How many of you creatives out there think you’re good at your job? Most of you? That’s what I figured. And, with a couple of exceptions I won’t name because I’m nicer than you think, you’re all probably right.
Or are you?
Have you ever had an ad on the Super Bowl? Been featured in Creativity’s “Best Teams” edition? Do you keep your Andys, Clios and One Show Pencils in the closet because, let’s be honest, only Lions need be on display? Did Alex Bogusky once let you go home early at 11 p.m.?
No? Then you are an advertising failure. Unfit to put a Scrünchii in Jeff Goodby’s ponytail. You probably can’t remember if “Wieden” is pronounced “Weeden” or “Whyden.” Not that you’ll ever meet Dan the Man, of course. That goes without saying. Which is why I said it. You, sir or ma’am, are a hack.
Except, quite possibly, you’re not. You may be a mad, mad man genius who’s been unlucky in the ad game. Left to toil at standard-issue agencies on standard-issue clients. Maybe you’ve worked on big clients who hated big ideas. Or for smaller, riskier clients who didn’t have the budgets to produce more than a landing page. But your lack of media-spanning über-campaigns means you can’t get anyone at the good shops to pay you any mind. You’ve been in the business too long to put spec in your book, after all. Almost makes you pine to be a portfolio-free account person, except khakis accentuate your pooch. And not in a good way.
But maybe, just maybe, a few recruiters, talent wranglers, ECDs, HR folks and others charged with sifting the creative chaff from the golden wheat will read this article from revered sports writer Frank Deford about how sticking to conventional wisdom caused countless people to overlook Jeremy Lin, the NBA rookie superstar du jour. Maybe they’ll channel their inner Brad Pitts (“Moneyball” edition) and look to the overlooked for their next hire. And then maybe, just maybe, they’ll yearn for something deeper, something only you possess.
Right after they call me, of course.
Later,
Fox
Mining Genius From the Rank and File
