is it hard for a suit to get into the creative department
If someone had been a suit for a few years, andd thought they could do a
better job at making up ads than their creative dept, whats the best way to
get hired as a writer?
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posted by CB at 3/24/2006 08:47:00 am
44 Comments:
It's possible but you probably need to go back to school. Examples of suits becoming creatives would be Karen or Verity (sorry I always get the two mixed up) and Kat G.
9:06 am NZST
Is this Ben again?
9:42 am NZST
zat Kat from Y & R?
9:56 am NZST
Or is it an even worse idea than creatives becoming suits and going straight to the client with "a really good idea that just popped into my brain"?
9:59 am NZST
is that how Jello Biafra got started?
10:02 am NZST
Darryl, you're not only a talented git, but a bloody nice one too.
10:08 am NZST
Yeah, can't you be one or the other, so the rest of us get a chance, like an super-hot uber-prat OR a thoughtful, considerate talent-free-zone?
Anyone heard of olaf zwetsloof?
10:10 am NZST
Why does Art Directon pay more? There always seems to be more art directors than writers
10:12 am NZST
I think these days you need to have a good handle on both disciplines. There's nothing worse than when one member of a team goes on holiday and the guy left back at the office can't do anything without him/her.
10:22 am NZST
10.22, I assume you don't mean learn Freehand etc. If you're not referring to software skills, do you mean be able to say 'that funkin logo gets bigger over my dead body'
10:56 am NZST
Kate - do some work!
11:03 am NZST
Well actually there ain't nothin' wrong with learning the software skills. They're not all that hard.
But yeah... certainly having a brain about whether the logo is too big would certainly be a help.
11:09 am NZST
Maybe we could do away with creatives. If the suits write the ads they're sure to go through. Think of all those huge salaries we could divvy up. Sure the work might not be as pretentious, overblown, subtle or indulgent but heck, the punter won't notice and there'll be a lot of very satisfied clients.
11:32 am NZST
We're not rising to your bait Tarquin. You're far too lucid and know far too many long words to be a suit.
Although it could be just that I only know really dumb ones.
11:58 am NZST
Also, if you can write don't fucking tell anybody.
I made that mistake about five years ago and haven't had a moment's peace since.
12:29 pm NZST
Sick of correcting all the spellos on your AE's contact reports are we?
12:38 pm NZST
Um... no.
12:48 pm NZST
Well if you are such a martyr to the cause, step on over.
How about you tackle one of my brillant briefs (complete with motivating spellos); internet banner, web price comparison site?
3:03 pm NZST
Um... no.
3:17 pm NZST
Top of brief: This is an ad for the XXXX promotion.
Bottom of brief: Do not refer to this as the XXXX promotion - this is internal speak.
Just got it. Just sent it back. Do your fucking job properly and then we can.
3:20 pm NZST
Um... no. Of course not. It's far better to sit firing off snide retorts on a blog than actually prove that you can string a sentence together.
Your creatives must be near total demoralisation if people are constantly pestering you for your words of wisdom.
3:28 pm NZST
Ah yes of course the penny drops. The multi-dimensional art director who in a moment of dizziness revealed his poetic side and now must fend off the throng.
Commiserations.
3:46 pm NZST
Um... no, I'm a writer.
But thank you anyway.
3:54 pm NZST
Sooooooo... someone hired you as a writer. Then you revealed you could write... they started asking you for ads... you were pissed. Hmm.
Another big sticky penny falls - you're taking the mickey intcha?!
Aha, I clearly need a colonic. Clogged up with too much festering naval-gazing angst
3:58 pm NZST
Again, thank you.
4:00 pm NZST
sigh
4:04 pm NZST
So, are you doing anything tonight?
4:08 pm NZST
That colonic'll be finished by 7.30...
4:10 pm NZST
Wow, it's like you already know me.
4:22 pm NZST
Are you me, or am I you?
4:23 pm NZST
Are there two of you?
It's ok if there is... I'm open-minded.
4:38 pm NZST
speaking of colonics, I just received one from Drop-a-Stone Direct and was really impressed.
They didn't rip me off, understood exactly the type of colonic I needed and were generally good buggerers to deal with...
4:48 pm NZST
Get out of it mate, I was just about to ask for the sale.
4:52 pm NZST
Apparently, if you aren't amazed with the amount of feces that comes out your arse they'll give you a hundy.
5:10 pm NZST
Is it hard for a faeces to get out of the suit department
5:21 pm NZST
A hundy? Is that some sort of new German underwear?
5:26 pm NZST
I've got coprophagia
5:29 pm NZST
I love colonics as much as the next guy but I just want to get back to what Darryl wrote about 35 posts ago.
I was once paired up with a writer who started as a suit, went to one of the best ad schools and came back as a creative.
He definitely had all the ability in the world to be a great creative and is still doing pretty well...somewhere.
Problem was he could never let go of suit land. He thought it was such an added bonus that he used to be a suit, and maybe it was, but he should have kept that locked away inside somewhere. Anyway, he annoyed people to no end and continually reasoned himself away from the crazier ideas. He especially drove me nuts. I am all for some good old-fashioned rational thinking, but not until you're done with the crazy bit.
So, listen to Darryl. If you want to do it, then do it. And consider it a new start. The hardest part will be completely humbling yourself. Well, there's also shopping for a new wardrobe, getting a tattoo and learning to say 'cunt' more.
Sincerely,
Jay B
8:54 am NZST
I agree, I'm a creative now and having come into the game from a non traditional path I find it hard to throw reason out the door. It does get work out the door, but my cabinet is not exactly full of awards. The last post is very true. Think of it as a rebirth, throw reason out the door or you'll never come up with crazy shit that people other than the suits and clients really love. Would the guys who came up with the latest RAV4 ad have done that if they were suits. I'd say with 100% certainty - no. They would have had people enjoying driving it, some talk about the features, some lovely shots of the car in different parts of NZ and the price. Probably even talk about the great fuel economy.
9:28 am NZST
Mate if you think that the RAV4 ad is one of those 'crazy' ideas you're still well and truly the suit you're trying to escape. Just get back to it and stop pretending it's not your calling.
1:59 am NZST
um yea, 1:59. the rav4 ad uses the old tried and true car ad format. seen it a 1000x this year already. a very similar one was done in india, but the wife doesn't pull any tricks on the husband, he pulls them on her. well he only pulls one, he douses her in petrol and sets her on fire. not over a car, but just because. You should see it, it's great, but the ideas been over done before. over a dairy payment or something my dad says.
what 'crazy' shit you done 1.59?
5:17 pm NZST
that was funny.
-jay b
9:51 pm NZST
Late to the post, but some suits who have made the switch to creative are Fred and Farid - they did the xbox work out of BBH London a few years ago, then went on to Goodby Silverstein. Now they're back in France and have opened a boutique agency called Marcel, backed by Publicis.
Actually, one of them was a planner, but it doesn't seem to have held them back in any way. It's worth looking up an interview with them because they do mention how they made the transition in some of them.
Hope that helps - for some inspiritation if nothing else.
12:11 pm NZST
I reckon this person who wants to be a creative should just go and be a client.
The transition will be a lot easier and you'll get to say "no" - a word that isn't used enough in advertising.
3:47 pm NZST
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