Day 3: I am reborn

I’ve been in Cape Town for 3 days and I’m finally getting my sea legs. The jet lag from Chicago (10 hours) is significant. No matter how fantastic a place is, if you’re zonked it’s going to seem bleak that first day. Such was the case for me: The hotel sucked. The service lax. Even the famous scenery was a let down. Having my bags lost made me feel like I was laid over in Baltimore. I was angry, lonely and most of all tired.

But today I awake refreshed and full of appreciation for this place, my job and the many new faces. I am less whiny. The glass is half full. Business-wise, we are through casting and numerous other details. Our pre-production meeting is set for the morning. I do not anticipate any real problems. Perhaps the client will prefer our second choice for actor but we will get our man in the end.

About midway through my career I’d lost appreciation for the production process. Not the importance of it mind you, but the joy of making small films had left me. I’d grown weary of all the meetings and approvals and subsequent waiting around. And while that’s still a big part of the process, I now feel gratitude being able to participate.

Meeting new people –most smart, focused & creative- is one of the great pleasures of our business, if not life itself. Having written the script that will soon become a big time TV commercial makes the whole thing even sweeter. Creating a tidal wave on film has reawakened the little boy in me. The potential for manufacturing this terrible beauty excites me like having (making?) a baby. I am glad to be here. I am glad to be alive.

I’d like to think this was the part of our job Paul Tilley liked most: writing, creating and producing. Maybe the politics of managing a creative department took him away for too far and too long. Like me, maybe he’d forgotten how fantastic our ad-world can be and, in turn, the world in general. Again, I don’t pretend to know what unraveled for Paul, or even if it had anything to do with his work at all. But I do know I’m rethinking my own cynicism. It’s not only boring it’s deadly. For I have the greatest job in the world. And each day is a living reminder.

Death in our ranks, a chill in my bones.

Sitting at Heathrow with Monica Wilkins (agency producer), awaiting our second all-night flight of this journey. We will be in Cape Town tomorrow morning.

Meantime, I’m scrolling through blogger comments about the random and awful suicide of DDB’s Chief Creative Officer, Paul Tilley. I didn’t know the man very well but since he had my job (only at a bigger agency), I am understandably morbidly curious.

And judging by the deluge of comments, I’m not the only one. There’s a debate whether on-line haters of Mr. Tilley (of which there were many), and certain cruel press somehow contributed to his fatal decision. Without a suicide note, it’s impossible to know. Though I’ve got to believe the professional and personal attacks hurt. I’ve been on the receiving end of nasty public criticism so I know all too well that sick feeling. The big difference with me was I wanted to kill the perpetrators not myself!

Thankfully, I did neither. Life goes on, after all, and our best strategy is to ride such turbulence like a bobber. You go up when it’s good. Down when it’s bad. But never go under. As Keith Reinhard, the legendary chief creative from DDB’s golden age once observed (and I paraphrase): ‘bad ink is better than no ink.’ Too bad this elemental advice was lost on Paul –assuming his death related to these matters at all. God knows what other issues Paul Tilley had.

I’ve written about the sinful side of our business. Honestly, that was to be this blog’s biggest theme. We play fast and loose with just about all seven deadly sins: lust, greed, envy… The gods of advertising can yield real power. We make people want what they don’t need. What happens, then, when we fall pray to our own rhetoric…getting high off our own fumes? Do we covet awards and money and respect and then what: another man’s position…client…wife? Where does the job begin and end –for us and for Paul Tilley?

“Tidal Wave” 30 seconds over Cape Town

Tomorrow we leave for South Africa. I would have liked to post the script but given it belongs to our client -the finest client an agency can have- I’ve decided to refrain from doing so. As the above title indicates, the story in nothing short of epic. Let’s hope my imagination translates into something special for Cabot. They deserve it. However, my first worry is one of personal safety. The hotel website warns its guests not to venture out alone at night. Swell. That, and the fact that I’ve neglected to get certain reccomended vaccinations, has me on edge. But the show must go on…

The Dark Continent awaits.

Over the next few weeks I will be documenting the production of a commercial for Cabot (wood stain). The shoot promises to be exciting, interesting and personal. Yours truly wrote the script. Paranoid is the production company. And the Director is Marc Wilkins. We will be creating a tidal wave (!) so special effects are key, as is the exotic location in Cape Town, South Africa. I’m including a photo of the gnarly-ass fish were considering for the film’s comic twist. When permissible I will attach script and other details.

In blogging, I hope to transcend monotonous travelogue, providing relevant and entertaining content. For better or worse, you will get a sense of what TV production is about. This one anyway. From craft services to Cape Town. The defeats and victories. Weather reports. And when it’s all over you’ll see the final product.

So, South Africa? Seems extravagant. Believe it or not, this is a less costly place to shoot than Hollywood. Labor is cheaper. Our dollar is stronger. And it also has abundant beautiful coastline. But pragmatic reasons aside, I can’t f—— wait!

This is the job of a lifetime. Read the next sentence slowly: I’m going to Africa to make a film featuring a colossal wave. Beats shoveling snow.

Obviously, the commercial must be amazing. And I’m assuming the creation of it will be as well. Join me on the journey?

If nothing else, it certainly gives pause to the so-called death of mass media.

Gratitude. It’s like pizza and sex.

In between heated discourse over creative mandates, the follies of integration and the death of mass media, I think it’s a good time to say thank you to the gods of advertising, for I am truly blessed.

For all its unnecessary drama, rampant egos and backstabbing I make a great living doing something I genuinely enjoy and most days am pretty good at.

How many people can say that…I mean really?

I get to work with famous companies and those that are trying to become famous. And I get to work with new ones every year.

I get to work with the brightest, hippest, and dare I say it, sexiest people in the world.

I get to go all over the world. Last week I was in New Orleans for company meetings. Next up television production in South Africa. That’s right; next week I am going to South Africa to make a TV commercial about a tidal wave! I wrote the script. I cast the film. I get to help put it together. Then I get to see it on TV along with millions of other people. If I’m lucky, the spot will get a bunch of awards. I will then get to go get those awards. In places like Cannes.

That’s a lot of ‘I gets.’

I am the Chief Creative Officer of Euro RSCG. Before that I was an Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett. For over 20 years I’ve been a copywriter. In my opinion, I have the best job in the world. Like pizza and sex: even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good. Pretty damn good.

And for that I am eternally grateful.

Hot chicks and British accents

I just spent a couple days in the Big Easy enjoying, and by parts enduring, our company’s annual North American meeting. Myriad changes in Euro RSCG’s network meant this was the first such meeting for all of NA in many years.

Let’s start by looking at the word “network” because that’s what we are: a conglomeration of marketing services companies, some big, some small, some profitable, some not, some barely related to the business of advertising at all. Yet, here we were: a hundred or so Blackberry addicts, begrudgingly submitting to break out groups, team building exercises and the like.

Is it time to officially bury the term “ad agency?” I wish it wasn’t but I bet it is. Especially given half of our network doesn’t even make, buy or sell anything like ads. One Euro-owned company analyses data to create lists. Then sells them. Or something like that. I don’t remember on account of I was daydreaming about my upcoming shoot in South Africa.

While some of these company’s behave independently, for those that don’t (or are in the process of integrating) the ad practice remains the head of the snake. It’s where ideas come from. It’s where clients go to get them. It’s the fun part.

And nothing proves this out better than a two day stare-down of each company’s top performers. While my peers in marketing services wrestled with power points and data analytics, metrics and matrix; in my presentation, I got to show posters and films. Being the creative guy, I’m expected to be irreverent, glib and provocative. Entertainment. It’s damn near a mandate. My partner in this was a whip smart planner from the New York office. His bit was about insights and uncovering hidden gems. He poked fun at focus groups, as opposed to revering them. He got to explode marketing clichés while revealing the truth behind the lies!

I’ll say it again: The ad part is the fun part.

Show me one college graduate that imagines a life of list making or selling data. Just one. But I’ll venture thousands dream of shoots in LA, and lofts in Tribecca. Advertising is where the stylish women and fancy accents go to work. Simon, a hip young planner from Britain, lives in Soho, works on Jaguar. He’s bi-coastal. Knows a lot of people. Marketing services, on the other hand, is where your Aunt Judy toils. She can tell you what market to put door hangers but she’d rather upload photos from Rachel’s bar mitzvah.

To be fair the barriers break down on Bourbon street. We are all, as our company literature suggests, a Power of One. Aunt Judy gets up on a table and screams along with Def Leopard. Simon wins the karaoke contest. They both make out in a dark alley off the Quarter. Text each other nervously the next day.

And what about digital and direct? They were at the meeting. First of all, everybody wants digital. Digital gets to play with planners and creatives. Digital gets to play with whomever it wants. Digital is the geek who got the hot chick. Direct, however, is more like the ugly duckling who, having had a serious makeover, is suddenly capable of turning heads. Watch out for DM. She may have the last laugh. But not until someone figures out how to make a sexy video featuring envelopes.

Selling oneself online. Say it isn’t so!

Two weeks ago someone teed off on my fledgling blog, accusing it & me of being self-serving, that I was pimping my agency and my novels. No doubt I was. Wracked by unease, I’m now in a quandary whether I should continue such vainglorious pursuits.

God forbid I use a blog to talk about myself, right? Maybe millions of other people can do it, but I’m above all that. And –Gasp! I certainly wouldn’t want to use the Internet as marketplace. That would be insane. Websites aren’t for commerce. Nobody uses their computers to buy or sell things. Ebay and Amazon are trends. As for brazenly promoting oneself on line: That’s plain vulgar. Only weirdos watch You Tube.

Come on, people. Al Gore didn’t invent the Internet just for the porn. Consider Facebook. You Tube. My Space. Match Fucking Dot Com. It’s called personal computing for a reason. It’s personal! Someone reads my blog maybe they’ll want to read my book (or not). My point is it’s not exactly a stretch.

The last Integrated Marketing lecture I endured was all about how each and every one of us is a “brand.” We market ourselves to each other. Conversation is the new media. And so on.

So criticize the writing. Have at my arguments. Flog my blog.

But the blog is ostensibly about advertising. And me. Can’t I advertise on the goddam thing?

Lord of the buys: Myth making or body copy?

Many of us believe if we are pious, we go to Heaven. Lifetimes of Sundays are spent actively pursuing that goal -A lifetime of Sundays acting on belief. Imagine if ‘church’ were a ’store’ and countless millions of people believed -for the very sanctity of their souls- that they had to go there every week for the rest of their life. That store would be doing pretty well now wouldn’t it? Maybe even better than Starbucks.

Acting on belief is more than a periodic spasm of behavior. It is the creation of routine. It is what turns a person into a consumer. And that’s the business of advertising, is it not? We create believers. Have to. Miracles won’t happen in the marketplace unless there are a multitude of true believers.

To survive brands need myths. Yes, products and services are bought and sold regardless of conviction. (A hungry mother does not quibble. Every man has his price.) But if products and services want to become transcendent they need to become something more than what they actually are. Apple is more than a computer. And Nike…

Because of his compelling rhetoric and charismatic persona, a lowly sheepherder became no less than a messiah -his creed perhaps the world’s most followed religion. Because of compelling rhetoric and his charisma a mere basketball player became a God and a lowly gym shoe his wings. His creed is now a clarion call for everyone who has ever broken a sweat: Just do it. It is believed God can walk on water. And so, donning his shoes, can we! Or so we are led to believe. LED TO BELIEVE.

Compare the following verses:

‘DO UNTO OTHERS’

‘JUST DO IT’

Are they really that different? They’re powerful calls to action, made even more powerful by belief. With them, consumers have a reason to believe. We’re not just buying something. We’re buying into something. And Isn’t that what makes a big idea… big?

Just as the Israelites came to worship a false idol, the golden calf, coveting a gold lion has become symbolic of creative excellence. Given we are charged with creating religions for our brands maybe these awards shows give us exactly what we deserve.