Archive for the ‘Members Blogs’ Category

No one reads blogs – why write them?

DMA Forum •  Members Blogs
13 Apr 2009 21:04

There can only be one reason that the overwhelming majority of the Creative Directors (23 out of 28) who are registered authors of this blog have never written a word on here. After a whole year of struggle, debate and hard work, we got The Creative Forum blog up and running. One and a half years on, only five people have bothered contributing to it.

You know what – you actually don’t HAVE to write anything on here, ever. You can continue working your arse off in your agency day after day, night after night, weekend after weekend and forget sharing the knowledge. Bollocks to it – I’m too busy – no one reads this stuff anyway. And perhaps that’s true. Perhaps if Simon Veksner had thought that when he started Scamp, we wouldn’t have his entertaining, enlightening blog now. Or perhaps there’s nothing in Direct Marketing worth talking about. Perhaps it really is the poor relation to Mr Veksner’s brand advertising - the dirty side that no one really likes to admit they work in, so why would they write about it? By identifying myself with a post on here, aren’t I giving the game away that I work in dirty Direct?

When I sit and judge creative awards with my fellow CDs, the words flow fast and furious. It can be glorious, it can be brutal, it is never ever quiet. Everyone has an opinion and voices it with sincerity, experience and passion.

Shame they don’t have the same passion for soap-boxing here.

The industry is desperately in need of new thinking right now. Students are absolutely crying out to know how to get a job and where. Agencies are dropping like flies. Clients are walking all over us. DM is dead – long live Digital – yeah right. If there was ever a time to speak to the masses about positive directions and the learnings from experience, surely it is now.

Or have you lost your voice?

Chris Catchpole
Executive Creative Director
Domain

P.S. When looking for an image of a sewn up mouth for this post, I found one in Google images on the International Free Press Society’s website. Spookily, none of my browsers could access their site. Is this truly the end of free speech?!

4 Comments »

Does originality matter?

Creative •  Ideas •  Members Blogs •  Uncategorized
23 Feb 2009 13:02

I’m sure we’ve all seen the latest T-mobile flashmob TV ad – and this post is not about that ad per se. Rather it’s about the debate that seems to have sprung up around it.

Because the professionals seem to hate the ad, but the public just love it.

Look at the advertising blogs and you’ll see the same criticism again and again – “unoriginal”, “seen it all before”, “old hat”, “rip off”, etc.

(more…)

2 Comments »

DRTV despair

Awards •  Creative •  Members Blogs •  Work
14 Oct 2008 19:10

Check out this post on the Osocio blog for a classic reaction to successful charity DRTV.

Yes, we’d all like charity DRTV to be groundbreaking, challenging, new and different. But I’ve never heard of anything succeeding that doesn’t follow the same formula as all these ads. Problem: solution. Eye contact. Rousing music. Earnest voiceover. Repeat the number. Repeat the number. Repeat the number.

Have you?

Reuben

1 Comment »