gathering of friends on a Friday afternoon. One of our group, a teacher in her thirties, listened to the discussion for a while before giving her opinion.

"I'm not interested in science fiction."

When we reminded her we weren't talking about books or movies, but speculating on the theory of life on other planets, her attitude was even more surprising.

"I've never thought about it."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Ever?"

"Never. Why are we wasting time with this?"

At that moment, I was struck by the thought that her classroom must be a very unfertile ground for new ideas.

I guess there is a possibility that we are the only life in the universe... I can't prove otherwise. But to not even consider the existence of other life? Hmm...

Perhaps one day, and I suspect it will happen in my lifetime, we won't need to speculate anymore. Until then, here's a video for you.  It suggests we should consider the existence of life on other planets as well as other far fetched ideas that may only need time to become mainstream.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/02/jerusalem-ufo-spottings-o_n_817689.html

Thanks to @iSpintheWeb for tweeting this link.