Hiya,
This week, I have 2 things—
- I'm answering Quinten's question
- I'm sharing a link to my latest CD interview with Jaime Cabrera. He's a VP, Group CD, musician, podcast host and recently published author. Here’s what he said when asked how all his creative exploits serve each other—
“Writing songs has helped me write more concise and emotional copy that tells a story. Doing the podcast has helped me become a stronger presenter, sharpened my connection-making abilities and made me a better listener. All of these things combine to help me be a better creative leader.”
Translation…we all need to make more sh*t. Lots of sh*t. Different sh*t.
But first…
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Quinten's question
If Q's q was dead simple, I would have just replied to Q. But I think breaking it down further will help me. And hopefully, you. And Q.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the go-to definition for creativity. You know the one, "creativity is just connecting things."
And I wrote, “if you’re working on a project and not getting anywhere, look for that second thing." You're stuck because you're probably thinking too linearly.
I also said, for special holidays or sponsorship ads, the second thing is often handed to us. It’s your product + holiday. This often leads to visual ideas like—
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For ideas like these, their worth is all in the execution. But as beautiful as some of them are, these are the first kind of ads that will be replaced by AI.
Quentin said he gets the “second thing” when it’s handed to us, like the ones above. But “could you give one or two other advertising examples [for when it's not]?".
I'll try.
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Connecting things.
In 20 years of knowing this quote, "creativity is just connecting things," it's never once helped me solve a creative problem. Until I thought about it.
And I realized I WAS connecting things, just not deliberately.
Well, here’s an ad-xample from someone who did do this deliberately.
The project was for a theme park here in Vancouver. The Art Director, Ian Grais, cracked the brief by making two very distinct lists on a page.
List #1: What are all the fun, exciting things you’d see at a theme park?
List #2: What are all the boring, everyday things you’d see at a theme park?
Eventually, he made a connection between the two.
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We find connections through an observation like Ian did above or through insights, like this spec campaign created by Jona Rotting.
His insight was that this product can make a regular person feel like a rockstar. He had his two areas—regular person + rockstar.
Once he had his two things, he started combining the visual language of both areas until his brain went, “I think we've got something here, Tiger!”
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And here’s a headline campaign. The creatives played with two things, Nature + Tech. Once you have your second thing, the ads start writing themselves.
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I feel like I could create an entire course on "Creativity is just connecting things." It's a deep it and I'm just scratching the surface.
But one thing I've noticed about the 3 examples above? The two things are not just unrelated to each other, they're also opposites.
Everyday + Exciting
Regular + Rockstar
Outdoors + Technology
Phewff, clear as mud. I think I bit off more than I can chew this week. I will build on it down the line. But hopefully, it gives you something to think about this week.
***COURSE PLUG: While making my course, I had a few realizations like the one above and they've already helped me so much. I take a deeper dive into "Finding the second thing" as it relates to headlines. Whether you're just learning the craft or you’re an experienced creative still dealing with impostor syndrome, this course ain't a cure-all but I guarantee you’ll come out stronger on the other side. It’s two hours of staring at my dumb face for career-lasting confidence. See details in the P.S. line below.
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Creative Director Cabrera—
Through Jaime's podcast, Confessions of a Creative Director and his book, What's the Big Idea? An Indispensable Guide to Becoming a Kick-Ass Creative Director, I couldn't think of a more fitting guest for this series. I asked. He said yes. And now I've put a link on it.
If you don’t have time to read it now, please do me a huge solid and takes 5 seconds to click this link right HERE or HERE and give it a 👍 or ❤️ to help us get on the good side of the LinkedIn robots.
Seriously, I appreciate it (you) so much.
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Have a confident and creative week.
❤️
Dan
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P.S. I've made some stuff to help you put a sock in your inner critic's pie hole.
P.P.S. To 🪓 me anything, hit reply.
P.P.P.S. To share today's newsletter—
https://mailchi.mp/nelkencreative/connectingthings
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