When we think of the people who are pushing society forward, who do we tend to think of?
OK, so a lot of that is dependent on your personal context … but in general, I would say we’d tend to think of scientists, technologists and – occasionally – politicians, to name but a few.
And while I totally agree with that, I think so much of the things that move culture forward are the freaks and the outsiders.
They might not get the credit.
They might not get the acclaim.
But so much of what ends up becoming the mainstream is created by the people in the shadows … those who didn’t follow the rules or expectations of others because they either didn’t know what they were or weren’t in a position to ever stand a chance of achieving it.
The misfits are the ones who can make the biggest differences.
Not because they know how to break the rules, but they don’t know what the rules are.
For the record, this does not make them rebels.
Rebels is something in the eye of the observer, not the beholder.
These people simply see the World differently which shapes why they do things differently.
They’re the people adland should be embracing more of.
Yes, I know it may mean they’re harder to work with.
Yes, I know clients may question what they are offering to their business.
But the power of creativity starts with how you think and this is exactly why we should be embracing them.
One of the best people we ever hired used to be a kids bed designer at IKEA.
Another was a pig feed salesmen.
Both of them had absolutely no idea what advertising was beyond the executions they see every day.
And yet both of them were brilliant for exactly this fact … because they were able to use their unique creative talent to develop ideas I doubt anyone ‘trained in advertising’ could ever achieve.
Don’t get me wrong, being trained in the craft of advertising is vital – and there’s amazing people who can do amazing things that outsiders, or anyone else for that matter, may never achieve – but I fear we are in danger of becoming an industry of ‘production line thinkers and doers’ and that’s why we need to embrace those who play outside the lines of the creativity because without them, we’re getting far too neat and tidy in our responses to challenges.
Now I fully appreciate holding companies and clients may think ‘neat and tidy’ is a wonderful thing – it means greater efficiency, accuracy and profitability – but that’s short-term thinking, because in a World where competition is more intense than ever, creativity may be the only legal means a company has to counter heritage, distribution and budget and the only way we can ensure our creativity works it’s best is if we embrace the people who don’t follow the rules because they don’t even know what they are.