We have our own stories about Sarah Barclay. Make sure you take the time to read it after Stan’s words below.

When I was young one of my creative idols was Sarah Barclay, who at the time was working at the Campaign Palace.

She works in New York now I think, as an ECD on some global brand whose name I can’t for the life of me remember.

Anyway yesterday I stumbled on a lovely little video of Sarah talking about the early part of her career.

In her own words she puts down her success to being “scrappy and inventive”.

She defines this as never settling for less than the best and never ever giving up.

Grabbing every opportunity that comes your way. And inventing opportunities when they don’t.

Of course you could choose to not follow her advice. But that would just be silly. Now wouldn’t it?

Another gem from Stan to brighten up our Monday Morning. He’s a keeper, isn’t he?

Last week I came across a piece written by Kevin Roberts, the worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. I loved it so much I lifted it verbatim and posted it to my BrandDNA blog. Today I’m going to share it with you as well.

Why?

Because it highlights a way of thinking that I believe any person who calls themselves a creative can benefit from. So take a moment to read it, digest it and apply it to your working methods.

“I’ve often said that at Saatchi & Saatchi we prefer Outlaws to Sheriffs, Pirates to the Navy and Hackers to Programmers.

The Saatchi & Saatchi Creative Quorum in Singapore – five executive creative directors from the Asia Pacific who drive new creative thinking across the region – defined this for us.

A hacker beats the system.
A programmer maintains the system.

A hacker is trying to get in.
A programmer is trying to stop things getting in.

A hacker does things because he believes in them.
A programmer does what he is supposed to.

A hacker changes the way things are.
A programmer tries to keep the status quo.

A hacker is agile.
A programmer is a small cog in a big slow machine.

A hacker has many points of attack.
A programmer has one job.

A hacker has to be fast.
A programmer doesn’t.

A hacker is self-reliant.
A programmer relies on others.

A hacker finds paths that don’t exist.
A programmer guards the old ones that already do.

A hacker is about being interesting.
A programmer is about being perfect.”

If you’re bored this Monday Morning and need a bit of inspiration, why not only read this WHIP, but all the others? It’s bound to get you into gear super quick.

Spend some time searching the Monday Whip archive and you’re sure to come across me talking passionately about building a folio of ideas ‘n stuff rather than a book of ads.

This logic holds true for all types of creative work not just advertising.

The idea being that your folio represents you and the way that you think, rather than simply being a collection of work.

This week I came across a blog post by a senior team at a London agency who were responsible for the intake of students on placement.

Here’s what they had to say:

“Try not to bring us a book of just ads.
We like to see other stuff too.
Bring us tapestries if you’re into tapestries.
Angry letters to flatmates and noisy neighbours are always fun to read.
Even funny text messages.
Whatever floats your boat.
Whatever you’re passionate about.
It matters.”

See this guy? Up there? That’s Nick Shelton, founder and head-honcho of Broadsheet Media – that nifty webby that tells you where to eat breakfast when you’re really hungover on a Saturday morning. He gave his 10 tips in 10 minutes at our first event for 2013 in Melbourne. And no, before you ask – there were no breakfast tips. But there were tips for grabbing yourself by the balls and plunging into your dream (whatever that may be), with not much more than sheer determination and an I-know-what-I’m-fucking-doing GEN-Y attitude. If you were an unfortunate silly soul who didn’t make it, you can gloss over these pretty pixels shot by our man in the crowd Bernie.

We thank Stan everyday.

I was listening to sports radio yesterday morning and they were talking about young players who had failed to make it at their first club, but went on to achieve great things at their second club.

What these players all had in common, was that the clubs that picked them up after they were traded by their original club assigned senior players to mentor them.

In addition these clubs also had one or two junior coaches on their staff. These people were new to coaching as they had only recently stopped playing.

These junior coaches were also assigned to mentor the young players.

So a young player who had struggled to adapt to the rigours and demands of top flight football was taken under the wing of two people much older than him but much younger than the team coach.

With their support, guidance and encouragement the players came out of their shell and blossomed.

The same applies to young creatives.

Many people get their first job and don’t see out their probationary period. Not because they’re no good at their job, but because they don’t know how to do their job. Plus they’re afraid to ask for help.

So if you’re in you’re first job follow the lead of those young footballers and find yourself a senior person to mentor you.

Believe me when I say you’ll thank me one day.

Hi Esther,

I recently graduated with a Visual Communication (graphic design) degree. I also have another degree in Journalism. I want to get into advertising, but I have no idea where to start. Mostly I’m confused about how to apply to ‘traditional’ big advertising agencies, compared to smaller agencies that refer themselves as a branding/marketing/digital agency etc. The latter seems more ‘design’ focused, while the former more ‘advertising’. Basically, if I want to do more ‘advertising’ should I include my design portfolio or should it consist mostly of spec ads? Do I have to go and study a purely advertising course?

Thank you for your eternal wisdom,

Fly without a head.

Dear headless fly,

You have a definite idea of the direction you wish to pursue, it’s now simply a matter of being able to demonstrate those skills in your portfolio.

Everything you have done is useful and will inform your development as an art director. But an advertising art director’s portfolio differs from a graphic designer’s, even though they may well have studied exactly the same course.

If your book currently consists of mostly execution-based print ideas, we need to change the focus towards more advertising concepts that would exist in television, digital, etc, as well as print. Ideas about brands that are designed to sell.

You have a few different ways forward:

You can aim for a studio position in an ad agency and your book and qualifications may be enough as they are. Once in the agency you can agitate towards joining the creative department.

You can apply for AdSchool or AWARD School. They are both short courses designed to give you art director’s portfolios.

Or, you can immediately set about re-designing your own book to include the sort of work you wish to do. Spec ideas for ads that can demonstrate your strategic and creative ability outside of the design craft skills already shown. In an ancient Ask Esther I wrote about this and I will re-cap it for you:

Step one. Go to the supermarket. Walk up and down each aisle. Look for products you are familiar with, but cannot recall their ads. Useful categories like breakfast cereals, health bars, cleaning products, stationery, pre-cooked meals, canned soups.

You get the idea.

Very important your mind is blank about their existing or recent advertising activity.

Step two. Purchase the products. More than 10 and fewer than 25. Do not confuse this expedition or try to combine with your weekly grocery shop. Stick to the purpose.

Step three. Clear a workspace at home and put items on it. One by one write yourself a brief for each one. Think about who the product’s customer is and the usp if there is one. Consider the best medium(s), and the approx budget. Write the strategy for each product. Do NOT attempt to come up with any ideas yet.

Step four. Go through each brief. Some will be better than others. Cull, refine, go back to the supermarket if necessary to take pics of their competition. Look up competitors’ ads if it helps.

Step five. Go see a movie. Sleep on it. Go for a walk. Put some space between the left and right sides of your brain.

Step six. Pick the best five briefs that are creatively challenging, offer diversity of products and suit your approach. One by one go to work on them. (You can always change your mind. You have a pile of briefs to play with).

On a layout pad, get to work. Lots of ideas, whittled down to a few, even down to one. When you have something you are happy with, you might render it to a higher quality, but as a rule of thumb, more time should be spent on strategy and idea development, than execution. Stick figures can suffice. This is to balance the design and execution already demonstrated in your book.

These spec ads should cover television, digital and print mediums, either by integrating a campaign idea, or puruing different media for different products.

This is about solving problems. Problems you made up perhaps but still using your skills, common sense and creativity.

Your website folio should now demonstrate strategic thinking and conceptual ability, combined with design skills.

And that’s what the ad agencies are looking for.

Good luck

You can ask Esther Clerehan anything about putting your book together, getting a job, what salary to ask for or what to do when someone steals your ideas. Go on, Ask Esther. There is no other creative recruiter with more experience to educate us on the art of the job hunt. You can email her here at junior at wtf@lifeatthebottom.com.

Don’t be fooled by the number on this post – this is Stan’s 200th Monday Morning WHIP! For almost five years Stan has been kicking our asses into action, and this morning is no exception. Enjoy.

I’m you’ve heard about the Oreo tweet during the power blackout at the Superbowl a few weeks back.

If you haven’t you really should have. So get over to Google pronto.

Anyway this week that tweet picked up not one but two Bronze Clio awards.

And those awards are going to be shared between thirteen people.

Yes thirteen.

It’s a tweet. With a simple picture attached. And it took thirteen people to make it happen.

The learning for you today is this – when you have an idea it isn’t really an idea unless it actually happens.

And most of the time you cannot make an idea happen on your own.

So you need to get used to collaborating, asking for help and possibly even letting other people change your idea.

Because if you don’t you don’t your ideas may never see the light of day.

Hi Esther,

I’m currently living in Melbourne to study advertising, but every time I go back home to the coast one of my mates always enthusiastically questions me about my course and the industry. He is a really confident guy who currently works in sales and I have always pictured him making a great Account Executive.

He seems keen on the idea, but I can only help him so much, since my knowledge is more so limited to the creative side of the industry.

So how can I get him on the path to becoming a fair-dinkum Suit? What skills are required? And is there an AWARD School equivalent for those wanting to be in Accounts?

Kind regards,
Trying to be a good mate.

Dear Good Mate,

He could look into the courses run by Adschool. Sales is a good background for account service but your friend will need to need to do his own legwork.

Cheers

Esther

You can ask Esther Clerehan anything about putting your book together, getting a job, what salary to ask for or what to do when someone steals your ideas. Go on, Ask Esther. There is no other creative recruiter with more experience to educate us on the art of the job hunt. You can email her here at junior at wtf@lifeatthebottom.com.

Sometimes being a creative can mean being creative on someone else’s creative, if that makes sense.

One of the things you need to be prepared for as a working creative is working with other people’s ideas.

You may be a photographer commissioned to capture someone else’s vision.

You may be a director tasked with bringing a creative team’s idea to life.

Or you may be a writer who has to edit and enhance another writer’s draft.

Either way it takes a while to get used to doing this.

That’s because when you decided to become a creative you probably thought it was going to be all about you and your ideas.

Well let me tell you it’s not.

Even best selling authors have their manuscripts tinkered with.

So what you need to do is think of your formative years as a creative apprenticeship.

A chance to not just learn from the best, but to work with them and their ideas.

It ain’t easy. Well not at first.

But trust me when I say it is a skill worth cultivating.

Finally! Just when you thought your ears were missing out we’ve got some more musical goodness from the fabulous Comeback Kid. Just in time to go with our new website! We didn’t plan that! Just kidding! We really did. Losers.

Or, right click here to download.

Every month we like to profile a young artist/designer/writer/etc via the mixtape cover. Are you interested? Email us, wtf@lifeatthebottom.com

Not only did Comeback Kid make some rad sounds, but Hang Io made a super dreamy mix tape cover to go with it. Hang graduated Swinburne with a Masters in Comm Design in 2011. In-tell-ee-gent. Hang is also a pro at branding, illustration, and making screen prints, sewing, and figuring out how to make things. But wait – there’s more! Hang has a cat called Meow Meow. She thinks that’s an unimaginative name, but we think it’s the best cat name we’ve heard since we heard of Mr. Meow. Here’s a direct quote from Hang too – “I believe wit and empathy is important in design or approaching a design solution, because at the end of the day your work will be used by people”. We know direct quotes are corny sometimes, but that one nails it.