I've been meaning to write this post for a week. But it's that time of year... 26 days until our final critique and seven campaigns to finish (including one we haven't started) plus two other class projects.
Anyway, meeting Craig Allen (of Wieden+Kennedy) was awesome, guys! We were all kind of nervous to meet him but he was really unassuming and laid back and (obviously) funny. Plus, he broke the ice by playing his enviably hilarious reel, which included the Old Spice stuff and gems like:
And...
This was a more casual setting than when Rich Silverstein spoke at UT, so I didn't take a ton of notes. But, a few bits of advice for students that stuck out:
Ad folks work a ton of hours, even more so if you're in NYC. (Well known fact, but good to remember.)
Don't put TV in your book. No one wants to read storyboards, and whatever you actually shoot will generally look crappy when compared to actual commercials with giant budgets and professional producers. You'll learn TV on the job, so don't sweat it now.
Work with people who make you better.
Seek out not only the agencies you want to work for but also the creatives you'd like to work with. Sometimes there's someone doing great work at an agency you might not otherwise be into.
Always ask for as much work as you can handle. Kick ass on whatever you're assigned, even if it's a crappy account. Pitch great ideas for the accounts you wish you were working on.
If you haven't seen it, here's a cool video about Craig and his partner's creative process. (Craig is on the right.)
Rich Silverstein — I took a camera pic today but it was fuzzy.
Wow, guys. I’d been planning to jump back into the blogging thing next week. But, when I heard that Rich Silverstein of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners was going to speak on campus, I knew I had to post.
His talk totally invigorated me — just what I needed mid-semester. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners does amazing work, and we even got to see a few yet-to-be-aired commercials. (Let’s just say there’s some awesome stuff in the pipeline.)
He was speaking to the Technology Marketing and Advertising class (which the professor graciously allowed other students to crash), but the conversation wasn’t super tech heavy. Rich said a few times that he didn’t think about technology except as a tool to further storytelling.
Connecting people and telling stories are the two things that tie together all the careers I’ve wanted or had (acting, journalism, advertising), so it was really cool to hear him mention those ideas over and over. Other frequently repeated themes included honesty and simplicity.
“Find a way to make something brutally simple that’s brilliant,” he said.
The quotes
He was highly quotable, and I’m sure you’d rather read his words than mine, so here are a few snippets:
“Do not talk down to consumers… Everyone is smarter than you think they are.”
“No one’s going to give you a free ticket in advertising. You’ve just got to work your brains out.”
“Sometimes a cool product is killed by advertising. You have to be honest and truthful.”
“Put a dog in your commercial, put a baby in your commercial, and you win.” ;)
“It’s not easy to sell any of this to clients.”
“Passion is very important… You’re lucky — you’ll be in an industry that has a lot of energy.”
“Everything is a mistake waiting to happen. Nothing is perfect. You just have to go with it.”
“Middle management destroys creativity.”
More advice
For creative directors and other managers:
“Be fair, honest and direct… A good creative director is the boy who sees that the emperor is naked."
For creative job applicants:
“If you’re not a student of pop culture, you shouldn’t be in advertising.”
Your book is what matters, and it should show thinking plus craft.
He and Jeff Goodby look for books with one great thing that makes them jealous.
You have to have a point of view.
And for copywriters “Writing is a lost art… Try to string some words together.”
When asked about it, he cautioned against filling your book with gorilla work: “Clients love it and never buy it.”
And, finally, the work
Got Milk? — Aaron Burr (He rightfully called the milk mustaches campaign a bastardization of this idea.)
NBA Finals — There Can Only Be One
Comcast High Speed Data with Powerboost — Rabbit
Doritos Hotel 626
Sprint Now Network
Dickies Can't embed the video, but you can check out these ads at: http://874.dickies.com
It's Sunday, and we could all use some inspiration before we go back to work or school or whatever it is we do on the days when having a Bloody Mary with brunch is frowned upon.
I love a great headline—and even more so if it makes me smirk—so I had to share this new campaign for Van Gogh Blue vodka by Engauge in Columbus, Ohio. It's playful, cheeky, and speaks to women without patronizing us. Love it. Wish I wrote it.
I first noticed this ad while flipping through a friend's copy of Chicago magazine. (I live in Austin, but Chicago is on my short list of post-grad-school destinations).
I really like how it's saucy without being vulgar.
When I searched online to find out who did the campaign, I found a New York Times article about it and an ad I like even more than the first.
Seriously, I may have to buy this vodka just to support the ads.
Ad Week critic Barbara Lippert hates this Nike ad from Wieden + Kennedy. She calls it "smug, defensive," "holier-than-thou," and "off-putting at best."
I kinda love it. I think the tone is perfect for the brand. "This shoe works if you do." is a natural extension of "Just do it." It's direct and determined.
And, really, those "toning" shoes she's so sensitive about? Maybe she wears them because they "feel good," but a lot of folks wear them hoping to get a workout running errands. If Nike can't poke fun at that, what can it poke fun of?
The body copy reads:
The Nike Trainer One is not a magical toning shoe. It's a training shoe. Its DiamondFLX technology activates your muscles to work how they're supposed to, giving you faster results from all those squats, lunges and classes that you do. So you get fit faster.
Like every writer I know, I heart Scrabble. And, I generally love ads for Scrabble as there have been quite of few great ones in recent years. These from Ogilvy in Mumbai made me grin this morning.
It's Sunday, and we could all use some inspiration before we go back to work or school or whatever it is we do on the days when having a Bloody Mary with brunch is frowned upon.
I wish there were one of these in every airport. But, alas, only travelers at Denver International Airport will benefit from TDA Advertising & Design’s rotating ad for FirstBank.
It’s part of their “We're here to help” campaign, and I love its simple humor almost as much as I love it when kids sleep on flights.
It can be so hard to find good, copy-driven print campaigns. Especially when you look globally, so much advertising is visually anchored. But sometimes nothing but words will do.
This headline is everything it should be — provocative, compelling, risky, and to the point. Love it.
Advertising Agency: AMV BBDO, London, UK Creative Directors: Mike Hannett, Dave Buchanan Art Director: Pete Davies Copywriter: Adam Rimmer Designer: Neil Craddock
It's Sunday, and we could all use some inspiration before we go back to work or school or whatever it is we do on the days when having a Bloody Mary with brunch is frowned upon.
These have probably been lauded on countless other blogs and in the annuals, but they're just so damn good that I want to take another look at McGarrah Jessee's work for Shiner Beers.
The idea fits the brand perfectly. The copy is smart and not trying too hard, and it makes me feel all proud to have Shiner as my home state beer. (Is it weird that one of my early ad memories is a Shiner commercial with a cute old lady talking about the little brewery from Shiner, Texas?)
Just heard a cool NPR interview with Wieden+Kennedy's Iain Tait about the latest Old Spice awesomeness. What a fun project. I love the idea of speed writing these personalized response videos and shooting them right away.
