Apologies for the name drop, but last weekend I went to the football with Dave Bell, the creative director of KesselsKramer.
He’s a Scot who’s lived in Amsterdam for a large part of his adult life. So as you can imagine, he knows bugger all about AFL footy.
Prior to kick off, I tried to explain a bit about the rules of the game to him. Much of what I told him was quite straightforward. At least it seemed that way to me.
Because of his complete lack of knowledge, many of the game’s idiosyncrasies became sources for discussion during the game.
“Why” said Dave, “are those guys in fluoro jackets running onto the pitch during the game?”
They’re runners, I explained. “What are runners?” he asked.
“Did you see that!” he exclaimed, after a player laid a hip and shoulder, causing a player without the ball to hit the turf.
That’s a shepherd, I explained. “A what?” he asked, puzzled.
Those are just two of the many things we discussed during the game. Which was kind of weird to be honest, because I’d never discussed them before. And I go to the football a lot.
This is because I was discovering the game anew, because I was seeing it through fresh eyes.
Fresh eyes sees things you don’t. Fresh eyes see things you can’t. Fresh eyes see things you may never have noticed. But most of all fresh eyes see things you may actually have stopped noticing.
That’s why it’s so important to get someone with a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at your work.
If you want to be a writer, show your work to a designer. If you’re a young art director, show your work to a photographer. Just show your work to someone with a different mindset to yourself.
Now this may sound like the worse advice ever, but it’s not. It’s about getting people with a completely unbiased viewpoint (a fresh set of eyes) to take a look at your ideas.
I guarantee you’ll come away from the meeting with a completely different view of your work. And also, hopefully, a couple of totally unexpected directions to pursue.

See this picture above? It’s Eric! Don’t you just want to give him a cuddle? Aww, what a guy. He’s currently one of the insanely talented creative directors at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam. It’s there that he makes ads for Nike and other authentically relevant brands. He made this ad about talking arteries which we think is particularly cool. We wanted to find out how we can make cool ads too, because we have no idea where to start. So we tried to ask some insightful questions, and maybe we did, but we suppose you’ll be the judge of that, Mr and Mrs Readership. So, what are you waiting for? Go on, it’s good we swear.

Junior: Eric! It’s lovely to meet you. What are you up to at the moment? Is the weather annoying you like everyone else?

Eric: Hey! Nice to meet you too. Right now, I’m at my desk and the first hints of Spring have hit Amsterdam. Everyone is so unbelievably happy and relieved that the rainy Winter nightmare is over. I’m also nervously waiting to hear if our Nike World Cup campaign has been approved from the head honchos in Portland. Please God/Allah/Vishnu/Satan.

Jr: We’re praying too! So we hear you’re a Melbourne boy from way back. How does one of those end up at W+K Amsterdam?

E: I left Melbourne in ’98 for New York City. Worked there for 7 years, had a kid, decided to get out, and landed a job here at W+K Amsterdam. Sweet.

Jr: Did you have a job lined up before you packed your bags and said goodbye to the lucky country?

E: No I didn’t. Having married an American I had a green card, so I thought I’d just move there and try shopping my book around. See how that goes. Luckily I got there in the midst of the dot com boom, when they were giving jobs to monkeys. I say luckily because my work was very Australian – weird brands, strange humor, low budget – and it didn’t go down all that well. But honestly, there was so much money around at the time they just needed people.

Jr: You know, everyone in the world wants to work at W+K. All we hear is, ‘man, they do really cool work.’ Somehow we think it can’t just be guys shooting hoops and spending million dollar budgets. Is it really about ‘cool’ work or is there something more to it?

E: Of course it’s about doing cool work, but that could never happen if the culture wasn’t in place to support the creatives. It is the only place I have ever worked at that is genuinely driven by creative. If the account people don’t think it’s right, but the creatives think it’s cool, well the creatives win. That doesn’t mean that the account guys are muppets, it’s just that they know they will never win that fight. So they get on board and support us wholeheartedly. All W+K offices are managed by two ECDs and one MD. Majority rules.

Jr: That’s really nice to know. Advertising is generally filled with people bred to KILL creativity. Bah! What are we to do? I suppose everyone aspires to work at a ‘cool’ agency to get past that, but realistically not everyone is suited to the W+K’s of the world. What do you look for in an aspiring W+K candidate?

E: There’s such a wide range of oddballs here, it’s hard to pick any defining feature of a W+K employee other than being ‘into it’. I guess everyone here is passionate about stuff, creative or otherwise. You can’t fake that. Oh, and an above average ability to write or art direct will help.

Jr: As a Creative Director, how can a junior get on your good side? Is it all about presenting good work or are there other ways we can get you excited?

E: I just want to see lots of ideas. And I never want anyone to take themselves too seriously.

Jr: Copywriting. It’s misunderstood by so many juniors, probably because art direction seems to be the obvious choice for an ‘aspiring creative’. What would you say to a kid who wants to be a copywriter, but has no idea where to start, let alone hone their craft?

E: Study the annuals and showreels. Read and write a lot. Work with a partner. Don’t smoke too much dope.

Jr: What about the copywriters out there who are working already and are sick of writing brochures and eDMs for cooking utensils? What should they do to step it up and write better ads?

E: Well if they’re already working they should be trying their utmost to do cool stuff for every client in the building. Anything will do, a banner, a flyer, a spot shot on a mobile phone, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s cool. They should also get very chummy with the best art director in the building.

Jr: Very good advice, but as juniors we might have cool ideas yet it’s our presentation skills that need help. Any tips on how to present better, and especially creative that might seem a bit wacky, or worse, a ‘risk’?

E: I always think it’s good to explain how you came to to an idea – your thinking process – no matter how left-field it is. And by the way ‘risk’ is good, but wacky is rarely good. And tell your idea like you’d tell it to your friends at the pub. With the same level of enthusiasm and all the little additional quips thrown in.

Jr: Finally, all juniors are told to get a good mentor. What makes a good mentor and where should a junior look to find a good one?

E: A good starting point is to get a mentor who isn’t shit. Someone who has done good work. Beyond that it’s about liking the person. Any half decent human will be happy to help you if you reach out to them for help. It takes balls, but I also suggest approaching someone you admire directly with a letter or a phone call. Once you ask them for advice, there’ll be no stopping them. We all love to bang about how much we know.

Junior: Who are you and where do you come from?

Craig: I’m Craig Lovelidge. I’m 38 years alive and a Creative Director. Originally from London, England and currently living and working in Amsterdam.

Jr: We’ve heard some things, but we’re still out of the loop. What’s your story?

C: Ok, so for the past 13 years I’ve worked in above the line advertising (that’s TV, print, radio, etc…). My career has seen me ply my trade in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. During this time I’ve been lucky enough to have worked at some great agencies like Jung von Matt, DDB Berlin and StrawberryFrog (now known as Amsterdam Worldwide), working on brands including VW, Heineken and Coke Cola Light to name just a few.

Jr: We also heard something about a Trojan Horse? Fill us in.

C: It’s a long story. It involved my partner and I being headhunted by a German agency. We wanted to impress the agency’s creative director so I built a wooden Trojan Horse portfolio. This subsequently landed us a full-time job at Jung von Matt in Hamburg back in 1999. For the full story, please click here. (Editors note: Best. Story. Ever.)

Jr: And now you’re in Amsterdam. That’s awesome. Some of the best agencies we know are in Amsterdam. The work is quite often leagues above the rest. Why do you think this is? Does it have anything to do with Space Cake?

C: I think the simple answer here are the agencies themselves. They hire good people. These people believe in the work they do, they work hard creating it and the results speak for themselves. Amsterdam has countless amounts of inspiration to offer. Artists from all creative backgrounds live, work, visit and showcase their talent on a daily basis. There are designer fashion boutiques, museums housing modern and historical masterpieces, big name bands tour here… The list is endless. Amsterdam is a village and every corner has something to seduce your creative senses. As for Space Cake – they have that here too. The effects of which allows the locals to spot the tourists from a very safe distance!

Jr: Ha. That makes sense. Amsterdam must be full of tourists looking for a good time. Lame. Ok, so I guess we should ask your advice from a Creative Director’s perspective. What is the role of a junior in an agency, what should they be doing and how can they move to the next level quicker than the rest?

C: From an ad agency point of view, a junior creative’s role is to enjoy their new found creative freedom to find ideas. Ideas that allow them to create new work from the brief that they are given. And also think outside of the box for ideas that might not be part of the brief. This gives them a focus to be open minded. It’s not a license to fuck about. Although playtime does have its advantages as it helps release those deep-rooted, outlandish ideas that hide themselves deep in our sub-conscience. Tim Brown, CEO at Ideo, gave a great TED talk on creativity and play. Watch it and see why the two things go hand in hand.

To get the hard work/playtime balance right, I always remember this - an hour of pure concentration is better than a day of half-arsed thinking. When you realise you’ve been surfing the net for too long, playing pool or simply goofing around, this statement makes you sit down and pick up the brief/project you are working on. Look at your previous scribbles and doodles on your pad. See where you previously were. Now concentrate on finding new ideas/solutions. Can you combine your previous thinking to make new ideas? Do it for an hour. Be serious. If you’re in the zone, carry on. If you’re not, perhaps you need to loosen up… Playtime again?

So what will get juniors noticed in an agency? Their work will. If it’s great, it’ll opens doors. If it’s shit, you’ll be shown the door. It sounds too simple, but it’s true.

Jr: Simple is a hard pill to swallow. Especially for juniors. But it’s not always just about having good ideas. Any advice on how to act once you’re in?

C: Yes! A junior’s behavior will also get them noticed. Be polite with everyone you encounter. You’re a junior advertising creative, not an egocentric A-List celebrity. Be an arrogant shit and no-one will want to work with you. Work hard (as mentioned above) and produce results! Most creative directors don’t care how you work as long as you’re producing ideas that stand out and get noticed. If you’re working on a huge car account and you want to go to work dressed as a mechanic, then do so if it gets your brain pumping. As long as you’re coming up with kick-arse ideas, no-one will care!

Jr: Every junior we know wants to travel. The grass is always proverbially greener on the other side of the world. But only a handful can actually get a job, and the rest come home with their tail between their legs. What’s your advice for juniors before they spend their savings on a one-way ticket?

C: Before you travel, do this - LEARN YOUR CRAFT! Get a couple of years working in an agency before you think about upping sticks and becoming the next Dave Droga! Actually Dave is a good example. He knuckled down and worked. He put in the hours and by doing so started to have his work accepted by his CD’s, they in turn showed it to the agencies clients, the clients bought Dave’s ideas and Dave found himself producing his ideas. It’s the production of your ideas that start you wanting to think of more ideas that you want to produce. The more ideas you produce, the less you think about the grass being greener on the other side.

Jr: This industry is all about ideas. If you don’t got ‘em, you don’t got nuthin’. But coming up with a stellar idea is hard work. Any secret tips from your time learning from other greats in the business?

C: As I mentioned before, if you get your thinking right, you’ll constantly have fresh ideas on tap. Read James Webb Young’s book and understand the technique for finding ideas. Learn the rules and then run with them. Combine this book with a publication that I’ve found to be invaluable – Jack Foster’s book, How To Get Ideas. It’s educational, inspirational and above all, undetectable! (Rule #1 when finding ideas – Never divulge your original sources!)

For inspiration and advice from some of the world’s most renowned creatives, pick up a copy of The Copy Book and also the Art Direction Book (published by D & AD mastercraft series). Both these publications will inspire you to find great ideas as well as understand how some of the world’s most famous ads came to fruition. Closely inspect their work (and the work of others who inspire you). Ask questions like “How did they come up with that?” Look for the things in their ads that you find amazing. Is it the image? Is it the headline? Is it the feeling you get from the ad? Try to work out what made them come up with the solution you see on the open page. I still do it today… I still have my heroes.

Jr: Having heroes is a very important thing.

C: Absolutely. Back in 1996 when I was a junior art director, my copywriter and I wanted to work at BBH. At the time they produced some of the best advertising and it inspired us constantly… Unfortunately our portfolio didn’t impress the CD enough for him to open his cheque book. Disheartened my partner and I found solace in an book-crit we had with Peter Souter at Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO.

He looked at our work, said we were doing OK and then asked us if we knew the Albany Life press ad “Work out the date of your own death” written by Tony Brignull. We both looked blankly at him and replied “No”. With that he simply zipped up our book and said “In that case, you need to learn your craft. Go to the Westminster Reference Library (London) and read every D & AD annual they have. Study the ads and within a week you’ll make your book even better.”

We did just that. We read, we studied and we made photocopy after photocopy of the ads that inspired us. Tony’s work came up time and time again. It had a tone of voice that simply rang true on every ad he wrote. He inspired us to “talk the talk of the public.” We re-wrote our work but it still didn’t get us a job at BBH. Instead it got us our first full-time job at a smaller, not-so glamourous, lesser known agency. We worked on TV, print, posters and radio. The pay was terrible but everyday we learnt something new, we gained experience and this in turn taught us our craft… 2 years later, we left London and started working in Germany. Was the grass greener over there? Not entirely, but the German beer tasted far superior to the stuff they served in London!

And a final thought from Craig if you’re having difficulty getting work up:

If you are not getting your ideas produced, question why not.

Are you putting in the hours?

Are they focused hours of thinking?

Are your ideas good?

Are you having a laugh finding your ideas?

Is your creative director offering you good feedback?

Are you simply bitching because you think you’re better than you actually are?