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

That doesn’t mean it’s bad – hell, some is amazing – but there is a whole lot of bad all around the place.

There’s a whole host of reasons for this, of which one is the need to please your boss more than your audience [so that if anything goes wrong, they cannot be directly blamed because they can say they simply ‘did what has always been done’] … which is why if you look at the mass of communication that runs here, many fall into one of two areas:

1. Convey a mass of rational facts.
2. Feature a plethora of celebrity endorsement.

Of course not all ads – or clients – are like that, but a hell of a lot are which is why I feel incredibly fortunate that I don’t have to endure that situation at W+K.

That’s not being a corporate toadie, it’s true … but that being said, I genuinely believe being put in those situations – as I have been on many, many occasions in the past – is good for your learning and development.

Yes, pain & frustration is good for you.

Yes, being told what you’ve done is wrong is good for you.

Yes, having to work well outside your comfort zone is good for you.

Maybe not at the time, but definitely in the long-term.

You see if all you’re ever exposed to is working with open minded, broad thinking, understanding clients, you won’t develop the level of roundedness, adaptiveness, resilience and – to a certain extent – deviousness, that I believe is necessary to grow.

Our job is to help brands go to places they never thought possible … places that attract the audience, rather than always chase them … but if you can’t help clients, especially difficult clients, understand how your recommendation is a commercially wise decision – as opposed to being one of incredible risk – then you’re going to have a career full of ‘could have been’ rather than ‘been there, done that’.

That said, this isn’t just about knowing how to work through the clients process to get to the other side.

Sure, that’s part of it, but the key is being able to do that while maintaining the quality and energy of your original idea … and that’s hard, exceedingly hard … but in a World where the spirit of fear has infiltrated corporations everywhere, it’s a skill that will not only grow in importance over time, but will also help separate your talent from the masses.

As I wrote here, one of the reasons I think Northern is so good is because he had to fight for every success he had … not just with clients, but internally.

That doesn’t come from always having ‘cool-shit ideas’, it comes from understanding business, viewpoints, influencers, prejudices and processes and then knowing how to navigate around them or – if you’re a bit of a devious shit like me – manipulate them, so that you can silence the doubters and enthuse the hopeful.

With your ‘cool-shit ideas.

As good as working on brands like NIKE, Converse, Beats, Chrysler, P&G etc is … I honestly believe my past experiences of failure, disaster, confusion, confrontation and pain helps me do better work for them and makes me a better person for them to work with.

Which basically means that if you’re offered a chance to work on another project or brand – even if it doesn’t sound great on first impression – take it.

It might not be fun at the time [though that’s as much up to you as it is to the client], but the lessons you’ll learn – be it what to do or what not to do – will serve you well in the future, over and over and over again.
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PS: If you don’t see things changing or you don’t feel you’re learning or growing, then please [1] don’t hold me responsible, [2] re-assess what you’re doing or [3] leave … because something’s going majorly wrong and it’s either you, your job or Satan.

Now while I know there are a whole heap of negative comments you could throw at the concept – from the fact you rarely come across deleted web pages anymore through to it being like a poor mans version of the US ‘milk carton’ campaign – I think it’s great.

You see at the end of the day, someone has done something that might … just might … make a difference.

Sure, the chances of someone being found are low … but they’re not as low as doing nothing at all and I’m sure that for the families of lost children, any possibility of being reunited with their loved ones is worth giving a go.

Years ago I wrote a post saying how I was pissed off that Madonna had been able to adopt a child while my friends – who arguably, would be better parents – were denied.

At the end of the post I had to admit that while I didn’t like how the system worked, the reality was a child was going to have a better life than they would otherwise of had and only the most heartless of bastards could criticize that.

And that’s the thing with this idea.

It didn’t cost any money … it made use of something that no one was using – or was thinking of using – and it might help bring a family back together … which is why it’s worthy of praise not nitpicking.

So well done to Famous/Missing Children and all the hosting firms, ISPs and media companies that have signed for this campaign … you might not win any effectiveness awards, but you are certainly deserving of a humanitarian one.

In the room were about 12 other people – all from the same organisation – preparing to discuss a business opportunity that was on the table.

Why I was there is a very long and complicated story, of which I am sure they would rather I keep to myself, but for the record, I was incredibly excited to be invited as ‘an observer’.

Everything was going well – the mood was light and jovial – when one of the attendees made, even by my standards, an outlandish and arrogant statement.

Without so much as a pause, the business leader fired back:

“You have to earn the right to be arrogant and even then, you’d be wise not to.”

While the mood in the room suddenly darkened, it was an enlightening experience for me.

Here was a man who had achieved success based on pretty much any metric you could throw at him and yet he still appreciated and valued respect.

Sure, you could say his response wasn’t exactly a demonstration of that, but ‘respect’ doesn’t mean being passive or gentle or sickly sweet – it means not taking things for granted … assuming you have all the answers … thinking you’re better than everyone else … sitting back on past glories.

Sadly, a lot of Adland seem to have an alternative view.

They think this behaviour is perfectly acceptable.

Worse, some seem to think it is the way they should act.

Walking around like they are Kings, when all they’ve actually done is make a few ads.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they had consistently delivered greatness, but our industry happily prays at the feet of whoever has created the new, new thing.

Thank god there are some amazingly good and clever guys in this industry.

People who lead by example rather than popularity.

People who know it’s not just what you’ve done in the past, but what you do now.

People who strive to to solve problems, not just advertise them.

And that is why if you hear someone being arrogant, it’s highly likely they’re hiding behind it, because the truly great don’t act that way – or at least most of them don’t – which is why if you work in adland and want to create great things with great people, it’s OK to be firm … it’s OK to confident … it’s OK to challenge … but for your sake, more than others:

Don’t. Be. A. Dick.

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PS: Yes, I know I don’t qualify for this. You don’t have to point this out. Andy.

Of course you don’t, because you don’t read the posts do you.

Bastards.

Anyway, I saw one that pretty much sums up when it all goes uber-wrong.

OK, so it’s an editorial ad rather than a full-on campaign.

OK, it doesn’t feature a plethora of rational facts or celebrities … but it’s still mental.

UBER-MENTAL!

The funny thing is that the ad is for advertising in a local newspaper … so it makes it sound like the reason they think it’s a ‘great marketing opportunity for China’ is because people rip up the pages and turn them into those decision maker type things we used to do as a kid.

In other words, the next generation of rationale for advertising in magazines that sit in dentists waiting rooms for years on end.

It doesn’t just sit there on the reception desk, it gets you involved.

It’s interactive.

It’s print 2.0 … bridging the gap between print and digital.

Ahem.

Anyway, because I am a sad, bitter, stupid shit … I emailed ad-sh@globaltimes.com.cn to ask how many people will use my ad to turn into a children’s toy and how long can I expect it to withstand the harshness of Shanghai [acid] rain.

So far I am still waiting on a response.