The walk of doom. Ahead, The Citidal of The Executive Creative Director. In my hand, an idea. A freshly minted Big Idea for a Big Brand.
I’m young. I’m naive. I’m ready to sell my soul to see my ad on Monday Night Footbal.
I’ve always thought of a new idea as like the flame of a candle. And as you walk it through the process of getting it bought and sold and published, the flame runs the gauntlet of people trying to blow it out.
Did I get my ad on TV? Yeah, I did, but what I learned toiling in the dungeons of Mad Ave was a lot more valuable than how to write thirty seconds of copy.
Nurturing an idea from conception to birth takes a strong will and a fierce focus. It’s the same if it’s a song, a novel, a show, or an ad.
Start with a complete understanding of your idea. Then fight all attempts to water it down and package it into neat little pre-determined boxes.
Ideas turn to mush fast. That can mean your idea wasn’t so great to begin with. But all creatives must understand what can kills ideas faster than anything is process.
Learning how to negotiate your ideas from that beautiful aha, to hey, look what we made, is where great creative careers begin.
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