Whilst at AMV/BBDO Sean and I got a brief to write an ad for the British Television Craft Awards. The BTA Awards with the word ‘craft’ inserted are less desirable than the ones without that word. But they’re awards none the less. It got us thinking – what creatives would enter an awards scheme aimed at recognising everyone but the creatives who came up with the idea? Initially it said ‘Shit at ideas?‘, but the word ‘shit‘ was felt to beRead more
Posts tagged: #‘Rough Ads’
ADIDAS: Rough Vs Polished?
I used to work with a very smart writer called Alastair Wood. One thing he said left a lasting impression on me; ‘None of my proofs are as good as the roughs’. I realised it was a common complaint amongst writers. Ideas, when first expressed have an energy, vitality and humanity, because people only write or draw the key elements. There’s no fat. The process of bringing ideas to life often kills them. Firstly, because it’s easy to get seduced by hotRead more
CHRISTIAN AID: The client may be right.
I once pitched for Christian Aid. It’s an emotional subject matter, I got emotional. Sean Doyle and I wrote lots of very angry ads, essentially trying force people to reach into their pockets and save a starving child’s life. We won the pitch. We met our brand new client, Claire. She said, rather sheepishly, ‘The ads… we like them, but they look so gloomy, and… well, we’re all quite positive around here and wondered whether they could look a bit more upbeat?’Read more