Tag Archives: Creativity

The last word in show business is business. Mae West. Kim Kardashian is worth 65 million dollars. She also gets payed 10 000 dollars per tweet from various brands around the world to say something nice in less than 140 characters about their brands. And there are many that laugh at her. They say sheContinue reading “This message brought to you by Kim Kardashian’s arse.”

Many years ago, I was in Cannes and I was introduced to a very enthusiastic young man. He reminded me of somebody who had been sent to a shopping mall to sell books for a cult he had recently joined. I asked him what he did and he said without a hint of irony thatContinue reading “Just because you are a great Blacksmith it doesn’t mean you should make cheese.”

“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.” Muhammad Ali As a boy I was obsessed with Muhammad Ali’s fights. I watched just about every single one. Frazier, Norton and Foreman were his greatest fights. It is interesting to note that they all happened when his youthful talent had begun to wane. In hisContinue reading “Muhammad Ali and the Talent Code.”

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” J.M Barrie, Peter Pan If you are not fond of romance and unsubstantiated belief you should probably stop reading now. This week I have started to notice a wave of articles on how people in advertising areContinue reading “The romance and unhappiness of advertising.”

Cannes is a magnificent car crash of creativity. This is my tenth visit and every time that car crash gets a little bigger and a little more spectacular. I was lucky enough to be invited to judge this year. So, for the first few days I got to look at 5500 entries. That’s over 2500Continue reading “Remembering the gift not the wrapping paper.”

Illustration courtesy Minky Stapleton With the passing of David Abbott, arguably the greatest copywriter ever, there have been many fitting and glowing tributes. While I was reading them I kept asking myself the same question. If we, as an industry, revere what David Abbott believed in, why do we keep promoting and creating processes thatContinue reading “David Abbott versus Goliath”

Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can! F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Ray Davies, the weathered, lead singer of the seminal 60’s band The Kinks is on television. He is playing his music and telling stories the way he has done a thousand times. And then he takes questions from the audience. AContinue reading “The Kinks. Rockey Street. And the green light at the end of the dock.”

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. Vincent Van Gogh The Wisdom of Insecurity is a book by Alan Watts I read when I was just starting out in advertising. The simple message is that certainty is an illusion and change is constant. So,Continue reading “The Wisdom of Insecurity.”

Illustration Courtesy Minky Stapleton This beautiful description comes from a speech Leo Burnett did many years ago. He spoke about those lonely people that work into the night pushing themselves. When everybody else has left, they stay.Their solitary, unobserved greatness is based on satisfying themselves before they satisfy anybody else. They are advertising’s invisible heroes.Continue reading “For the lonely men and women.”