AdJoke Goes International

Sorry everyone for the lack of posts thus far in 2010. It's been a wild few weeks for Paul and I. I've recently moved to London, England to continue working in the ad biz and I'm excited to bring more of an international flare to AdJoke over the next few years.

As anyone who has been to another country knows, advertising is dramatically different. Sure, the same mediums exist (and digital is still just as important), but the brands, messages and ideas are (sometimes radically) different.

You might remember some of my posts during my various London trips about how wild some of the brands here can be. With Paul trucking away in North America and me chilling here in Europe, expect more ads, opinions and ideas.

I'm also going to be doing a number of posts about the differences between the Canadian and UK ad landscape. My transition into the workforce starts Monday and I will be sure to update ya'll with the latest and greatest campaigns.

Thanks for your patience and, as always, for reading and commenting!

Ask the Right Questions

Welcome to 2010. While we all make our usual resolutions (not drinking for a month, working out more, reading more, etc), here's one idea for you to think about over the next 12 months: don't ask the obvious questions, ask the right one.

Malcolm Gladwell gave a TED talk in 2007 about what we can learn from spaghetti sauce. The talk focuses on the food industry and the way that thinking differently about a product (creating the perfect product vs. the perfect products) altered the way that we eat in a dramatic fashion.



This talk has profound implications within the ad industry even though it has very little to do with it. We assume that there is a set path to acheiving an idea that resonates with our target consumers. A brief, informed by resarch and coupled with an insight, is given to a creative team which typically consists of an Art Director, Copywriter and (if you're lucky enough) a digital expert. The team then gets some time (a week or two) to come up with a few ideas which they present to the broader agency (and revise), then the client (and revise) and then (maybe) launch to the general public.

This process has existed for decades. Brief, creative teams, client presentations, launch, repeat.

Over and over and over. It's produced great work. It's produced awful work. And it's been copied and repeated by almost every agency in the world.

Is it right? Should we be doing things differently?

Or rather, what happens when one group dramatically alters the 'process' and shifts everything?

It's not about digital or TV or print. It's about the way we approach the process to conceive impactful ideas that change our client's businesses.

As Gladwell proudly states, there is no perfect idea. There are only perfect ideas. Much more to come on this topic.

(Happy New Year, by the way!)