WHIP – Junior - Celebrating life at the bottom

Mar 21, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 114

This week Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) tells us why this common saying is a timeless piece of wisdom.

Many years ago the legendary John Hegarty gave what I think is one of the best pieces of creative advice I’ve ever come across:

When everyone else zigs, it’s time to zag.

Seems an obvious thing to say when you stop and think about it. But if it was so obvious, then why are so few people following his advice?

Every kid who’s done Award School shows me a folio of Award School work.

Every photographer who comes to show me their folio has twice as much work in their folio as they need.

Every wannabe copywriter who comes to see me has lots of concepts in their book but little (if any) evidence of writing ability.

And every creative who considers themselves digital, has very little in their folio other than design work.

Obviously I’m generalising here.

But suffice to say most of the people who come and show me their work do it in way that is very similar to everyone else.

So why not do as Mr Hegarty suggests – stop zigging and start zagging.

Mar 14, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 113

Whether you’re relaxing in Melbourne today, or contemplating the suckiness of being back at work on a Monday morning — take a few minutes to read Luke (http://heywhipple NULL.com) and Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com)‘s advice.

It’s a public holiday in Melbourne today, so while I’m enjoying my day off I’ll be borrowing the wisdom of Luke Sullivan for today’s Whip.

Luke is the man behind the must read advertising book Hey Whipple. He’s a veteran of the industry and one of its wise men.

He recently published an article (http://www NULL.heywhipple NULL.com/2010/04/07/report-from-sxsw-interactive-i-see-dead-ad-jobs/) about a talk he gave at South By Southwest. It is required reading for anybody who works as a creative.

And especially for anyone contemplating a career as a creative.

Mar 07, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 112

We’ve got some extra things to add onto Stan’s (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) WHIP this week. 1 (http://www NULL.whirlwindprint NULL.com), 2 (http://www NULL.australiaprinting NULL.com NULL.au/information/products/business-cards), & 3 (http://eplot NULL.com NULL.au/business-card-printing NULL.htm?gclid=CNuRyLX7uqcCFQT1bwodN0UoXA).

When I was a young wannabe creative hawking my folio around, Creative Directors would always ask me if I had a business card after seeing me.

And of course I didn’t have one.

Fast forward a few too many years, and it is now me who asks the young wannabes if they have a business card.

And guess what – hardly any of them do.

Given we are in the brand building business, you need to think of yourself as a brand.

Then ask yourself how you can get that brand onto a Creative Director’s shopping list.

Now I’m not saying a business card is the secret to success. But it sure makes you look focussed and organised.

Plus it gives the CD something to add to his Rolodex.

Which is always the first port of call when a need arises for a talented young freelancer.

Feb 28, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 111

It’s time to get your creative on! As Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) tells us, there’s always more hours in the day to do things for love, not money.

As a side note, this WHIP is #111. It seems fitting that that’s also the emergency telephone number in NZ. Please give (http://www NULL.christchurchearthquakeappeal NULL.govt NULL.nz/) a little (http://www NULL.grabone NULL.co NULL.nz/christchurch) to our Kiwi bros in need.

Last weekend I caught up with an art director friend of mine, who told me about an interior design project he’d been working on.

During the week I met two very interesting copywriters. One is about to have a book published and the other has had several pieces published in magazines.

And on Wednesday I’ll be going to the opening of a photographic exhibition by an art director I worked with many years ago.

That’s four talented creative people, all of whom make a living in the ad business, being creative outside of their day job.

Which, to be frank, left me feeling like a bit of an under achiever.

Until my wife reminded me that I have a very popular blog, write a monthly column for Marketing magazine and also write this Monday morning ramble every week.

So that’s five talented creative people, all of whom make a living in the ad business, being creative outside of their day job.

And I’m sure I could find loads more without too much effort.

So if your pursuit of a full time role as a creative has yet to come to fruition, why not channel some of that creative energy into personal projects?

Of course not everyone can write a book. I certainly couldn’t. But if you use your creativity as often as you can, in as many ways as you can, who knows where it could take you.

You may end up a writer instead of a photographer. You may find yourself arranging flowers rather than art directing. Who knows!?

Regardless of how things turn out, you’ll end up one day with a career where you make a living from being creative rather than simply being a creative.

Feb 21, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 110

Juniors, sometimes you have to think about the seniors out there. Not the pensioner, mobility cart wheeling kind, but those who know their shit — who have the ability, and the experience to tell you what’s makes a freakin’ good ad, and what you should do if you ain’t got one in your book. Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) tells us why we need to listen to them.

This morning I am going to share with you some wisdom from Suzanne Pop (http://adteachings NULL.com)e, creative director of highly regarded Canadian agency John St.

“A number of years ago, I had an advertising student whose thirst for success far outstripped the quality of her work.

I think her work would have improved if she had been willing to listen to me or her other instructors, but that never happened.

My explicit message to her never changed:

Unless the quality of your work improves, you will have a very hard time getting hired.

When this woman started taking her portfolio around to interviews she heard none of the effusive praise she had expected.

Instead, creative directors ripped her book to shreds.

I have never seen student work get praised by a creative director after being panned by an instructor.

So if you are holding on to this faint hope, the time has come to unhitch your unicorns, smack them on the hindquarters and dry your tears as they gallop off into the hills. “

Wise words, don’t you think?

As I have said many times in the Monday Morning Whip, don’t show your work to senior people for praise. Do it for criticism.

Because that criticism, although often hard to take, will make you and your work better.

Feb 14, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 109

The odds of being a success aren’t as low as being struck by lightning. It can happen, but as Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) tells us, it’s all about the hard yards.

The class of 2011 has just been announced for AWARD School. And for every kid who got the thumbs up, there are sure to be two or three times as many who didn’t get accepted.

If you are one of these people don’t fret. All you need to do is work harder.

That’s easy for me to say, I’m sure you’re thinking, but it’s true.

Talent is important. But persistence and hunger more so.

So rather than simply resigning yourself to not getting in, put in the effort and prove the naysayers wrong.

And if you did get into AWARD, or perhaps you already have a job, the same applies.

Because the harder you work the better you will get. And the better you get, the more successful you will become.

Jan 31, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 108

Seriously, how good is TED (http://www NULL.ted NULL.com/)? This week Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) has found a nugget that we should all take heed of.

I came across a great quote yesterday that I thought would help you put your creative aspirations into context.

It’s by Sir Ken Robinson, a noted thinker on creativity and learning. He has a couple of brilliant video talks on the TED site (http://www NULL.ted NULL.com/speakers/sir_ken_robinson NULL.html) that are well worth seeking out.

Anyway, here’s what Sir Ken had to say;

“For most of us the problem isn’t that we aim too high and fail – it’s just the opposite – we aim too low and succeed.”

Keep that quote in mind next time you tackle a brief, work on your folio or think about settling for close enough is good enough.

It could make the difference between you creating something good versus something great.

Jan 24, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 107

Everyone wants to be liked, but as Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) tells us, pleasing everyone is a sure-fire way to get nowhere.

I’m sure by now you’ve either seen or read about Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes (http://tv NULL.gawker NULL.com/5735192/watch-ricky-gervais-extremely-uncomfortable-golden-globes-monologue) last week.

Depending on who you listen to, Gervais was either mean spirited and unfunny, or a razor sharp satirist.

Either way, he was anything but dull.

There’s a lesson for every young creative in Ricky’s turn at the Globes I think.

Don’t play it safe.

Because by trying to please everyone, you will end up pleasing no one.

So be brave. Be opinionated. And be prepared to piss people off.

You career could very well depend on it.

Jan 17, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 106

2011! And guess what? It’s time to brush up on your thinking! Yes! Ideas! Thoughts! Folios! Jobs! Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) recommends you get back to basics (http://www NULL.awardschool NULL.com NULL.au/) to make sure your ideas stand out above the others.

A couple of kids came to show me their folio the other day. They had a few nice ideas, but needed to push their thinking a lot harder.

So I asked them if they’d considered doing AWARD School.

Not because I’d recommend it, but because I thought it would help them better understand how to really explore an idea.

They said that they had thought about it and were definitely going to apply.

Now as far as I am aware AWARD School is currently open for entries. So I asked them how their entry was going.

They replied that entries don’t close for another two weeks, but they would definitely get around to it next weekend.

Their answer to that question probably explains why their folio ideas were nice but not exactly amazing.

Jan 10, 11

The Monday Morning WHIP // 105

Today is a special day. Not only is this the first Monday Morning ass-whipping for twentyelev, it’s also Stan’s (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) 100th. Cue the flashback montage! Ok enough. Now, without further adieu; Stan tells us to switch ourselves on, grab a pen and battle the blank page.

I’ve back at work today after three weeks holiday. That’s three weeks of sitting by the pool, riding my bike around the Bellarine Peninsula and generally doing bugger all.

As you can imagine my brain isn’t really ready for work today. Yet people will still expect me to be as switched on as I was before I left for my holiday.

And guess what – they have every right to.

When you’re contemplating a career as a creative person it’s easy to think that your job will involve simply being creative. Which of course it does. But ultimately your job is exactly that. A job.

So you need to be prepared to be creative every time you walk into the office. You need to be prepared for the lifelong struggle of staring at a blank A3 pad with nothing but a Pentel pen for company. And you need to understand that turning on your computer will not make doing your job easier.

Because being a creative is a full time job. And as I always say, it may be hard work but it sure beats having a real job.

home //
wtf? //

drinks //

junior-jobs //
interviews // whips //