This is an unashamedly big plug for the agency I am going to work at.
The wonderful Colenso.
And the best way to do that is to talk about a client I had when I was at Wieden.
When I was getting to know her, I asked why she had come straight to us rather than pitch the business like every other client seemed to do.
She said it was easy, if we could find a way to make people interested in butter [Lurpak] and milk [Cravendale] then she wanted to work with us.
What’s funny is when that piece of business first came in, it was not something that stoked the interest or passion of the creative department.
Butter? Milk? Pah!
And yet, because of the way they saw the creative opportunity for the brand, the openness of the client towards doing something new and the incredible way the idea was shot, it changed … to the point it is one of the campaigns people are hungry to work on.
I say this because Colenso recently did a campaign for Pedigree about dog adoption.
Now I get dog adoption may be more favourable to work on than butter or milk would be, but it probably would not be the first choice for many creatives.
And yet, like for Lurpak, it has become something special. A creative opportunity everyone wants to have a crack at. A client who now has a long history of great and effective work under their name. A category of advertising that has literally been turned on its head.
One of my favourites is this …
How lovely is that eh?
Well they recently launched a new campaign … however instead of this being about replacing kids, this was about preparing people for them.
In essence, they discovered a huge percentage of millennials were delaying parenthood.
While there are a whole host of reasons – all valid – the lovely folks at Colenso thought this was a great way to tackle their challenge, which was to position dog adoption as a great way to get you ready for being a Mum or a Dad.
Yes it’s tongue-in-cheek, but as a cat adopter, I can say it’s also true.
Though what really helped me get ready for Otis was running a strategy department in China.
I know I like chaos, but that was something else.
That aside, I love this work, and it’s another reason why Colenso just won agency of the decade for the 2nd time in a row.
Once is amazing.
Twice is incredible.
But twice in a row? Unprecedented.
I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.
Not just because I want to work at a place that loves creativity, but it means they hold, value and nurture their standards.
At a time where that is often the thing people will let go of to get money in, those who are stubborn to what they will let out the door are the places where everyone wants to get in the door. Because as the old adage says, it’s easier to get to the top than stay there.