The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

All that leaves me to say is that I hope you all have a great Christmas with great presents and great food and may 2012 be a fucking awesome year.

For you.

And me.

But mainly me.

Even though in a matter of weeks, I get another 5 days holiday thanks to Chinese New Year [God bless China], I’ll see you again in Jan with an A[P]SOTW assignment and another big dollop of my special ranting bollocks.

Not as good as 2010, but pretty damn good all the same.

Especially because of my recent holiday & my wife’s cake successes.

It’s also that time of year where people in the ad community make a bunch of predictions about what will be big – or will have been big – this time next year.

As I’ve said before, I hate that sort of shit because if you disagree with them, they just say, “it hasn’t happened yet so wait and see” … so as I can’t beat them, I’m going to join them by saying my prediction for this time next year is we’ll have had another 12 months of talking the same old shit except we’ll all be using a bunch of new, improved, shiny names to describe it all because adland and the plannersphere think that’s all it takes to impress the masses and keep our intelligent delusions alive.

Actually it isn’t, I’d much rather have something technological … but it still wouldn’t be too bad given so many briefs today are nothing more than ‘executional’ demands rather than a fundamental business challenge, where the solution is up to you.

Of course, given so many ad agencies think an ad can solve everything, it’s not hard to understand why so many clients basically decide what they want upfront, rather than trust their communication partners to come up with something all by themselves, but it’s still like going to the Doctor and then prescribing your own treatment.

Who knows, maybe everything will change for the better in 2012.

I’ve known Dubes for 18 months and in that time, he’s made a massive impression on me.

Not just because he’s smart, decent, funny and kind … but because he’s got me out of the shit too many times to mention plus – and it’s a big plus – he’s not smashed me in the face when I’ve continually – and purposefully – dropped him in the shit.

From helping me retrieve my laptop from the back of an unlicensed cab in a Chinese city we’d just arrived in … to making me laugh when a client has given me a deadline that is basically a declaration of war … to helping me cut out 1500 pictures from a bunch of magazines in 3 hours [don’t ask], Dubes has been there – always calm, always supportive, always smart.

And how have I repaid his friendship and loyalty?

By being a petty, childish and downright immature piece of bastardness.

From making public announcements about the frequency of his toilet visits [which is a lot. A hell of a lot!] … to drawing the most unflattering portrait of him ever seen in history [see above] then plastering photocopies of them in every nook and cranny possible [and I mean ‘every nook and cranny’] … to sending him some ‘Eat Shit’ cupcakes when we were going through a particularly ‘pressured time’ … to about ten million other things … and yet through all of these nightmares, he has remained a solid, decent, stand-up, top guy.

What an idiot.

However, just as people might start to question his sanity, he has made a decision that shows he’s still got it.

Despite loving working at W+K and NIKE – both in Portland and Shanghai – he’s decided adland hasn’t got the substance he is looking for in his life, so he’s giving it all up to go and work in Hollywood.

HOLLYWOOD!

We’re convinced this is all code for ‘fluffing’ in some cheap porn movie, but he’s claiming it’s for something that won’t leave such a nasty taste in his mouth [boom tish] … so after the longest leaving period in the history of mankind, our lovely Dubes is buggering off to start the next chapter of his lifes adventure.

I will miss him.

I will miss him a lot.

And yet, while I am very sad he’s going, I am also incredibly proud of him.

It takes a strong man to decide to turn his back on his career – especially a career at one of the best agencies in the World and one of the best accounts in the World – but that’s what he’s done because his strength comes from his fantastic principals, values and beliefs which is why I know that whatever he does, he’ll be very successful at it and why I know anyone who works with him, will be better – both personally and professionally – for the experience.

It’s also why I am genuinely honoured to call him a friend – even if he would rather I didn’t.

Dubes, thank you for everything – you’ve done more for me than you’ll ever know and I can tell you it’s been a distinct privilege for me to know you and work with you and I wish you nothing but the best for everything in your life and I hope I will still be able to share in it in some way, even if that’s just still being an annoying shit.

Yes, that’s right, a dating site for Christians.

A place where you can meet someone who gets off on reading passages from the bible … where every glass of red wine reminds them of the blood of Christ and where at the end of every date, you are guaranteed to get nothing more than a firm handshake.

OK, I’m being a prejudiced twat … especially as there’s 5 million of the buggers on this site alone … but I find the religious market fascinating, if only for the fact they are consistently ignored by so many agencies and corporations.

Alright, I understand that in many cases, these are everyday people who consume the same brands and products as the rest of us, however as Guitar Praise showed us, there are many opportunities to develop brand extensions that specifically appeal to this ‘mass niche’ group.

Sure there’s the chance that directly appealing to a religious group may put off others – however if the product/brand has been customised to appeal specifically to that group, I don’t think it would alienate the other customers, especially because they’ll probably not even see it, let alone know about it.