the creative companion

8/14/2019 The Creative Companion

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David Ogilvy once said that, in the end, making an adcomes down to one person shutting the door and just putting it down on paper.

We all know that lonely feeling. So I thought Id pass along a little booklet written by David Fowler that crossed mydesk not long ago. It might help inform that desperate time

when a creative person needs an idea, but, alas, doesnthave one.

Weve also found that quite a few planners nd it useful.Clients and account managers do, too. Perhaps it helpsthem see inside the minds of the creative people who workon their businesses.

Ogilvy has always been a teaching institution. David would

be proud to know that were keeping that tradition alive.

Steve HaydenVice Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

FOREWORD


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Get a video camera and go out on the street andinterview people about the product. Youll beamazed how many people will stop and talk to you,a total stranger. Make up a yarn about doingmarket research or something.

I suppose you can surf the Web for ideas. The

trouble is, you wont nd any real people thereto interact with. And youre still just sitting therein your ofce.

Heres a tip: bookstores. Go spend an hourbrowsing in a bookstore. There, spread out before

you, is the sum total of human experience.

There must be an ad in there somewhere.

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GET UP AND GO.


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The real trouble starts when youve fallen in lovewith an idea and had it rejected. Somebody hascalled your baby a monkey. So you feel yourebeing treated unfairly, that your boss is a hackand the client a bonehead.

All this may be true. There are some ideas

worth ghting for, and this may be one of them.But dont do it now. Now, listen to the input yo uv ereceived and solve the problem on the terms

youve been given.Your anger is beside the pointright now. Once youve proven that youre atrouper by returning with thinking that follows the

input, you can bring up your original idea again.It may get a better hearing the second time.Then again, it may have been a monkey all

along. Or, most likely, youll have forgottenall about it, because now youre onto somethingbetter.Try it and see.

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IS YOUR BABY A MONKEY?


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Everyone struggles when asked to dene acompany or product using just a handful of words.Some people call these phrases tag lines. Some callthem slogans.Theme line is the best description,because it reminds you that beneath your line liesa theme. The term also has a shred of dignity.

What is a theme? Well, its the propositionwhereby you intend to sell the thing. Its the single-minded idea from which all your advertising willspring. If your theme is fresh, your line will follow.

The line is The Ultimate Driving Machine.The theme:BMW makes incredibly responsive

cars that satisfy people who really like to drive.See? Once you have a theme, simply express itin shorthand.

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WRITE A THEME, NOT A LINE.


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The old-fashioned chain-gang way of writing linesis this: write a page of lines, double-spaced. Letone sentence lead to another, one thought to thenext. When you have three pages, print them.Take a pencil and cross out all the lines you hate.Maybe therell be one you sort of like. Now, start

with that line and go another three pages.I call this the chain-gang method because its

a little like breaking rocks. Only harder.

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HOW TO WRITE THEME LINES.


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It is innitely helpful to realize that in advertising,as in life, there is no grand road map that everyoneis privy to except you.We are all muddling forward,through the fog.

Sometimes, having a big idea means that youllbe the one to lead everyone through the fog. Are

you willing to do that? Are you looking for an ideathat big?

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FOG IS NORMAL.


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An idea is like love. The more you need it, the less you can nd it.The more desperate your search,themore scarce it becomes. Stop. Settle down andlisten to the thing. It will tell you what it wants to be.

Maybe if you walked around the block, youcould hear it more clearly. Maybe if you went and

fed the pigeons, theyd whisper it to you. Maybe if you stopped telling it what it needed to be, it wouldtell you what it wanted to be.

Maybe you should come in early, when its quiet.

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WHAT DOES IT WANT TO BE?


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When the advertising strategy is not clear, youdo not necessarily have to charge into somebodysofce and scream for a better one. You will thencreate struggle aside from your intent, and yourintent is to have a big idea. Offer to sit down anddiscuss the brief.

The strategies that lead to good advertisingare usually really simple. Maybe the one yourelooking at is too complicated.

Write a simple version of it and share it withthe account team or planner. If you pitch it right,they might just buy it. They might add to it. Then

you can go away and make great ads that match your great, yet simple, strategic idea.Sometimes, you can make the ads, then write

the strategy after the fact. Sometimes.

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A STRATEGY WHEN YOU DONT HAVE ONE.


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If youre stuck, just make a message thats clear.Imagine the most basic layout: headline at the top,

visual in the center, body copy at the bottom.Workto that mental layout and make a clear message.

Just say it.Or show it.Stop trying to be brilliant.For now, be simple and clear, even at the risk of

being dull.Then pin it to the wall and say the same thing

in more interesting ways. With a more interestinglayout.

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CLEAR IT UP.


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Before you start writing ads, write the paragraph you will use to set up your work for the client.Thats your premise. If you cant write it down,then you dont have one.

Use this technique in internal presentations,too. You will seem very smart if you lay out a

clear path of logic, then illustrate it with your work. Your idea may be rejected, but everyone willremember and respect the way you articulated it.

You win, even when you lose.

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W R I T E A S P E EC H , T H E N A N A D .


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If youre working alone, ip through magazinesor stock photo books to jump-start your thinking.Magazines are lled with inspirational editorialdesign. Stock photo books give you something

visual to think against. If theres a newsstand thathas foreign publications, go buy some. It will

help you get outside the walls of your own head,and give you a starting point thats more interestingthan a blank screen.

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SUPPLY YOUR OWN VISUALS.


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Its hard to have a good idea when you feel thatthe assignment in front of you is bad.But rememberthat the project may turn out to be better than

you think. It may be your opportunity barometerthats out of whack.

You will look very smart if you take a deadly

project and make it great.You will look very foolishif you take a peach of a project and blow it.

The advantage to riding the dark horse is thatnobody expects much. If you over-deliver on it,

youll be a star.

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DOES THE PROJECT REEK?


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Its hard to have an idea when youre tired, nomatter how badly you need one. I promise, yourebetter off going home for the night and arrivingagain at six the next morning.

Youll be amazed how fast you can bang it outwhen youre fresh. Every minute you waste sitting

there like a stump tonight means lost time andmore panic tomorrow morning.

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GO HOME.


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I have two notebooks, one entitled People andthe other Ideas. Theyre blank books, spiralbound for durability, in which I write down ideas ortechniques or names of talent that seem interestingand potentially useful.

When you go to the movies or watch television,

read the credits and write down the names of cinematographers, actors and potential voice-overtalent. Note neat scenes and special effects.When

you visit galleries, museums or exhibits, write downthe names of artists and photographers.

Most creative people begin looking for ideas

once they get an assignment. But by compilingthese little books, youll be having ideas well inadvance. Youll be way ahead of everyone else.

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HAVE THE IDEA BEFORE YOU NEED IT.


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De ne the problem in your head, as best you can,then just chew on it for a few days. Never let it rest.Keep it perking at some low level of your mind.Keep a pad and a pen in your pocket.

Your brain is the ultimate tool. You carry iteverywhere. You can use it while you do other

things. You can use it when you may not even beaware youre using it. But rst, you have to makeit understand the problem you want it to solve.

Inform your brain what you expect of it, thengive it a few days to deliver.

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PERK THE NOTION.


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If youre not sure about an idea, noodle it outand put it away. Then return to it the next morning.I dont know what happens overnight, but moregood ideas become dumb ones as a result of darkness. Go away and look at it fresh tomorrow.

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THE OVER NIGHT TEST.


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Everybody wants to have their idea validated by someone else. But be careful about wagging it allaround the ofce in search of approval. Pick acouple of people whose opinions you trust andshow it to them.Theyll give you a read on it, andmay have comments that make it better.

If your trusted advisors tell you the idea stinks,then be willing to walk away from it. If youre not,then dont go looking for outside opinions.Youhave to be willing to hear the bad news as well asthe good.

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GET A SECOND OPINION.


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Trying to read the creative directors mind may bethe thing thats holding you back. The truth may be that your fearless leader has nothing on his mind,which is why he hauled you in to help solve theproblem. Do what you think is right, then presentit to him. The discussion around your efforts may

help focus the search.Most creative directors are just like clients:

they know it when they see it. Show him or hersome options. Trying to use ESP can paralyze

your thinking. Follow the input, and your heart,and go make the ads you think are right.

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STOP MIND READING.


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Dont abandon handwriting. For emotional subjects,or journals, or travelogues, handwriting bringssomething special to your words. Its just different.Try it and youll see what I mean.The connectionbetween your hand and the page via a tiny strandof ink imparts something that is somehow closer

to your heart.

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TRY YOUR HAND.


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When the muses are singing to you,when the ideasare pulling you along, dont get up and go shoothoops. Dont go play eight ball on that pool tableset up for creative people to waste their time on.Dont go out and fog up your head with a couple of beers. Sit down and crank it out.The moment has

arrived. You have the feeling. Youre on a roll. Youre chasing the thing. Do it!

Keep a pad by your bed.The muses often strikeat that gray time after you lie down and before

you go to sleep.With the sunrise, your big idea willbe history if you dont wake up and noodle it out

right then.

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IS THE IRON HOT?


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When all else fails, just start writing. Or designing.Push back against the idea of not having any ideas.

Write headline after headline after headline.Page upon page. Try writing the rst paragraph of body copy.You may nd a decent headline in theresomewhere.Try writing a page of theme lines.You

may come across words you didnt expect.If youre trying to write television, write a radio

spot instead. Itll give you sixty seconds, twice aslong to spell out your proposition.

By beginning the process of writing, youwill discover ideas along the way. Dont confuse

movement with action.Theyre not the same things.But sometimes, in lieu of action, making a littlemovement is the next best thing.

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JUST DO SOMETHING.


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If youre working with a partner and nothing ishappening, split up and work independently,returning at a specic time. (Its important to havea deadline.)

When you get back together, be willing to adopt your partners ideas as your own. Just because the

big idea didnt y out of your own head, or didnthappen while you were both in the room, doesntmean its not a shared effort.

Thats what partnership is all about.

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THE PARTNER THING.


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You sit down and make a stack of ads and whatdo you have? A stack of ads. What you need, my friend, is a wall, a pad of paper, a big marker andsome white tape.

Post each of your theme lines horizontally across the wall.Then, beneath each theme line, tape

up your executions.You can tape scripts to the wall,or just notions, or anything that eshes out eachdifferent direction. Thiswall of shame becomesa diagram, an organizational chart. It will help youbuild momentum because it physically shows what

you have in the bank. That gives you condence.

It also lets you rearrange bits. It lets youcompare. And it helps you see, and trash, yourworst ideas.

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BUILD THE WALL OF SHAME.


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Do you understand the level of quality youreexpected to create? If youre the boss, do yourpeople get it? Does everyone know the kinds of ideas theyre supposed to be having? This iswhere awards books can help. Theyre a physicalrendering of what is considered to be pretty good

work. Theyre fun to look at. Theyre a reminderof whats possible.

Awards books can give you a jump start. Butdont spend all day reading them. The idea isntreally in there. Its inside you.

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WHATS THE BAR HEIGHT?


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When you dont have an idea, maybe you shouldask around and see if anybody else has one. Butdont spend all day jawing with other creativepeople. Start with the broadcast producers.They have all sorts of interesting notions about voices,talent and music. Oddly, producers get included in

the creative process all too seldom. Theyre usually loaded with ideas.

Do the same with art buyers.They may know a photographer or illustrator with a great idea andno place to sell it. Same with the media people.Same with planners or research people.

Sometimes, the idea has already been had.Your job is simply to nd it and present it.

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MAYBE THE IDEAS ALREADY BEEN HAD.


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Making a great ad can seem overwhelming. Pretty soon, youre paralyzed.

So make a bad ad.Then, make better ones. Youll shift the problem from How can I have agreat idea? to How can I make this miserable adbetter? Go make the ad youd make if it was your

business, your product.Sell something. Imagine youre standing on

a used car lot, banging on the hood of a car. Now make an ad like that and see where it leads you.

Just dont stop with that ad.

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M A K E A B A D AD , T H E N MA K E I T B ET T E R .


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Stop trying to create a brand. Instead, simply revealan appropriate portion of the brand. The brandalready exists. Its already at work in the minds andhearts of people. Maybe theyve just overlookedan aspect of it.

Unless its a new product,dont go off and create

anything. Just illuminate a corner of the brand thathas been in the dark. Then your message will feelappropriate, like it comes from the brand.

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D O N T C R E AT E , U N C OV E R .


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When youre trying to de ne a company, dont justlook at the physical, obvious products they make.Look at the effect those products or services haveon the people who use them.

GE doesnt just make lightbulbs.They bringgood things to life.

IBM doesnt just make computers and software.They offer solutions.

Kodak doesnt just make lm.They help peopleshare their lives.

What does the company really do in the world?What comes of their efforts? What changes as

a result? Where would we be without them?Sometimes, its not what a company does. Itswhat the companys products mean to other people.

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WHAT BUSINESS ARE THEY REALLY IN?


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Dening your audience will tell you their habitsand customs. Youll know what currency to use tocommunicate with them.The media people can tell

you the magazines, Web sites or television showsthey consume. Youll have a context to work within.

If your target has been dened as adults,

25 54, you should push back. You wont be ableto communicate clearly with your audience, and

your client wo nt be able to judge your work,because he doesnt know his target.Worse, if youreplanning to test the work, the researcher willprobably designate a narrow niche of people for

the focus groups. If you havent made advertisingthat speaks to them, your work will bomb.

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WHOS THE TARGET?


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The most important part of any televisionadvertisement is its conclusion, the last ve seconds.Thats the part that resolves, explains, summarizesor excuses the preceding twenty-ve seconds.

If youre not clear about the last ve seconds, youre not clear about anything, because thats

where your premise gets pounded home.Try to write the last ve seconds rst. If you

cant, you dont need to write an ad, you need todevelop a premise for an ad.

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SOLVE THE LAST FIVE SECONDS.


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Many years ago,when I was a struggling copywriter desperate for any kind of proof that I wasnt a completely talentlessschmuck, I went to an awards show in San Francisco.

An ad I had written was a nalist in the show, and this wasmy chance to ofcially be declared an award-winningcopywriter.

I cant for the life of me recall whether I won an award or got a certicate or what. In fact, the only thing I rememberis a very clever commercial for a San Francisco newspaper.

It was a series of vignettes of various people asking for moresports coverage, more business coverage, whatever, cutagainst recurring scenes of publisher Will Hearst holding hischin, looking at the paper, while muttering to himself,There

has to be something else we can do to make this paper great. Anyway, this goes on for 25 seconds and nally Hearst takeshis hand away from his chin, revealing it to be completelysmudged with newspaper ink. Followed by a title that saysIntroducing non-rub ink.

It was a clever and witty piece of storytelling that made amundane benet seem utterly bright and charming. I haventseen the spot in 10 years, but to this day its one of those thingswhere I think, I wish I had done that.

So not long ago, I was talking with David Fowler and hetells me about a spot he did while he was at Goodby in theirearly years and, lo and behold, it was the non-rub ink spot.

Now, David Fowler is a superb copywriter. A great copywriter.

He is most famous for giving Motel 6 a soul.

AFTERWORD


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This is no small achievement since there are a dozen otherlodging chains made of the same cinder blocks and paint.

And it is all the more impressive since he did it through themuch-maligned medium of radio.

What makes David so good is that he can take seeminglydull and ordinary things and nd style, soul, dignity, spirit

and purpose buried inside them. Whether its non-rubink or investment bankers or what have youhe takesthe sorts of things that other copywriters turn up theirnoses at and turns them into something honest, humanand meaningful.

This is a rare skill.

It is, after all, no big deal to make a great Michael Jordan

commercial you start with something great and merelyallow that greatness to shine through. But can you makedental oss interesting?

Fowler could.

And now, instead of hoarding his secrets, he is sharing them with you. To help you through the dark times when youare wondering whether you are a talentless schmuck. Or

merely stuck. I wish Id had this advice. It would have saved me somesleepless nights.

Chris WallCo-Creative Head, Ogilvy & Mather New York


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5.6.03

David Fowler 2003

Your comments are welcome: [email protected] learn more about Ogilvy, please visit us at www.Ogilvy.com


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