No wonder my brain hurts.

I usually start by asking: Is the brief right? Because it almost always isn’t. Most creative briefs cannot lead to good advertising unless they are developed with input from creatives—or at least a planner with some creative bones (a British accent is helpful). A fresh brief will lead to fresh ideas. As long as you have enough time to do it right. 

It’s like the old story about cows that are let out of a barn. The ones who stop at the first grass they come across end up chewing well-trod bits of weeds and muddy tufts. The more adventurous cows who make it past the first (or second) pastures find the good, deep, tasty stuff. Just don’t go too far and become roadkill.

Of course, obstacles are everywhere. No budget. Weak coffee. A creative partner who’s been beaten down. Focus groups. The client’s wife. They all form a virtually impenetrable wall separating you from success. And then there’s the problem that Crispin already did whatever you’re thinking of doing.

The painful reality is that this business is not just about finding the Big Idea. It’s just as important to sell the Big Idea. So unless you have the right attitude, advertising will kill you. For every 100 ideas you have, it’s just a fact of life that 99 of your babies will die. You have to be completely OK with rejection from your partner, the creative director, the account team, and the client. And if somehow your idea gets produced? Well, congratulations. Now you can be rejected by the consumer.

The bottom line: be Teflon. Don’t let failure stick—smile and roll with it. Because when it comes to getting to the Big Idea, if you don’t enjoy the journey, you’ll never make it to the destination.  

I’m not a writer. Although I can probably write my way out of a paper bag, I’m more comfortable as the Picture & Font Guy. So I’ll team up with anyone, or anything. I swear, me and a potted plant—we’ll come up with some great stuff. I think conceptually. To me it doesn’t matter if the writer comes up with the visual, or the art director comes up with the headline—if the ad is better for it, great. 

You see a lot of portfolios these days without any copy at all. I’ve always liked long copy campaigns. It shows that you can craft an ad. Ad newbies all have these double page spread ads in their books with no copy. Just a logo. In miniature. As if it would ever appear that way in ‘real’ life. Where’s the disclaimer? The legal line? The coupon? The multiple subheads and offers? It’s a real test of an art director to fit it all in an ad. And hey, I’ve got lots of examples of that, if you’re interested.

You may notice that most of my work is devoid of the usual clutter. I like to think I’m pretty good at editing, getting to the kernel of truth in an ad. But I’m not an editor. Or a writer. Just to be clear.

A former creative director who hired me once said: “We don’t do the kind of work that’s in your book.”

Then he added, “But we’d like to.”

Every agency I freelanced for called me back in again. Here are some of the folks I’ve had the pleasure of working with:

Rob Bagot, Josh Denberg, Paul Hirsch and Brad Cohn / McCann Erickson
Jon Soto and Jae Goodman / Publicis & Hal Riney
Greg Bell and Paul Venables / VB&P
Paul Curtin / Eleven
PJ Pereira / AKQA
Bruce Campbell / Clear Ink
Robin Raj / HWY1
Jim Lesser / BBDO