Ugh.

Can we banish that kind of thinking from the ad industry?

Yup. We have deadlines. Budgets. Places to be. Ads to make. Dogs to pat.

But in our hurry to close the deal, there’s a temptation to try to anticipate what will most likely sell.

What will the client buy from me?

The problem is we end up looking for the answer to a question that hasn’t been asked.

The brief was not, “show me something I’ll approve.” If it was, it should be rewritten.

Don’t ask what the market wants. Or what it’ll buy. Or who else has already done most of the work to get there.

Assess your ambition. (How can I be great here? What does that look like?) Bring your natural insights and abilities. (Your gift for seeing and showing the world like only you can.) Then do the hard work you need to do to find the best solution to the client’s problem.

Approval is the baseline. A given. The cost of entry.

Clients demand only that we pass. Get to good enough. It’s up to us to close the gap between that and the great work that’s right there waiting for us to pluck it from the ether.

Jamie King is an Art Director at Grip Limited in Toronto.

1) True or false: Clients too often get hung up on the size of their logo?
True.
I’ve never had anyone ask me if I remember an ad because the logo in it was huge. Have you?

2) Without revealing its name, what is your favourite thing about the best campaign you’ve ever worked on?
Just seeing the idea make it through the whole process still intact. It’s rare.

3) What qualities do you look for in the copywriters you like to work with?
They need to be good, down to earth people. Curious = great, passion = also great. Egos need not apply.

4) Thinking about the entire arc of campaign creation, what are your favourite and least favourite parts of the process?
The brief is always my favorite part, but that new-brief-feeling is usually crushed shortly after by the project’s timeline.

5) What’s the difference between a good idea and a bad idea?
Insight.

6) How important is it for an Art Director to be on top of the latest technology trends?
Very. Now more than ever we’re selling ideas to clients with executions that lean heavily on those technology trends. We can’t expect a client to buy into it if we don’t know what it is we’re selling.

7) How do you balance the desire to share Grip’s latest digital campaigns in your social networks, while maintaining meaningful connections with your friends?
I don’t share the campaigns, they share themselves when I interact with them. It just so happens I do that a lot.

8) What’s a common, avoidable mistake you see being made by ad agencies in general?
Not putting ideas in front of a client because they are out of budget. If the idea is that great the agency should get behind it any way they can. Even if that means over-investing to get the right solution in market.

9) What’s one thing you learned at the University of New Brunswick that still helps you every day at work?
If you are looking for answers, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

10) What are you reading these days and why?
My twitter feed. It’s current.

11) True or false: Andy Warhol was a genius?
True.
He’s still very influential today.

Today, Luke Sullivan weighs in. He’s Group Creative Director of GSD&M Advertising in Austin, Texas and author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: A guide to creating great ads.

False. But a good question. It’s this very question I put in chapter 1 of my book. In fact, it’s why I gave it the title I did. Because the Whipple campaign with the stupid grocer worked really well. It knocked Scott tissue out of #1. But as an idea, it sucked. Results do not trump sucking. In Hey Whipple, I wrote it this way (note in particular the smart quotation at the end from British Creative Director, Norman Berry):

With 504 different Charmin toilet tissue commercials airing from 1964 through 1990, Procter & Gamble certainly “irritated customers with repetitious commercials.” And it indeed “worked like magic.” P&G knew what they were doing.

Yet I lie awake some nights staring at the ceiling, troubled by Whipple. What vexes me so about this old grocer? This is the question that led me to write this book.

What troubles me about Whipple is that he isn’t good. As an idea, Whipple isn’t good.

He may have been an effective salesman. (Billions of rolls.) He may have been a strong brand image. (He knocked Scott tissues out of the #1 spot.) But it all comes down to this: if I had created Mr. Whipple, I don’t think I could tell my son with a straight face what I did at the office. “Well, son, you see, Whipple tells the lady shoppers not to squeeze the Charmin but then, then he squeezes it himself. . . Hey, wait, come back.”

As an idea, Whipple isn’t good.

To those who defend the campaign based on sales I ask, would you also spit on the table to get my attention? It would work, but would you? An eloquent gentleman named Norman Berry, a British creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, put it this way:

I’m appalled by those who [judge] advertising exclusively on the basis of sales. That isn’t enough. Of course, advertising must sell. By any definition it is lousy advertising if it doesn’t. But if sales are achieved with work which is in bad taste or is intellectual garbage, it shouldn’t be applauded no matter how much it sells. Offensive, dull, abrasive, stupid advertising is bad for the entire industry and bad for business as a whole. It is why the public perception of advertising is going down in this country.

2) Do you have any overarching theories that help you navigate agency politics?
Yes. Keep your eye on the ball, not on the players.

3) What’s your leadership style?
My answer to your question will be this as-yet-unposted entry for my Hey Whipple blog. Title is tentatively, “Almost All Great CDs Are Also Great People.”

Recently I posted an article about brutal creative directors. And why you should get your book out as fast as you can. Now, if I may, a few words on what I think makes a good creative director.

I once read that a coach’s main job is to love his players. I think the same holds true for creative directors. Advertising is so hard. There is so much rejection, so much brutality, so many late nights. To be able to motivate people in such a business, you have to love them and they have to know it. Not everyone feels this way. A famous CD once confided to me, “You need to have people fear you.” I disagree. Life is short and this is just advertising, people. If this means I’ll always produce less stellar work than a much-feared-CD, I’m okay with that. We all have our priorities. Those are mine.

Good creative directors need to get to know their people. I’ve heard of CDs who dig a moat around their office and meet only with the senior creatives; never with anyone lower down the food chain. This, too, I think is probably the wrong way to go about it. You need to know and love the people who are manning your trenches. You need to know their names, you need to know what they’re working on, you need to know when they do something great so you can lean into their offices and say, “Dude, that was great.” Soldiers do not charge machine-gun nests for generals they do not love.

Good CDs not only improve your work, they improve you. Someone once told me that a great creative director is a “career accelerator.” These are bosses who leave your career in better shape than they found it. That requires someone who is not completely wrapped up in either themselves or the pressures of doing good work. They manage to keep any eye on the lives and the souls of the people who are working for them.

This takes me to a concept I’ve heard described as the “servant leader.” Writer James Kouzes wrote that such leaders “do not place themselves at the center; they place others there. They do not seek the attention of people; they give it to others. They do not focus on satisfying their own aims and desires [but on] the needs and interests of their people. They know that serving others is the most rewarding of all leadership tasks.”

Wow. Sounds a little altruistic put like that, but then I think of a guy like Mike Hughes at The Martin Agency and I realize, hey, he’s right. Here’s a guy who has been quietly building one of the best agencies anywhere and doing by serving his people, serving his agency, doing it without an ego, and without beating on or intimidating the folks who work there.

Perhaps another day we can talk about all the other things it takes to be a good creative director, one of which of course is being a good creative. But for my money the most important thing is being a good person – Honest. Level-headed. Friendly. Approachable. And humble.

Footnote: There’s a great article on what it takes to be a good creative director posted by the Denver Egoist which you’ll find here.

4) How much emphasis should an emerging creative put on post-selling their work through case studies and award shows?
Your question about award shows is an old one, oft answered by smarter people than I. But that bit about case histories, that is interesting.

When I was an ad brat, all that I was able to collect for my portfolio were ads and TV spots, usually one-offs, additions to someone else’s campaign. Nowadays it seems even young people are getting a chance to create entire campaigns. Often the best way to present a campaign (if it’s really a great one with proven results) is in the form of a case history. It’s simply more impressive. I’ve seen them used in online portfolios to great effect. But make sure you assemble the case history as creatively as you did the work. Done poorly it’ll just be a dry-ass PowerPoint presentation of strategy – creative – results.

5) Aside from yours, what’s your favourite book on advertising?
Let’s start off with some old classics: When Advertising Tried Harder, by Larry Dubrow; Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads? by David Abbott; and From Those Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Pearl Harbor, by Jerry Della Femina.

Then there’s Well-Written and Red, a hard-to-find and expensive book on the wonderful long-running campaign for The Economist.

e is a hilarious novel about an agency going down the tubes, written entirely in emails.

Then We Came To The End, by Joshua Ferris, is another book about an agency going down the tubes but this one’s an excellent piece of literature.

And no list about books for writers is complete without a tip of the hat to the Strunk & White’s classic The Elements of Style; required reading for anyone who holds a pencil anywhere near paper.

6) How do you know when it’s time to leave your current agency?
When you are always angry. That’s usually a good sign. Or if you are writing to Agency Spy about your agency. (Lordy, why on earth do people do that? If you hate it so bad there, leave already. It’s kinda like being at a bad restaurant and sneaking into the bathroom to make an angry post of the menu. Leave already.)

7) From a career perspective, what’s the importance of making intangible cultural contributions to an agency?
Pretty interesting question. To get ahead in this business, you need to contribute to the agency by doing great work. But you can also contribute by being a helpful and involved company person. That means caring about more than just the ads you’re workin’ on, but caring about the company itself. You can contribute by raising your hand to help with new business. Or by picking up the empty pop bottle by the front door. Or helping with the agency web site or agency blog. All things being equal creatively, management at your agency is gonna notice someone who’s involved over a cube dweller.

8) True or false: every brief contains an opportunity for greatness?
If you’re an optimist, the answer is “Yes.” If you’re a very busy optimist, it’s “Um, maybe. Can you come back in an hour?” If you’re a pessimist, it’s “No.” If you’re a busy pessimist, obviously it’s “Shut the fuck up.” I happen to be a busy optimist.

For more thoughts on this topic, check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series, or our four-part How to get a job in advertising series.

Good news for the Grip blog and its readers: We have a new editor.

Effective now-ish, the lovely and talented Leilah Ambrose will be taking over for me as Editor of Big Orange Slide. Leilah is a Senior Copywriter here at Grip. She has an infectious laugh, razor-sharp wit, and a pen that is mightier than any sword I know. We are in good hands. This transition also coincides with the blog’s first birthday (woot woot).

To mark the occasions, please allow me to ruminate on lessons learned in year one:

1) Start by failing.
This isn’t Grip’s first blog. You probably never heard of the first. It was called “Better Ideas.” And though it was originally slated to be an external blog, it never gained the momentum it needed to get off the ground. It did, however, provide a testing ground for what a Grip blog might be if it pulled up its socks. In the end, “Better Ideas” died to make way for an even better idea.

The lesson: Whether you’re throwing down bad ideas in a brainstorm or creating an ad campaign that’s doomed to mediocrity, failure is an important weigh station on the road to success.

2) Get some muscle.
Big ideas need support. Lots of it. For this blog, that support came in the form of one of Grip’s Partners, Dave Hamilton. He recognized the seed of a good idea. Got behind it. Assembled a team. And then gave it the muscle it needed to power through the rough patches of its inception.

The lesson: Teams are only as strong as their leader. Make sure you’ve got a good one.

3) Make it pretty.
There are more than 120 million blogs on the internet. And despite what the cynics say, a lot of them are good. So what makes this one extra-worth your time? For me, it’s the pictures. Grip’s Associate Partner, Creative, Colin Craig created its playful look and feel – and paired it with an arresting illustrative convention. Of this blog’s 197 posts to date, nearly all of them have been given their own wonderful little illustration. They add richness beyond measure.

The lesson: You can be as wicked smart as you want, but if you’re not presenting well you’ve already lost.

There are more lessons: Always write about StarCraft 2; Posts about Apple cause foaming at the mouth; Sometimes the people you least expect to be able to write are the best writers, and; Our industry is chock-full of witty, passionate, intelligent people.

For my part, I’m excited to see where this blog goes next. Upwards, no doubt. I’m also excited to have a bit more time in my schedule for writing on it. Stay tuned. And welcome Leilah.

The face of ads in downtown Buffalo as of last Friday. Better than a vinyl? Not sure. But 20 years in they still look cool.

How to get ahead in advertising: Part 2 – Q&A with Harvey Carroll
Grip’s President answers 11 questions on career, client presentations, schmoozing and success.

Photoshop til you drop – by Warren Haas
Are we retouching our brands into oblivion? Haas makes the case for a return to more naturalistic campaign photography.

The death of movie posters – by Jacoub Bondre
The always incendiary Jacoub Bondre on the prevalence of floating head movie posters.

Are we interacting with our interactive media? – by Jacob Karsemeyer
What can interactive advertising learn from toys and video games? Plenty, including the ability to hold users’ attentions over long periods of time.

Remember to smile – by Vlad Dascalu
Three rules for making the most of your advertising internship, with some surprising insights about who might be in the room at your next brainstorm.

Population: You – by Michelle Davey
What makes London, Ontario the de facto testing ground for new brands? Native Londoner Michelle Davey digs in to the data.

What separates advertising’s rock stars from its chair warmers? And what does it take to get to the next level? Over the past few weeks, we’ve been asking marketers who’ve made their mark their thoughts on getting ahead.

Today, Grip Partner, President Harvey Carroll weighs in:

False. Results are incredibly important and no one likes to win more than me. That being said, it is important to win the right way, with integrity and through consistent solid performance. You can take short-cuts to deliver results in the short-term but eventually, it will catch up with you.

2) What’s the secret to presenting well?
Remember that, if you are well prepared, no one in the audience knows your material as well as you do. Be confident in what you are presenting. Show passion and enthusiasm and you will be able to bring the audience along with you on the journey. It also helps to have a well constructed story to share with a beginning, middle and end, versus just a series of slides.

3) How important are “sales” tactics in how we present work to clients?
The best way to “sell” work to clients is to listen. Of course, you need to believe in the work you are presenting and display your enthusiasm for the ideas. However, if you really listened well in the briefing and what you are presenting answers what the client asked for in a creative and powerful way, the work should really do the heavy-lifting on the selling. A well-presented, off-strategy campaign should not make it through approval, even if sold with the trickiest of tactics.

4) What’s a common mistake agency folks make when dealing with clients?
Thinking that the agency and the client are on “different sides” and that one has to win in the creative presentation. Client and agency relationships can get strained but in the end you need to trust one another and truly believe that you both want the same thing: great work. If the agency goes into a meeting looking to “sell the client” something, versus presenting something that is a win for both sides, that is a mistake.

5) How important is schmoozing?
On my expense report, I like to call it networking or relationship building, and it does play a role in the business for sure. This is a relationship business and it is important to build trust, respect and confidence in your capabilities with your clients or prospective clients. Make sure though that when you are networking (or schmoozing) that you are listening as much as or more than you are selling. You can learn a lot about a client’s business outside of the boardroom if you really pay attention.

6) How much effort should someone put toward intangible cultural contributions to an agency?
One thing I have been amazed by during my time at Grip is how important the unique culture of the agency is and how much effort it takes to keep it as positive as it is. There are a number of people at Grip who take it upon themselves to really build and support the culture in a number of ways (the blog, project mentor – our learning and development program, engagement surveys etc.). All these people do this because they are passionate about it and they do it above and beyond their day-to-day jobs. These efforts have a huge impact on the agency. Everyone is busy but if you find time to make contributions like this to the culture of your agency, they will pay dividends for years to come.

7) If advertising is a young person’s game, any tips for managing a successful career into your golden years?
I would be interested to understand what you consider “your golden years.” I turn 40 this year and would like to think I am not quite there yet. I don’t think the issue is how old you are, it is how relevant and connected you are. If you allow yourself to fall behind on the current thinking, lose touch with the consumer, or to lose your passion for the business, then perhaps your time has passed. This is true in a number of businesses, not just advertising. I don’t for a second believe this has to happen. You don’t suddenly hit a certain age and become irrelevant in this business. Right???

8) What book should everyone read that’ll help them understand our industry’s big picture?
To be honest, I prefer to read more general business books than “advertising” books. I am fascinated by the art of business and by how successful companies are built and fascinated by the people who have been able to build them. I think everyone in business should read Good to Great by Jim Collins and Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan.

9) How can we be better mentors?
A big part about being an effective mentor is simply finding the time to start the process of helping someone and then to follow through with your commitment to invest your time in their success. I find mentoring, be it in an “official” capacity or on an ad hoc basis, very rewarding for both the mentor and mentee. Finding time to give back and help out, especially people looking to start out in the industry, is something I believe we should all feel compelled to do. Did someone help you get started in this business? Probably.

10) Any tips for “managing up”?
While I always believe the best approach is to let your work and results speak for themselves, there are times when you need to manage up. I don’t think this is a bad thing if it is done in a genuine way. Be clear on your expectations of your boss and make sure you are clear on their expectations of you. Candid conversations go a long way. Set objective goals together, work towards them, and always do what you say you will. It is the easiest thing in the world to do, deliver on what you commit to, but often, it just does not happen. Then you end up managing up in a negative way.

11) True or false: the more integrated you are, the better positioned you are for success?
True. While “integrated” is perhaps the most overused term in advertising, after viral (as in, “I want to make something viral for the web”), I do believe that agencies that are “integrated” are best suited to deliver on client’s needs. For me integration is the notion that you start with the big idea and then push it out and extend it into the most appropriate media. You push the idea in the direction that makes the most sense for the consumer, and therefore the client, not the direction that makes the most sense for the agency. Grip does this by having one P&L across the entire agency. If you are measuring or compensating people for keeping the client’s spend in their vertical (traditional versus digital, for example) then you are not ever really going to be “integrated.”

What separates advertising’s rock stars from its chair warmers? And what does it take to get to the next level? Over the next few weeks we’ll be asking marketers who’ve made their mark their thoughts on getting ahead.

Today, Grip Partner, Creative Jon Finkelstein weighs in:

1) True or false: results trump all reasonable shortcomings?
Hummm. I’d say Trulse. Because it sort of depends on how you come at it. Results are king, don’t get me wrong. We’re in the demand-generation business. And when we sell our clients’ wares, we all win. BUT results at all costs can also be creatively crushing. Like, you can write a great offer on a paper bag and if it’s marketed to the right person at the right time with the right offer, then BINGO. It will work. But is it “wow”? Would you show it to friends? Do you feel fulfilled? Maybe none of that matters. I changed my answer. Results wins.

2) Are there any common qualities you’ve seen in people who go far in this industry?
Yes. Drive. Determination. Curiosity. Passion. You really need to love this business. If you’re not engaged, you won’t get too far. Those who really succeed make themselves invaluable to their agency.

3) How do you feel about the idea that people should dress a level above their current pay grade?
Only if they’re looking to date someone who makes more. Of course, maybe it matters if you’re on the account side. But take a look at some of the most successful creatives. Jeans. T-shirts. Turtlenecks.

4) What’s the downside of ambition?
Some people can be royal pains in the ass. It’s great to be ambitious as long as you do it with respect. Being on a CD’s heels all the time can have the inverse effect. Also, make sure your ambition is wanted. Don’t step on toes.

5) From a career perspective, how important are writer-art director partnerships?
I like the idea of having many people in a department that work well together. I think more and more it’s becoming less important. BUT, it’s sure great to have someone you work well with every day.

6) How important are awards to getting ahead?
Very. They get you noticed. They get your name in magazines. Which means CDs and headhunters can find you. Awards also give you credibility. And that’s a good thing.

7) If advertising is a young person’s game, any tips for managing a successful career into your golden years?
Own the agency. Colour your hair. Get cosmetic surgery. Or keep fresh. Go to conferences. Don’t eschew technology. And see question 2. It still applies.

8) Scenario: you have a job, but aren’t moving forward. You’re out of ideas. What do you do?
Watch TED. Go to TED. Take a vacation. Watch YouTube. Read a book. If all fails, maybe you should be happy with what you have.

9) How much effort should someone put toward intangible cultural contributions to an agency?
I think this is a great question. I think some people are great at this. It helps keep staff happy. It’s great for the agency. And, as I said above, it makes you invaluable. That said, don’t spend more time on this than what you’re paid to do.

10) What’s the secret to looking like a star in a brainstorming session?
Participate. So often junior staff ask to be included in brainstorm sessions. Then they don’t participate. If you take up space in a boardroom, speak up. Remember, no idea is too stupid. Only silence is.

11) True or false: the more integrated you are, the better positioned you are for success?
True. And remember, integration isn’t necessarily structural. It’s a state of mind. Think multidisciplinary. Act multidisciplinary. It’s way more fun anyway.

For more thoughts on this topic, check out our four-part How to get a job in advertising series.

A job in advertising. For people trying to land their first (or second), getting there can be much less than half the fun. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been asking ad folks who hire their thoughts on getting in.

Today, Grip Partner, Creative Dave Hamilton weighs in.

1) How can one person rise to the top in sea of similarly qualified applicants?
Good looks.

2) What’s the biggest mistake you’ve seen a person make while trying to get a job in advertising?
Fist fighting.

3) What do you look for in a resume?
Generous margins.

4) What do you look for in a student writer’s portfolio?
Hope.

5) Once you have a job, what’s the best way to make sure you keep moving forward in your career?
Laugh at the old guy’s jokes.

6) Any other thoughts on getting a job in advertising?
Careful what you wish for.

For more thoughts on how to get a job in advertising, check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.

Today, Grip Partner, Creative Thom Antonio, weighs in.

1) What do you look for in a student design portfolio?
I see so many student portfolios that look just like student portfolios. That is to say, that most don’t add anything to their school projects. What I look for is the student who went beyond the ask. The one who did more, the one who started with an idea and built it out from the idea space rather than from just a nice design “look.” I’m always looking for multi-disciplined multi-taskers and unfortunately most schools seem to be still geared to producing specialists.

2) What kind of spec work do you like to see – and does it have to be advertising?
It’s better if it’s not advertising. I like to see work that challenges. Stuff that creates an experience and a dialogue. Making things pretty is easy – but making things that change behaviours or start discussions is harder.

3) What’s a good way for up-and-comers to build their networks?
Do more work. Build your own story first. Understand who you are networking with before you start talking. Don’t just hit the “send” button.

4) What’s one of the common mistakes you seen young designers make while looking for work?
A lot of designers, both young and those with more experience, usually try to show too much stuff. They think volume will be impressive, but usually that just creates confusion. It’s important to be clear about your role in the work you are showing. I have interviewed different people who have each shown me the same project and claimed it to be theirs; the interviewer usually already knows the real story.

5) Any tips on acing an interview?
Be confident. Don’t make demands. Listen and then talk. Be honest and genuine. Show great ideas and fantastic work. Tell me what you’re thinking. Your pretty resume is not as important as the story in your portfolio.

6) When it comes to hiring and developing new people, what’s one thing our industry tends to do well, and one thing it tends to do poorly?
There is a wealth of talent out there. As an industry, we have tended to hire based on a specific skill set and then pigeonhole. It’s slowly changing by letting great talent find ways to do even greater things. As the traditional divisions of advertising/interactive/design are broken down there will be greater opportunities for ideas to play bigger roles. We also tend to underplay the level of influence we can wield. Being brave is important for talent, agencies, and clients as well.

7) Any other thoughts on getting a design job in advertising?
Don’t get a job in advertising. This business is about so much more. The currency we deal in every day is ideas. So increase your value by creating, sharing and building your ideas. Be a student of life and get a job doing what you love to do.

<UPDATE: Click through read Parts 1, 2, and 4 of this series.