Brian Thibodeau is our buddy who designed this blog's masthead. He also produced this content for Orkin which launched last week. They're not ads. Well, yes, they are. Kind of. But not. Enjoy.
More Bug Wisdom here.
The Rise of Sadvertising
"There's nothing more dangerous in advertising than following a trend."
That said, this is a very good article on one of advertising's most recent trends: Sadvertising.
Really nice spots embedded in here, too.
That said, this is a very good article on one of advertising's most recent trends: Sadvertising.
Really nice spots embedded in here, too.
Don't phone it in.
I'm going to talk about voice overs first. Then I'm going to talk about student portfolios. Walk with me.
I just listened to about 190 voice over auditions. That's not an exaggeration. It's not the most glamorous part of being a creative. But it is necessary.
Here's the thing: voice over auditions have grown much sloppier over the years. Here are some major glitches I heard in this last round of 190:
There's one reason why voice over auditions have grown sloppier: technology. Mics are less expensive. Garageband. Apps. It's easier to set up a home studio. It used to be VO talent would go into a professional studio and record their takes where nothing was left to chance. I'm all for home studios and convenience. But not when it allows you to be lazy.
If the talent's voice is exceptional, I can overlook poor quality. It's just an audition, after all. But if there's even a question (and with 190 voices to choose from, there always is), I go with quality. Because quality shows me that the talent cares. They care about their career, this particular opportunity, their craft, and my script.
Now, here's how this applies to student portfolios: technology can make you lazy, too.
Art directors can search Getty Images and plug in cheap stock. Copywriters can use a Microsoft Word thesaurus. Creative teams can use nicely designed printouts and Keynote presentations to sell an okay idea without really pushing it as far as it can go conceptually.
Whether you're a student trying to get your portfolio on a creative director's desk or a creative director trying to win a pitch, quality and craft can be the difference between a win and a loss. As Sally Hogshead says, "The difference between an A- book and an A+ book is all the difference in the world."
This is your career we're talking about. Don't phone it in.
I just listened to about 190 voice over auditions. That's not an exaggeration. It's not the most glamorous part of being a creative. But it is necessary.
Here's the thing: voice over auditions have grown much sloppier over the years. Here are some major glitches I heard in this last round of 190:
- Echo in the room.
- Talent flubs a line and doesn't bother to re-record.
- I can tell the talent has a cheap mic.
- I can tell the talent is recording with their iPhone.
- Volume is mixed way too low.
- Volume is mixed way too high.
- Talent didn't read the casting specs I wrote (e.g., an energetic 20-year-old guy auditioning for the role of a laid-back 50-year-old.)
- I hear the mic stand wiggling in the background.
- Sounds like talent was on a plane. Maybe it was just someone vacuuming in the background.
There's one reason why voice over auditions have grown sloppier: technology. Mics are less expensive. Garageband. Apps. It's easier to set up a home studio. It used to be VO talent would go into a professional studio and record their takes where nothing was left to chance. I'm all for home studios and convenience. But not when it allows you to be lazy.
If the talent's voice is exceptional, I can overlook poor quality. It's just an audition, after all. But if there's even a question (and with 190 voices to choose from, there always is), I go with quality. Because quality shows me that the talent cares. They care about their career, this particular opportunity, their craft, and my script.
Now, here's how this applies to student portfolios: technology can make you lazy, too.
Art directors can search Getty Images and plug in cheap stock. Copywriters can use a Microsoft Word thesaurus. Creative teams can use nicely designed printouts and Keynote presentations to sell an okay idea without really pushing it as far as it can go conceptually.
Whether you're a student trying to get your portfolio on a creative director's desk or a creative director trying to win a pitch, quality and craft can be the difference between a win and a loss. As Sally Hogshead says, "The difference between an A- book and an A+ book is all the difference in the world."
This is your career we're talking about. Don't phone it in.
Writers, Be a Word Nerd
My mother corrects my grammar. Still. If I send an email and incorrectly use I as an object, she will let me know (I did the other day, and she let me know about it).
Odds are, you don't have my mother. But hopefully you have someone who has instilled in you the importance of understanding how to write well. (I'm speaking primarily to writers here, but art directors who can write are awesome.)
Great art directors know their craft inside and out. They get off on serifs and kerning and leading, and it irritates them if you use the words "font" and "typeface" interchangeably. But for some reason, a lot of writers place less importance on their wordsmithing. "I suck at drawing" is a terrible reason to become a copywriter.
You have to love words.
You should get all giddy when you hear a great line of dialogue.
You should actually enjoy reading books like the one above and not feel like it's torture.
If you see a word that you don't know, you should look it up.
You should write. A lot.
You should have favorite authors, favorite books, favorite sentences.
When you read and you come across a great sentence, you should stop and consider what makes it a great sentence. How is it constructed? What is the author doing? What choices did he/she make in writing the sentence that way?
I'm not saying you have to be able to diagram a sentence (though it can't hurt). And I'm not saying that everything you write needs to be grammatically correct. But like design, there are mechanics to writing. There are reasons a sentence is strong--conscious decisions that are made in its construction. If you want to be a decent writer, you need to have, at the very least, a working knowledge of these things. Ideally, you obsess over them.
Be a word nerd. We like nerds.
Pitching Yourself: Leah the Lego Intern
There are two schools of thought on presenting yourself to a potential employer.
1. Do something creative so they know you're creative.
2. Let your work speak for itself.
Normally, I recommend the latter (that's #2). I think it's better to spend your time coming up with great ideas you can put in your book than working on clever ways to introduce yourself. I've also seen very, very few students successfully pull off the former (that's #1).
This, however, is someone who got it right. Great idea. And because she's looking for a gig in account services, it's even more impressive/necessary. (And it doesn't hurt that her idea was picked up by Adweek.)
1. Do something creative so they know you're creative.
2. Let your work speak for itself.
Normally, I recommend the latter (that's #2). I think it's better to spend your time coming up with great ideas you can put in your book than working on clever ways to introduce yourself. I've also seen very, very few students successfully pull off the former (that's #1).
This, however, is someone who got it right. Great idea. And because she's looking for a gig in account services, it's even more impressive/necessary. (And it doesn't hurt that her idea was picked up by Adweek.)
Side Project: yearbnb
My friend and former boss Kevin Lynch is currently the executive creative director of BBDO South China. Here's his pecha kucha presentation of a full-time side project: using airbnb to stay in different rooms throughout Hong Kong for a full year.
Yearbnb at Pecha Kucha from fifteen ideas on Vimeo.
Yearbnb at Pecha Kucha from fifteen ideas on Vimeo.
Elmore Leonard on Writing
He's talking about fiction. But still applies to advertising. (The video's choppy, but worth listening to.)
Here's Why Talented Creatives Are Leaving Your Agency
We don't often repost articles on this blog. But I thought this one on Digiday was worth sharing. It's a London-based product designer's take on why agencies are bleeding young talent while startups are picking them up. The author's litany of condemnation for big agencies:
1. You won't stop taking on shit work.
2. You don't innovate, even though you say you do.
3. You keep hiring dead weight (and do nothing about it).
4. You don't stop taking on projects that can't be delivered unless we work 12-hour days.
5. You don't give staff any credit.
6. You don't buy us decent equipment.
Not all large agencies fit this dire mold. But I've worked at one or two that did. It's good to recognize the bad out there so you can avoid it. And it's go to recognize the good, so you can run towards it. Read the full article here.
1. You won't stop taking on shit work.
2. You don't innovate, even though you say you do.
3. You keep hiring dead weight (and do nothing about it).
4. You don't stop taking on projects that can't be delivered unless we work 12-hour days.
5. You don't give staff any credit.
6. You don't buy us decent equipment.
Not all large agencies fit this dire mold. But I've worked at one or two that did. It's good to recognize the bad out there so you can avoid it. And it's go to recognize the good, so you can run towards it. Read the full article here.
Look for Opportunities
I heard this interview on NPR last night about how the City of Omaha is taking advantage of Peyton Manning's relentless use of their name on the field.
Omaha's tourism department is busy scheduling media interviews. Omaha bakeries are selling Go Broncos cupcakes. Omaha breweries are crafting and labeling special Manning beers. Even one of the new penguins in the Omaha Zoo was named Peyton.
I love that so many people in Omaha began thinking, "How can we make this work for us?"
How are you taking advantage of popular culture? What are you doing with what's right in front of your face?
Omaha's tourism department is busy scheduling media interviews. Omaha bakeries are selling Go Broncos cupcakes. Omaha breweries are crafting and labeling special Manning beers. Even one of the new penguins in the Omaha Zoo was named Peyton.
I love that so many people in Omaha began thinking, "How can we make this work for us?"
How are you taking advantage of popular culture? What are you doing with what's right in front of your face?
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