Looking for a job in advertising? Looking to be better in advertising? Here’s some advice…

Rosser, is that you?

I have been fortunate enough in my career to have been surrounded by some really smart, passionate and just plain great ad people — creative and account alike. I have taken away from each of them what I feel has been some of the most solid advice on getting, staying and being successful in the ad business. While I’d like to take the credit for these bits of knowledge, I can not, but I can share them with you. Here are a few of my favorites:

On Ad Schools:
• Anyone can take painting lessons and learn to paint. Lessons don’t put you in the company of Picasso, Rembrandt, or Guaguin, talent does.

On Creativity:
• Making effective/relevant marketing communications is not the same as making ads. Any jerk can make an ad the phone book is full of them.
• The greatest pieces of communications have an idea first and an execution second.
• Good is the enemy of great.
• Don’t ever settle for a first idea. Likewise don’t allow deadlines, account people, or creative directors to force you to settle either.
• If it can work on a cocktail napkin it will work in anywhere.
• Seek the information out yourself that will make your work better, don’t wait for it to show up. It never does.
• Every assignment is an opportunity to do great work.
• Design by committee is, well, watch this video here
• Great concepts are never created by scrolling the font menu
• David Herzbrun (don’t know the name? You should.) was once asked “What is the greatest ad you have ever written?” To which he replied “I’m not sure because it hasn’t come out of my typewriter yet.” Don’t dwell on what you may have done in the past but what you plan to achieve in the future.
• Don’t forget to tell clients, “Yes it’s now technologically possible to assemble and email a concept in less than an hour, but the human brain’s timeline for brilliant ideas hasn’t changed.” (Thanks Sally)
• There are 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week. Seldom is great work created between the hours of 9 and 5.
• Break the rules; the memorable never emerged from a formula.

On Agencies:
• Beware of any agency run by people who have never been in advertising, trust me.
• If when showing your book to a prospective shop the interviewer says “We would love to be doing work like this.” Leave as fast as you can, even if it means you have to run away without your work in hand. Portfolios can be easily replace, your dignity can not. (Thanks Luke)
• Many agencies say they want “Passionate, creatively driven people, capable of doing amazing work for their clients.” Only to peg you as “Not being a team player” if you push the rest of the agency to do the same.
• Avoid drinking the agency Kool-Aid. Keep in mind what happened at Jonestown.
• Fight for the work if you truly believe in it. As Leo once said: Continually reach for the stars. Although you may never end up grabbing one, you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.
• Change always comes from the top and seldom does it ever come. If I’ve learned anything it’s that if your agency, it’s clients and or staff suck, leave. Because usually it’s all those types of agencies know how to do.

On Account People:
• 95% of all account folks are terrible. This is typically because they don’t know anything about what the are supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, you don’t need any skill set beyond knowing a little Word® or being able to use a cell phone to be an account person. In most cases, spines are also optional.
• 95% of them will try to pass off vague assumptions, best guesses, and incomprehensible client driven drivel and propaganda as “Strategic Insight” This is usually dressed in a predictable cut and paste job from some previous ineffective boilerplate document that masks as a “Creative Brief” Call them on it, make them answer the tough questions because it’s their job. If they don’t know how, they should learn or be fired.
• 1 out of ever 200 may be able to tell you who Rosser Reeves was or that J Walter Thompson was an actual guy.
• 95% of all account people will leave the creatives to figure out the strategy then back into it rather than actually do their job. If the job is successful they will try to insert themselves some how into it or conversely, distance themselves from the train wreck they ensured would happen.

On Clients:
• There are good ones and bad ones, if you have bad ones it is only because your agency chooses to have them.
• No client buys work without being sold on it. Learn to sell your work and sell it well. In many cases your helping them by giving them the tools to sell it to their bosses. Arm them well.
• Want your clients respect? Dive head first into their business. Offer them solutions before they need them.
• If your client is making a mistake never be afraid to come back to your client with a better solution to their problem. No one ever got fired for presenting a better solution.
• Any client that is abusive or consistently treats you with disrespect is a bad client and should be fired on the spot. To do otherwise will only demonstrate that you are a whore with zero respect for yourself, your work and your agency. Money will never buy back the respect and moral of your people.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 5:36 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.