The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Or so they said.

As we spent more time together, we discovered what they wanted was to see if we could help them stand out from the competition when their cars were literally rebadged cars from another manufacturer [under licence] and there was almost no distinctive feature whatsoever.

Originally, we thought that was an interesting situation in itself, but the more ideas we presented, the more we realised, ‘what they wanted’ … and ‘what they were willing to do’, were very different indeed.

So one day, exasperated, we showed them a campaign that looked just like every other campaign, except we removed every element of background. For all intents and purposes, it was the car driving around a white space. And while that sounds weird – and shit – it actually had this hypnotic effect.

Familiar and new.

Clinical and intimate.

Boring and interesting.

It was strangely bizarre, and while the client never made it – in fact we told them we didn’t want to play with them, shortly after this – that work still messes with my mind for the feelings it gave me.

Mainly because on face value, it shouldn’t have made me feel anything.

But then, if it didn’t have that effect, then Andy and Rudi wouldn’t have come up with it.

I’ve thought about that campaign every now and then for literally years, and then I saw this:

Suddenly it all made sense.

Why that idea felt comfortable while also igniting confusion.

But a confusion that was addictive and infectious.

And all because what we’d done was create a campaign that was generally the same as every other car ad campaign, but with one distinct element removed … meaning it felt psychologically very different, which meant it felt very emotionally different.

Which is why this piece I saw recently from Nils also hit home.

I love this.

I admit, it’s something I’ve been a part of countless time, but it’s always felt part of a conversation of curiosity rather than part of a designated creative process.

So seeing it written down was really good and powerful.

And to me, this kind-of captures the difference between making advertising and creativity.

When we make advertising, too often we think of it as an entire package … where everything needs to communicate a singular message that has been designed to present the product or brand in the most favourable light. But when we think in terms of creativity, it’s more about igniting feelings and emotions – things that stick deep within and make you think.

And that’s what we did with that ad we presented to the crazy client … we made something that was creatively psychological rather than advertisingly logical … exemplified by the fact that while I’ve seen a lot of car ads in the past week, I can’t remember any of them. But I can remember how a car ad we put together 20+ years ago made me feel.

Sometimes, the worst ideas open the door to some of the best.

So be careful before you kill things … you might be destroying your chance to do something that you’ll never be able to shake.

Thank you Mario.

Thank you Nils.