Think you’ve got a daunting task ahead?
A great script – the most genius one you or anybody else has ever written – is in your tiny little hands and the only thing that remains is… (insert ominous pause here)… selling it to the client.
But you’re up to it!
You’ll sell it through. You’ll sell it to the client you work with every day, right? And her boss, too, right?
Why, you’ll even sell it through to their pretzel-headed president who came up through sales and makes every key decision based on …

Coppola uses them to create his movies.
The Clash used them to make their music.
Picasso used them to develop his art and make it unique.
References.
Everybody uses them.
They are part of any creative process.
But we live in a time that is easy to access almost every new idea in the planet. Right now, every kind of people are inventing stuff and sharing them with us.
Meanwhile, in advertising, some people are taking advantage of this to use a new formula for “creating” ads.
It’s pretty easy:
Get a reference + CtrlC/Ctrl V+ add logo in …

When I first started doing ads, I would do my job like a 10-year old. Magic markers and construction paper. One time I went into a conference room to show the ideas I had for Hanes. I brought in a boom box and played the Kiss song, I Love It Loud. The chorus goes “Heeeeeeeeeey, yeah.” And I thought it would be cool if Hanes made a version going “Haaaaaaaaaaanes.” My creative director threw an empty Diet Coke can at me upon hearing this idea. That was the punishment for …

Good intentions suck.
Here’s why:
Good intentions are typically well meaning, sound incredibly reasonable, and are therefore very persuasive.
However, because they are usually informed by ignorance, the thinking that they generate is often very flawed.
And, worse than that, the result of following through without pausing to consider the downsides leads to failure.
WOW! THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING THINGS ABOUT THIS PRODUCT THAT WE MUST SHARE THEM ALL = COMPLICATED, FAILED COMMUNICATION
WE MUST REMOVE ANYTHING POLARIZING SO THAT NO ONE WILL BE OFFENDED = NO ONE WILL EVEN NOTICE MUCH LESS BE OFFENDED
WE …

The catastrophic earthquake in Chile changed something I’m sure few people ever even thought was possible.
Time.
Apparently, our days are now 1.26 milliseconds shorter as a result of the massive trembler, due to the earth being thrown off its axis by about 3 inches.
Now, I know, some of you are freaking out about this. Oh my God, there isn’t enough time in the day as it is! Now it’s even shorter!?!
Yes it is. And I think that’s a good thing. I just wish it was by more than 1200 or so …

Is it an automobile or a car?
Is it a motorcycle or a bike?
These are the discussions that take up the bulk of my time in conference rooms. They usually come up at the end of the approval process. These are comments made by smart people. And, I welcome the feedback. I just feel that it’s feedback for the sake of feedback. In other words, when people are being paid a lot of money to give their opinion, they feel obligated to say something smart. It usually evolves into this kind …

“Great idea! But, they’re never going to buy it.”
I’ve heard that my whole career.
“Trust me. I know this client and they will never buy something like this.”
The final blow sounds something like this:
“Right now, this client isn’t super happy with us. Are you really willing to fall on the sword for this? Are you really willing to jeopardize our account for this idea?”
You probably know how the story ends.
Does anybody have any advice?
In football, we hate it when our team punts. In life, we punt all the time. But, in …

Did you know that saying, that we only use 10% of our brains is an urban legend? The Heath brothers point out why some urban legends have stuck around for so many years in their not so new book.
What books are you reading? Any good ones you’d recommend? Something that has inspired you or something that has taught you a few new tricks? For me I’m going to try and make sure I hit two new books a month, one on ideas / theories and the other on process / …

Literally. Coming up with ideas is like taking a crap. You get one good one a day. Two if you’re lucky and sometimes you’re blessed with three or four. If you try to push your idea out into the world before it’s ready, it might not work and it can be pretty painful. Sometimes the best thing you can do is relax and drink lots of coffee. I still remember being in school and seeing a copywriting student staring at
a blank word document on his mac. I asked if he …

You know who you are.
You’re the guy who walks around the office, taking note of creatives who don’t appear to be slaving away. As you stroll by, you offer up witty comments like ‘Hey, if you need something to do, I’m sure I can find something for ya.’
Yeah, you’re that guy.
The idea machine must not rest. Step one: receive brief. Step two: set up camp in front of computer and churn out strategically sound creative. Step three: present said creative. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
News flash. That’s not how it works. How …