Judging CA's Advertising Annual - The Inside Story

Proof I was at CA's offices, since you probably don't believe me.

The truth, and nothing but the truth -- from my recent CA judging experience:

--judges joined me from Deutsch (LA), BBDO (NY), the Martin Agency, Leo Burnett, Arnold Worldwide,  Goodby, and Bailey Lauerman; all very senior.

--Patrick Coyne, the editor and owner, divided the judges into three rooms of three judges, with employees of CA laying out the work and playing the TV spots for us in each room.

--we reviewed roughly 300 TV spots on Sunday, many quite good.  Some were downright bad.  TV was the strongest category of the show, in my opinion.  Watching it was far more fun than watching Super Bowl spots, because the overall quality, at least of the best spots, was far better.

-- we also reviewed about 500 print pieces on day one.  Times that number by three and you'll get a feel for how much work was reviewed on day one.  Some of the print work was very classy, conceptual and well executed, as you might imagine.  Some were very easy to recognize as freebie, pro bono work that a client would never buy.  That work got rejected by the judges very quickly.  Much of it came from out of the U.S.  Some pieces were beautiful, but not geared to sell in the least, not even a website address on them; those were quickly trashed, too.  By the way, I could not judge any work entered by Richter7, nor could any of the other judges cast votes for their own agency's work.

--all the judges were very cordial, however most of the big-city judges tended to stick together; the two I judged with the first two days heavily laced their conversation with profanity -- lots of f-bombs; many went out for beers at the end of each day, no matter how late we went.

-- best TV: All-State Mayhem, VW, New Era with Alec Baldwin, P&G's ode to mothers, Jet Blue, Coke, Whistler Film Festival (my personal fav featuring a bear rug), and Geico.

-- the videos used to present integrated campaigns are quite elaborate; mini case studies mostly done in Prezi or in AfterEffects; moving type and art elements, big-time music tracks, with results mostly talking about impressions and likes, but, sadly, not sales and share increases.

-- QR codes were mocked.

-- discussions with the other judges in our off-hours leads me to believe the big agencies are struggling with monetizing social, and how to prove its value -- just like we are at Richter7.

-- distressed type is way too common and cliche.

-- we judged lots of gimmicky social media and non-traditional ideas, and they appealed to very small audiences; even with their pass-along numbers - judges called that failure. We wondered how they could justify the creative production expense just to get  "likes."

-- there were very few conceptual print ads -- many were just design decorating a tricky headline; the strong, simple concepts really stood head and shoulders above the others, and the we really appreciated them.

-- very poor work in trade and collateral categories.

-- the remaining print pieces, after finalists were pulled off the tables, we're simply slid into a big garbage can at the end of the long row of tables.  Ouch.

-- yes, there was a lot of corny humor in TV; subtle, well-acted, classy humor was rare.

-- the Coynes are very gracious hosts, and very nice people; they're struggling, like all other magazines, due to severely reduced subscriptions, and wondering how to monetize online readership.

-- CA's offices are very much industrial elegance -- renovated warehouse style with cement floors and lots of skylights; staff of about fifteen, plus two dogs.

-- Patrick very complimentary about R7 work; judges are selected by region and by having previous ads featured in CA, and by their recognizable, national work. Also, Jean Coyne likes to include a few women (on principle).

-- the judge from the Martin Agency (Steve Basset) is a very pleasant guy who's headed Geico's creative  for ten years; he prefers to live in Virginia because of the lifestyle; he hires mellow types who are easy to work with, he says--only wants to work with nice people.

--I discovered it's wisest to enter print work as hard copy because it is more carefully scrutinized by judges – and when shown digitally it washes out.

--Roger Baldacci from Arnold Worldwide indicated that writer and AD's are teamed together for radio, as well as for print and TV…as that seems to make better, more conceptual spots.

--one night at dinner, the judges all agreed that most of their young staff members (Millenials) all seem to have an attitude of entitlement, and therefore don’t work that hard. Also, they don’t know how to figure out problems on their own without constant direction.

--there was some very smart non-traditional work, but much of it seemed to be apps, or games (not true non-trad work). Some was very gimmicky, or only appealed to a very small audience…and, once again, didn’t justify the expense of production.

--Surprise, CA will begin to hand out trophies next year.

I'll report additional CA judging tidbits at the New.Bold. site.  Check it out.

What I Learned From a Really Bright Guy Named Rishad Tobaccowala

First of all, I hope I learned how to spell his name correctly.  He deserves that.

Rishad is Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for Vivaki (part of Publicis Groupe), and he was the keynote speaker at the recent Advertising Marketing International Network (AMIN) conference.  A very, intelligent, mild-mannered, well-read man, indeed.  He gets up at 4 AM every day to study and learn from the Internet -- trends, blogs, news, product announcements, etc.  That's a dedication (and sleep schedule) I cannot match.

The first thing he said: The internet is not about technology -- it is about connection.  Get on and connect, and learn how others connect.

He also stated, "If an ad agency cannot deliver creativity, they should cease to exist."  Creativity is the currency is today's global economy.  Creativity is not copying.  Creativity is to surprise and enthrall.  Creativity is connecting the dots -- often in new ways that resonate with  people and culture.

The new creative palette is the social medium, the mobile medium and the API medium.  We're living in an increasingly data-infested world -- get used to it, he noted.  It leads to data-driven marketing.

He emphasized something we have long preached at Richter7:  People choose with their hearts and justify the decision with numbers.

He also emphasized "the only way to stay relevant is to change."  That's hard.  I like consistency.  Unless you yourself get better, your organization (marriage, family, club, company, church, etc.) cannot get better, he added.  To which I add a quotation that hangs on my office, and stares at me every day:  "Can we not appreciate that our very business is life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves?  To break our own records, to outstrip our yesterdays by our todays, to give as we have never given, to do our work with more force and a finer finish than ever before -- this is the true idea: to get ahead of ourselves." (Thomas S. Monson)

The Undeniable Correlation Between Ad Creativity and Sales.

Much to the chagrin of ad agencies who spout the erroneous "awards don't matter" line (generally because they're not capable enough to win any, or are too scared to try), new reports further confirm the unmistakable connection between the ringing of the cash register and award-winning advertising.

In a July 12, 2010, ADWEEK article about the about the internationally prestigious Cannes awards festival, writer Noreen O'Leary reported the following:

"Mark Tutssel, Leo Burnett's global CCO and a Cannes judge, said that despite the occasional exception, Cannes winners tend to be solid business successes.  In previous years, Burnett has conducted surveys tracking award-winning ads with business performance.  In the most recent survey, Burnett found an 86 percent correlation between award-winning work and effectiveness, up from the 78 percent in 1997, the first year of the study.

Now for a specific example. 

The Old Spice campaign featuring the buff, bare-chested Old Spice guy in the shower has certainly garnered attention (and  numerous major awards), but has it sold product?

Here's what Eleftheria Parpis reported in the July 26, 2010 issue of ADWEEK.

According to Nielsen data provided by Old Spice, overall sales for Old Spice bodywash products are up 11 percent in the last 12 months; up 27 percent in the last six months; up 55 percent in the last three months; and in the last month, with two new TV spots and the online response videos, up a whopping 107 percent.

"Our business is on fire," says James Moorhead, brand manager of Old Spice.  "We've seen strong results over all of our portfolio.  That is the reward for the great work."  The "Smell like a man, man" campaign, which by mid-July had become a pop-culture sensation, with videos from the series accounting for eight of the top 11 most popular videos on YouTube, went on to win a Grand Prix at Cannes.

Taking Detours, Back Roads & Byways

Back in 1928, as I understand it, the Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming was studying bacteria under his microscope and noticed something odd. A strange mold had appeared on his samples, disrupting his experiment. He then noticed something even more intriguing. Bacteria wouldn’t grow near the mysterious mold. Completely by accident, Fleming made one of history’s great medical breakthroughs – he discovered penicillin.

In advertising, especially during my 15 years at Richter7, I’ve seen that same experience repeat itself over and over. You head off in one direction searching for a solution -- be it creative or strategic -- and a smart, fresh solution suddenly appears while taking a side road in the thought process. (The photo in the accompanying Harley ad perfectly portrays what I'm saying.)

I’ve found, however, the side road doesn’t usually appear until after traveling the main highway for while. Sweat and effort typically precede any magical moments I have had in the creative realm. This process was reinforced by a paragraph I ran across in the Harvard Business Review. It was written by a former Disney V.P. who is now co-chairman of a company called Applied Minds. It went like this:

“Everyone knows that innovation is risky, and it’s rare that you arrive at your expected destination. But maybe that destination isn’t so important. Maybe what you should be paying attention to are the little detours you take along the way: It’s down those back roads and byways that the real payoff usually is found. Maybe, in fact, the biggest risk in innovation lies in sticking too closely to your plans.”

Good food for thought in a business based on creativity.

A Question of Balance

Several months ago, my son's pitching coach assigned him an interesting daily drill. He was instructed to roll up a thick towel, and then balance on it with ball of one foot, while lifting the other bent leg up perpendicular to the body. You know, that classic Karate Kid position. This is intended to help him learn balance, and build leg strength, in order to stabilize his motion while winding up and throwing the ball. I tried it and failed. Tried and failed again. Tried and failed again.

Without balance, a pitcher's throw will go wide, high, low, outside -- anywhere but over the plate. Just the slightest change of angle while throwing, due to loss of balance, creates an unacceptable outcome.

Can you see where this little metaphorical analogy is going? I've always felt balance was crucial to the life of a creative person, as well. That is, if you want to stay fresh and keep the "idea bank" in your brain filled with new experiences and learning from which to draw, balance is key. But it's tough to do that when you regularly work nights and weekends. I know from experience.

To that end, a recent discussion I had with my daughter who works at Crispin in Boulder, was quite relevant. She said her boss call the interactive creative group together and said he would prefer that they didn't work weekends and late nights to the extent they had been because it didn't necessarily make them more productive. She was thrilled with the news because she felt she (and others) would be fresher, more alert and more capable of producing quality work. They would have time to re-charge their batteries, in other words. She's willing to work hard, as most sharp creatives are, but relentlessly long hours can be quite detrimental.

Balance is beautiful. Asian philosophy has promoted the concept for centuries.

I believe top-notch work can be done by working hard, and focusing with laser-like intensity, during an 8-10 hour day...and then enjoying an evening and weekend improving talents, learning, serving good causes, and, most importantly, enjoying your family. In short, that towel drill definitely applies to life.

Quotes of the Day

Over the years I have kept track of what I judge to be inspirational quotations from leaders, past and present, in the ad business (mostly). I have roughly 250 pages worth, a healthy handful of which are taped to my office wall. Rather than let them simply molder in a file, I thought I'd pass a few along in hopes you might find them as motivational as I have. Even if you're not associated with the MAD MEN society, there still may be something of value. Here goes:

“Train, eat your vitamins, say your prayers, and believe in yourself.”
Hulk Hogan

"Talent alone doesn't really count for much. Success comes from focusing single-mindedly, with the intensity of a laser, on your craft, on your goal. It's not complicated; you just decide what you want to do, where you want to go, what you want to acheive, and then don't let anything or anyone distract you."
Andy Berlin

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”
Oscar Wilde

“Merely to let your imagination run riot, to dream unrelated dreams, to indulge in graphic acrobatics, is not being creative. The creative person has harnessed his imagination. He has disciplined it so that every thought, every idea, every word he puts down, every line he draws makes more vivid, more believable, more persuasive the product advantage.”
Bill Bernbach

“There is no such thing as a me-too product, just me-too advertising.”
Tom McElligott

“Shake the Etch-a-Sketch in your head, start over constantly, and come at the problem from wildly different angles. Don’t keep sniffing all four sides of the same fire hydrant. Run through the entire neighborhood.”
Luke Sullivan

Advertising Creativity Matters. A Lot.

Don't ever, ever, ever feed me that false, yet oft-repeated advertising motto, "It isn't creative unless it sells." The bold-faced fact is, it won't sell unless it's creative -- simply because it won't get noticed. Period. Exclamation point.

In support of that premise, I wrote a nationally distributed booklet titled "Why Creativity" that offers research-based facts touting the cause of intelligent creativity. (Email me at Richter7 for a free copy.)

It doesn't include, however, findings from a relevant, new study published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Advertising Research. I shouted hosanna when I read the title: "Advertising Creativity Matters." The study was conducted by three professors at the Stockholm School of Economics. Here are just a few, quick excerpts:

“Brand interest was significantly higher among consumers exposed to more creative advertisements…revealing a more significant effect on purchase intention.”

“...an extra degree of creativity may send signals about the advertiser that rub off on consumer perceptions of the brand. In our experiment, more versus less creative advertising signaled greater effort on the advertiser’s behalf and was taken as proof of the brand’s smartness, and ability to solve problems and develop valuable products. As a result, consumers became more interested in the brand and perceived it to be of higher quality.”

“Our analysis reveals that more versus less advertising creativity produces a signal of marketing effort that is similar to advertising expense. This is good news, as this revelation implies that the advertising does not need to spend excessive amounts of money to signal confidence in the product. Instead of spending money on bigger advertising spaces or more frequent campaigns, the same effects may be attainable by increasing creativity instead. Thus, the study provides compelling evidence that creativity could be a way to produce greater results per advertising dollar.”

“This study shows that high versus low creativity works as a signal for familiar and established brands…they need to stay interesting to consumers even when they have nothing new to say. Creative advertising does increase consumer interest in brands, not by communicating a new message, but by communicating the same message in another way.”

In short, the authors confirm that advertising creativity is a powerful, positive signal when promoting familiar or unfamiliar brands. Too many creatively inept agencies cop out by saying, "We don't care about creative awards, just about results." In my opinion, that's a cheap excuse for poor ability and/or laziness.

Another research study, quoted in the booklet mentioned above, suggests creativity and effectiveness are inseparably linked, and specifically declared, "Award-winning advertising is four to five time more likely to reach client goals than non-award winning work."

In reality, awards send a clear signal that the work stands out, is memorable, and is meaningful. Any other kind of advertising is a waste of money. In today's economic environment, where fewer dollars have to work harder and where it's increasingly difficult to differentiate brands, that would be a crying shame.

Keys To Becoming A More Bright, Creative Person

Once upon a time when I was employed by Cole & Weber, an Ogilvy-owned, Seattle-based agency, the firm's president, Hal Newsom, suddenly invited the creative directors at each office to fly to headquarters. No reason or explanation was given.

Hal, since deceased, was a bright guy --the epitomy of a "renaissance man." He ran marathons, climbed major mountains, biked and boated, among other activities. He was also a well-respected creative director -- as witnessed by the fact that he was included in The Wall Street Journal's series of ads featuring national creative leaders.

We arrived in the Seattle office, and gathered in the third floor conference room where Hal said he had something very important to discuss with us. He handed out a list, talked about how valuable it was to our professional progress, then essentially said we were free to fly back home. The expense of our travel was a minor issue to him compared to the importance of that document. I have found the list to be full of unique truths and insights, and have used it to train my creative staffs through the years. It came under the headline above. Here's what it said (slightly edited):

1. Study the pictures in National Geographic as closely as you would those in Sports Illustrated or Cosmopolitan.
2. Spend as many hours with the educational channel as you do with Monday Night Football, The Sopranos or Seinfeld reruns.
3. Talk to as many liberals as you do conservatives.
4. See an Oriental art exhibit, Woody Allen movie, Billy Graham revival, a ballroom dance, a high school stomp, the 6th grade Christmas party, a jury trial.
5. Take in a symphony, a jam session, a light show, the Repertory Dance Theater.
6. Spend a whole afternoon at the track, a day in the woods, a weekend building something. A whole week working your tail off.
7. Get involved in a cause, a purpose, a controversial issue, and fight like the devil to win.
8. Work up a sweat. Jog. Play tennis. Ride a dirt bike. Play handball. Racquetball. Or dig a ditch.
9. Visit skid row, take a garden tour of the best homes in the city. Eat at the Golden Arches some Saturday afternoon, have dinner at "the place" in town some Saturday night.
10. Get acquainted with a four-year-old, a grandma, a street bum, a corporate officer, a high school dropout.
11. Go to the Greyhound bus terminal and take a seat. Watch. Listen and make a mental note of everything your eyes and ears take in.
12. Spend a Saturday morning tuned in to what's happening on the radio. Listen to the Farm Report, the opera from Chicago, an acid rock station, middle-of-the-road music, news.
13. Have a close friend. A wife. A husband. Someone you can confide in. Someone who will listen to you. Someone who needs to be listened to.
14. Read everything you can get your hands on. The in-flight magazine, the newspaper, the Sunday New York Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Indoor Gardening, Outdoor Life, Road and Track, Better Home and Gardens, Sea, Ski, Squint, Squat, The Second Deadly Sin, The Bible, the Sears catalog, the billboards, the menu, matchbooks, the writings on the wall in the restrooms.
15. Let your emotions go. Laugh. Cry. Get angry. And permit yourself to be sad every now and then.
16. Think of your mind as a computer. It's being fed information constantly. Don't put the intake button in neutral and most importantly, don't ever push the OFF button.

Enhancing the Creative Mind-set

Key steps to a creative mind-set, courtesy of an article from Scientific American:

WONDERMENT. Try to retain a spirit of discovery, a childlike curiosity about the world. And question understandings that others consider obvious.

MOTIVATION. As soon as a spark of interest arises in something, follow it.

INTELLECTUAL COURAGE. Strive to think outside accepted principles and habitual perspectives such as “we’ve always done it that way.”

RELAXATION. Take the time to daydream and ponder, because that is often when the best ideas arise. Look for ways to relax and consciously put them into practice.

That last point is particularly important, in my opinion. After persistently attacking a creative assignment, I’ve found that I have to escape the project for a while. Creativity doesn’t prosper under pressure. The time I spend at home -- after family activities are concluded -- sitting in the recliner with a tablet of paper seems to foster the best results. A park bench also works wonders. As does a road trip , or a stroll around the nearby park.

In my next post, I'll publish a beloved list of insights from an advertising giant that describes how to "stay fresh."