NEVER SWITCH OFF

At the beginning of July this year I embarked on a task to do a book a day.

I took up my time on train journeys to my agency to produce a book, by simply writing strategies on my phone.

The brands I picked at random, from my own archive, or simply spotting brands, whether it be an advert on the tube, or something a commuter was carrying or wearing.

Not all the books were perfect, there were some very bad books, and some very good books, but the point of this project wasn't about consistency but to demonstrate passion and energy, to warm me up for the work ahead at AMV BBDO, and to remind me of what I learnt at Watford.

In the end I got some gems that could fit in the book, if I can get them past my creative partner's solid judgement, and also an engine still up to working order, so I intend to carry on this project after securing my dream job.

I would encourage students to do a book daily, I would think it would give you a mental advantage over your classmates if you come in pumped up in the head. 

This industry is full of people that see creativity as just a 9-5 Job, and don't go beyond the boundaries of their working environment, as Tony highlighted in a interview post...

"Good creative people are constantly creating.  Again, it’s all about energy. Top students like Oli Beale and Paddy Fraser, who both work at Mother, never stopped thinking about ideas. If they were to write a letter to a milkman they would turn it into a creative idea. If they were to write Christmas cards they would create a brand of Christmas cards. They see everything as an opportunity, everything is a chance to create an idea. They will always be writing, they will always be thinking and jotting things down.  That’s what makes them good creatives. This quality is very rare. A lot of people only switch on when they walk through the doors of an ad agency and switch off when they go home. Creativity is about the way you live your life."

It's an old post, but I hold this sediment to heart, and it stands true whatever decade we are in, everything if you look at it in a creative lens is an opportunity to make something, even the dullest darkest stuff, however boring it may be, we as creatives can make something of it.

Paddy Fraser was a bit of an idol of mine, I wanted to be him, when I left Watford, and got into Mother London on my first placement as a single, similar to him. However it was never meant to be, 1. I couldn't be a single creative like Fraser, and 2. I was my own creative, my own person, I should of been myself, followed my instinct on how I would get success.

However I can take something from Paddy I do have, I never switch off, there is no turn off button on me, and I hope one day to illuminate Paddy and Oli, and either be a creative director in LA or the ECD of one of the most creative agencies in London. The point is these people got here form never switching off, and if you keep pushing, keep creating, keep practicing, you will get where you want to be in this industry, like Jamie Vardy in football, he started at the bottom and got to the top because he never settled, never stopped, never switched off.

The 50 books listed on a Photoshop document.  

ASPERGERS MADE ME A CREATIVE

Ever since I was little, I always had an obsession,

first it was Humpty Dumpty, I had to have all the merchandise, everything with the egg on it.

Then Jack and the Beanstalk, I wanted every book and film.

Soon followed Greek Mythology, I loved all the stories/myths of the Odyssey, Perseus, and the Minotaur.

Then my gaming craze, every game had to be limited edition, I would lay them out as tributes to my devotion to gaming.

Alien vs Predator, and Rocky/boxing followed.

This cycle of obsessions came from my autism, which I was diagnosed with at the age of 3, having asperger's syndrome.

This can come at an advantage/disadvantage.

The advantage being I grow a vast knowledge, living, breathing this thing I am obsessed by.

The disadvantage socially, that my obsession is all I talk about, caused me to disconnect with people, even get bullied for it. My school years were not very nice.

But when I figured out what I was naturally good at, and followed it, my obsession became my career, and everything fell into place.

I would lie if advertising got me into Watford, it was Watford that got me into advertising.

And when I mean got me into it, it made me obsessed with Watford and what it taught, its history,

the great people that have left the course, the work they made, inspires me to live up to the name.

Even when I was down on my luck, I would pull out my dog-eared "How to come up with ideas" booklet, and read over and over again Tony's teachings of how to come up with perfect strategies.

I kept every booklet, and have them in my Watford bookcase in my flat.

Every time I look on the website, or read an article about the course, it would pump me up to do better in my craft.

This obsession grew with my 'Tony I want in!' blog, for two years I noted down my progress of getting onto the course, that taught Tony's attention, that devotion got me into Watford.

Fast forward now, that obsession has turned into a placement at one of the top agencies in the UK, it has also sprouted into me helping Tony with new students every year.

I can see why Tony works tirelessly to create a new generation of talent, year by year, it's rewarding.

And I found out how rewarding that could be today through a tasty treat in the agency post.

For the past couple of months I was coaching a potential creative get into Watford.

Setting him briefs everyday, giving him feedback,

pushing him to come up with a book fit to get on the course.

There was failure, setbacks, he didn't get in on the first interview, but he showed true character and kept going, and in the face of failure he came out of his second interview with success, and got into Watford.

I was very proud, and over the moon in my email to him, that he sent me a gift of cupcakes to AMV BBDO, I have them on my desk now.

Just admiring this gift from the future Watford.

I would be lying if I didn't have aspirations of being a teacher in advertising one day, to live up the legacy of Tony, but at the same time, through coaching, and helping young talent, those skills contribute to being a creative director, and having a hand in building the next generation of talent, while directing great work is a dream job/goal.

What I have really learnt from having this obsession of Watford is I have entered a family, a family of creatives that appreciate my love for this industry/course. Who are keen to succeed like me.

'Family' is something Tony preached at our grad party, to keep a look out for our classmates, because in the future we could be working together shaping this industry, whether it being the heads of an existing agency, or even our own start-up.

And Watford is a family of people who didn't fit in, big dreamers who inspire to do big things, who asked too many questions, who want to make bread into surf boards and go rock pool fishing in the milky way. The weird and different is here on this course.

It's a change from the past when at school I was a outcast, bullied for being obsessive, for not being cool, in the social clique, I am now respected and appreciated for my obsessive love for this course and the industry, for being different, for all the reasons I was bullied.

I guess the moral of this post is, if you have an obsession for something, pursue it, keep persuing it, until it becomes a career, until people actually appreciate you for it, until you get love back for what you love.

For me it was from Watford with love.

P.S. The lad I helped get into Watford 18/19 was kind enough to write me a glowing report card on my performance as a tutor!

NEVER GIVING UP IS WINNING

Back in 1979 Tony graduated from Watford.

He had only three agencies on his hit list.

If he didn't succeed in breaking into any of them,

he would head back to Leicester to work at the markets,

until he finally broke into one.

He took his student book into Saatchi & Saatchi,

only for all his work to be rejected.

But it wasn't over, the following day Tony returned with a brand new book,

and got his first job in creative advertising.

Tony preached his story to my class after a bad session of not cracking anything.

It gave me a kick up the arse,

and inspired me to repeat what my tutor did to break into the industry.

Fast forward nearly 2 and a half years later.

I am preparing to start my placement at AMVBBDO on April the 3rd.

My road getting to this point hasn't been smooth.

It was quiet the opposite.

I have been to agencies that have folded due to disputes over direction.

I have been to agencies that spend more on drink and food, then creating great work.

I have been to agencies that care more about profit then creative merit.

I have had placement opportunities snatched in a spit second by other junior teams.

I have sent email after email, blanked, blocked and forgotten.

I have watched as all my classmates got hired in advertising.

And between all those episodes the job centre has been my second home. 

Not the fairytale I was hoping for after Watford, 

but I haven't given up.

Never have I stopped writing idea after idea,

book after book, email after email.

Never have I packed my bags and ran back to Birmingham,

to settle with a smaller, more comfortable agency job.

Never have I felt one second that this career wasn't for me.

Never.

If there was a Raging Bull or a Rocky Balboa type in advertising, 

I would like to throw my hat in the ring.

And here is why through a film quote from Rocky Balboa:

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

Never have these words ringed truer as I pushed myself to achieve something in this industry.

Advertising is tough, its horrible, you need be to determined, resilient, strong,

its literally a cut throat business.

Its never an easy ride if you want the best out of this industry.

This is why when I talked to watford students,

I say to them cherish your time at Watford,

listen to Tony, take every little piece of advice,

use it, attack, secure a placement while your touring these good agencies.

Because these golden opportunities won't be this easy when your out there fighting,

fighting not just against your classmates, but every ad school in the UK.

However from not giving up, things are looking up,

I have the perfect creative partner now,

where our work actually works together.

Agencies we want to get into are liking what we're doing,

and considering us for placements.

We have broken into the news twice this year.

And now we are starting at arguably the biggest agency in the UK.

It shows that digging deep you will eventually find gold.

I write this post not just to document my journey outside of Watford,

but also its a rallying cry to those struggling in this industry.

Because never giving up, is not giving up on cracking a brief, a thought, a idea, a career.

Thats why there are so few creatives at the top,

because most have given up.

Never giving up is winning.

DON’T SAY, JUST DO.

Tonight, I got a pep talk.

Before I was down, eating my words.

I was down because I felt I was not doing enough at my agency.

Not doing enough to be hired or even extended.

Worst of all I was saying it to my creative partner,

affecting everyone around me.

And I am sorry to those who I affected,

whoever read this post, for it’s the last time I say I was doing bad.

Someone (for confidential purposes) took me aside and said….

“When you keep saying you’re doing bad, it only eats you inside,

you fulfill what you are saying.”

“Just do what you are saying.”

“Stay later at work, do that personal project you where raving about.”

“Just go out and do it.”

After that pep talk I had a release of life,

not to moan, but to act on my problems.

Yes, it might sound simple, but how long can you not say, no I can’t be bothered,

no, it’s too much effort, no I can do it another time.

It rings in your ear, and you don’t do nothing about it,

you settle in your ways, you accept the agency ways.

NO, keep alert, stay focus, if you have an idea, do it,

whatever the situation, whatever happens,

just know you went out and did it.

Wasn’t it W+K, one of the most creative agencies in this business,

breath the idea of testing it, and embracing failure.

I took that ideal recently,

I was doing a talk for OMBLIVE4, in front of 200 people.

Me and my former tutor and friend Tony Cullingham,

talked about the theme I wanted to talk about “LESS COMMENTS, MORE IDEAS”.

Tony told me to make a real idea of it,

instead of ranting about the subject,

live up to the theme, and ask the audience to throw you brands to answer with ideas.

I was scared, seeing how many people where there to watch, find mistakes.

They could have said anything, I might have not answered it…

No, the idea was there, it was better than what I was going to say, and I did it.

It wasn’t the success I was expecting,

but a least I had the guts, and went out what me and Tony planned.

I have never been the guy to walk away from the chance of testing my head.

All I was proud about, was I did it.

There are no doubts when you do it,

and even better if you keep working on it,

building that idea up as a creative denies any thoughts you have on not being active.

It shows you are training, getting better.

Like in boxing, there are those who mouth off, say who they are going to beat!

Only a few have backed it, Muhammad Ali,

an inspiration and someone who did what he said he was going to do!

He said he was going to beat Sonny Liston,

a man who destroyed former heavyweight champion of the world (Floyd Patterson) twice,

within 1 round.

Sonny Liston didn’t answer the bell for the 7^th round, Ali won.

Muhammad Ali said he was going to beat George Foreman.

Big George had knocked out the man who gave Ali his first defeat (Joe Frazier).

Ali out smarted him in the famous rope-a-dope, and won.

For the other fights Ali didn’t win, he still came in the ring with the confidence that he was going to do it, whatever the consequences.

That boldness is inspirational, and in a sense, you have to give Tyson Fury (recent heavyweight champion) a thumbs up.

I shall cut this entry short,

talk less, do more.

Peace out!

COMPARING THE CREATIVE TO THE BOXER. (PART 2)

PREPARATION

Before any fight you train, you study your opponent, watch videos of his fights, 

jog in the early hours of the morning, 

take on sparring partner after sparring partner, 

stay on a strict diet to make the weight for the fight, 

and never lose focus, training far from human contact, far from a social life.

Just you, your mind and your body.

You see the famous Rocky training montages, 

that is a perfect example of a fighter preparing, 

the different methods, training routines.

Specially the catching the chicken scene, Micky, an old-fashioned trainer, 

setting Rocky an old-fashioned task to work on his pace.

Tony once said to me, that a fit body makes for a fit mind, 

he would tell our class to stay away from the pub, 

not to drink during the working week, not to indulge in food too much, 

being hungover or simply having food baby would defiantly affect us coming up with ideas.

It would explain why Tony jogged, kept active, ate healthy, 

it would simply keep his mind going to come up with ideas for scripts,

or just to keep at the pace of the class helping with ideas etc.

But preparation isn’t just about warming up the mind, keeping it fit, 

it is also preparing for a certain client, 

understanding a brand, 

so when you have to answer the brief you will have a great insight/truth, 

an attack plan to deliver a great idea to win the client over, and get some live work out.

In boxing, you train a certain way for a fight/fighter, 

whether it be to increase your pace to counter a fast opponent, 

or your power to take the wind out of a defensive type, so they open for a clean shot.

Anthony Joshua had four sparring partners,

each one did 4 rounds and then they swapped. 

So, Joshua was sparring for 15/16 rounds in prep for a 12-round fight with Wladimir Klitschko. 

Because most of Klitschko’s fights had went the distance, 

with his clever boxing ability, to slowly pick off opponents with his jab.   

Joshua won the fight by knockout in the later rounds.

POWER

Mike Tyson was feared for his knockout power. 

Joshua is now carrying the torch with 19 win by way of knockout. 

Power, knockouts is what people pay to see in a fight, 

it’s what makes it exciting, 

whether fighter runs out of steam and is finally silenced by TKO (technical knockout). 

But it’s those flash knockouts that really make you stand up.

Tony told a team on this year’s course to be more Mike Tyson, was it to be bolder, 

or simply have more impact in their execution?

I feel power in advertising is summed up by the feeling of “I wish I came up with that”, 

that jealous feeling you have when you see a real great idea. 

That feeling is the knockout. 

Great ideas are powerful, they make an impression, you remember them, 

you talk about them to friends.

John Hegarty remembers when Ross Cramer and Charles Saatchi came up with the 'pregnant man'.

Hegarty thought he had won the brief for the Health Education Council,

with idea involving a pregnant school girl smoking a cigarette, 

but along came Ross & Saatchi with the pregnant man, 

and Hegarty felt completely disarmed, it was a knockout.

One great idea can be remembered for a lifetime, 

but some creatives strive to beat it with an even better idea, 

in fear that they are summed up by that idea for the rest of their life, like a one hit wonder.

Lennox Lewis had a series of great fights from beating Frank Bruno in a big British clash, 

to destroying the beast Mike Tyson in Vegas, 

he didn’t have one great fight, he had series of them at the top.

That’s why these sort of people are remembered, 

they made an impact, they made a statement, 

they entertained, they excited, they took your breath away.

COMPARING THE CREATIVE TO THE BOXER. (PART 1)

Last weekend I witness an epic clash between two great heavyweights.

Anthony Joshua of Great Britain got off the canvas in the 6th round,

to TKO (Technical Knockout) Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine.

This was a unification fight for the heavyweight championship of the world,

in a record breaking attendance of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium!

It was truly intense, and amazing to watch!

Even my girlfriend, who wasn't even a fan of boxing, was on the end of her seat!

This epic fight inspired me to write a post about how a creative and a boxer,

stand in terms of heart, skill and entertainment etc.

This is something I have been meaning to write for a long time,

since I decided to pick a career in advertising,

I have been treating it as a sport, a boxing ring, fighting against the best creatives,

for the prizes and the recognition to get to the top!

This is why I enjoyed One Minute Briefs so much,

head to head against your opponent, to out think them in a minute,

while everyone watched in anticipation!

I can't think of it nothing less then my sport,

so I have decided to show this feeling in a comparison,

of the two professions.

So you can feel how I do about this career!


STYLE / TECHNIQUE

A boxers style could be determined by the gym they trained in,

who he was trained by, or simply down to his attitude.

Mike Tyson's peek-a-boo style, was designed and perfected by his trainer Cus D'Amato,

this technique was the reason Tyson knocked out nearly every opponent,

ducking and weaving, coming up with speed, landing a clean haymaker out of nowhere.

Tony Cullingham of Watford trains all his students in a certain way,

finding the insight and truth in the brand,

capitulating it into a idea/line with no more then 8 words to sum it up,

getting them to execute on the hardest but simplest medium, the poster.

You could say the Watford technique is an orthodox (traditional) approach,

compared to SCA (School of Communication Arts) which is unorthodox (untraditional).

However some fighters are already training themselves.

When Muhammad Ali discovered boxing, he was obsessed!

He would get his brother to throw stones directly at him,

dodging the stones with his head movement, improving his speed.

This obsession payed off, Muhammad Ali became known not just as the greatest,

but one of the fastest fighters who ever lived, in his prime you could hardly touch him!

There is quiet a lot of creatives in the industry that didn't even go to advertising school,

and trained themselves, taking everything they could at book critics,

and processing that into a more affective way of getting better ideas.

Muhammad Ali was a idol of mine, and before I went to Watford,

I used cover and cover paper, getting my answers with my stamina and speed.

However when I came to Watford, I gradually moulded into a more untraditional style,

with my thinking, tackling briefs more executional,

working backwards towards the line to sum it up.

The way I saw it was to simply answer the problem with a solution,

we are problem solvers at the end of the day.

This could be seen weird for someone who trained under the Watford banner,

in terms of approach, but I like to think of myself as a boxer who can switch styles.


HEART / CHIN

"You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit; It's about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" - Rocky Balboa

The heart in a boxer's arsenal is what makes champions,

the engine to win when your back is against the wall.

To get knocked down and get back up again!

Tony would call this 'passion and energy', the formula for any great creative.

Because it's the passion, the love for the industry that keeps you going,

and the energy to come back with more and more!

Until eventually your at the top,

whether it be the best creative in your department,

or the winner of the Cannes Grand Prix.

Like Paul Arden said's "It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be.".

I also found that heart is how much you can take in criticism, and keep coming back with more.

Advertising is an harsh business, a subjective business,

with heaps of criticism flying from everywhere.

Tony would prepare us for this by constantly destroying our ideas,

he can be a tough man to please, but it was for our best,

because if you really had the heart for advertising you would come back with more.

Again, and again, and again.

I had a dark patch during the beginning of my second term at Watford,

where everything I brought in for Tony to critic was shit; everything!

So I began to work on finding myself, what inspired me in advertising,

I searched myself and got off the canvas with bigger and stronger ideas,

that best symbolised me as a creative.

The result showed as I was hand picked to go to Google.


SHOWMANSHIP

Some boxers have a show when they come to the ring,

flashing lights, dancers, singers, fireworks!

Some wear flashy robes, with tassels,

even shorts with their name engraved in diamonds.

The nicknames they have, Floyd 'Money' Mayweather, 'Dr. Steelhammer', 'Ragamuffin Man'.

Some with simply their lively attitude, mouthing off in the press conference,

building up the fight with their antics, they build a love hate relationship around them.

Neither way, it works to a extent to get people talking about them and the fight!

Some creative teams self promote themselves with a simple logo,

or go one step further and create self promotion videos, personal projects,

even create names that symbolise their team, instead of something boring like Tim & Joe,

just their normal names.... you are a creative, promote yourself creativity!

I greatly encourage it, my creative team is called 'PotterScotch',

basically me and my partner's second names combined with a sweet!

Also showmanship most importantly comes down to how you present you're ideas.

During my week at Google, a few teams including myself as a single, where chosen out the class.

Google was big, so when it came to presenting our world changing ideas, we did it in style.

Big keynote slides, on a large screen in front of the some of the heads of the creative labs.

Most of my classmates where clean cut, selling the idea inside out from the insight/truth,

right to how it would help people's lives, proper entrepreneurial stuff!

It was very professional.

However mine was the opposite, it wasn't as polished as the rest,

it was just one slide.

It was simply a black and white photo of me,

with a quote from me talking about innovation in ideas and the future.

I was parodying Steve Jobs, and it worked.

I felt more relaxed and interacted more with my audience, like I was at some big launch,

by starting off with a joke, and then bringing my future bending ideas into the fold!

Everyone was laughing and talking about it afterwards.

Memorability is key, I made not just a presentation but a show.


PART 2 COMING SOON.

QUANTITY MAKES QUALITY.

Cover paper!

Cover paper!

Cover paper!

This was the gospel of my tutor Tony.

For the only way you where going to get anywhere, was to go on a paper binge!

I was already living by this before I started the Watford course,

covering paper with my regular entries on One Minute Briefs,

placing them on my TONY I WANT IN! blog.

Eventually getting me into Watford,

and winning the most prolific OMBLE award,

hitting two birds with one stone.

Quantity and lots of it in thinking!

I loved producing loads of ideas,

because it never felt right getting to something with a few scrapes of paper.

It didn't feel there was a enough hard work behind the idea.

Keep covering until you got to one good idea,

keep covering until you got to two good ideas!

John Cheese once said in a talk on creativity,

that during his Monty Python years, he never settled on the first good sketch,

he strived until he got a second, a third, a forth better then the first.

This was the reason the dead parrot sketch came into existence, persistence!

I remember my week at GREY London, during the Watford tour,

and a creative team called Greg and Thomas said to us all,

that our biggest enemy was ourselves, that we must beat the best thing in our book!

That would mean always working on our book, always coming up with more and more,

until one idea toppled the best one!

One single creative that inspired me,

during my time at Mother London,

was Paddy Fraser, former Watford.

As Paddy put it in a interview with DRUM, you need to keep practicing and practicing,

until 1 in 40 is good, 1 in 20 is good, 1 in 10 is good!

Anders Ericsson said's in his paper 'The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance', it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be a expert at something.

So as I sit in Starbucks with my pad of 500 sheets of wilko paper,

(forget about the fancy layout pads, paper is paper, plus it's cheaper),

I cover, cover, cover, until one day, every sheet of paper has one good thought on it.

That or I cover 500 sheets of paper in a day with crap, and a few gold nuggets.

You must shovel through shit before you find gold.