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Creativity. The value of f#####g around.

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.” Carl Jung Years ago, I worked with a creative who management didn’t like. They always thought he was playing around rather than working. He had a couple of side hustles. He always played pranks. He was never in hisContinue reading “Creativity. The value of f#####g around.”

Creativity. The Banshees of Ed Sheeran.

“Is it really possible to tell someone else what one feels?” Leo Tolstoy When I was about 9 years old I lived on the island of Mauritius for a bit. I lived in a large hotel because my dad was the manager. I could pretty much go anywhere in the hotel, it was like aContinue reading “Creativity. The Banshees of Ed Sheeran.”

Advertising. The thing that is more important than a hundred answers.

“When things go wrong, don’t go with them.”Elvis Presley What is the most important thing in the world?He tangata, he tangata, he tangataIt is the people, it is the people, it is the peopleMaori proverb Recently, I was asked to be a coach by the LIA Awards. It got me thinking about my own careerContinue reading “Advertising. The thing that is more important than a hundred answers.”

Creativity. The glitch is not the matrix.

“Every act of creation is, first of all, an act of destruction.” Pablo Picasso There is a pendulum that creates stories. And stories move the pendulum. First the pendulum. It swings between two points. From what is, to what could be. And then we start again. And why does it swing? It swings when everythingContinue reading “Creativity. The glitch is not the matrix.”

For the creatives. I asked A.I what’s wrong with A.I.

“The sad thing about artificial intelligence is that it lacks artifice and therefore intelligence.” Jean Baudrillard “Is artificial intelligence less than our intelligence?” Spike Jonze It’s December so I am feeling a bit lazy. So, instead of writing a blog I asked ChatGPT to do it for me. ChatGPT is a prototype artificial intelligence chatbotContinue reading “For the creatives. I asked A.I what’s wrong with A.I.”

Maybe hope is a strategy.

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’.” Alfred Lord Tennyson A love letter to the creatives. I will tell you a secret. Sometimes, I walk into bookshops hoping to find something I am not looking for. I will come back to that in a minute. But first,Continue reading “Maybe hope is a strategy.”

Dan Wieden and The Imitation Game.

You never think you will meet your heroes. And when you are a creative at the bottom of Africa far from everywhere, you really don’t think you will meet your heroes. But then you do. You meet one of those people that makes you believe. One of those special humans who does work that makesContinue reading “Dan Wieden and The Imitation Game.”

Creativity. To hit the target, you have to go too far.

“Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativity.” Pablo Picasso There is nothing quite like a drag queen singing a Britney Spears number within a false eyelash of your face to make you think very deeply about life. It has been a beautiful blur. It was The Monkeys Aotearoa 1stContinue reading “Creativity. To hit the target, you have to go too far.”

It’s not the stars. It’s the spaces between them.

Cool Hand Luke: “I can eat fifty eggs.”Dragline: “Nobody can eat fifty eggs.” From the film Cool Hand Luke In 1992, Cannes only had two categories. Film and print. Today, Cannes has over 30 categories. In the 30 years between 1992 and today there has been a theme that pops up every year. Advertising isContinue reading “It’s not the stars. It’s the spaces between them.”

Advertising. Fawlty Towers and the art of prediction.

“Most successful pundits are selected for being opinionated, because it’s interesting, and the penalties for incorrect predictions are negligible. You can make predictions, and a year later people won’t remember them.” Daniel Kahneman The legendary comedian John Cleese is being interviewed on the radio. He is explaining how arguably the most successful television series, FawltyContinue reading “Advertising. Fawlty Towers and the art of prediction.”