Alice Ratcliffe – 11th January 2012
It is the start of a new term at SCA and I have been given a somewhat ominous task of marking the occasion by writing the first blog post for our new year. 2012 is going to be big year for us at SPANK. Fundamentally this is because 2012 is when we hope to leave behind endless years of “studentdom” and finally get a job.
Employment is ultimately the goal of my education. One thing that makes my blood boil is hearing someone suggest that as a girl – “surely I shouldn’t have to worry about my job as ultimately it will be given up once I get married.” Despite this being obviously outdated and sexist, what always struck me was the underlying attitude that requires me to find someone to marry and share a “happily ever after” with. This I see as a much more difficult task finding a job.
But in some ironic twist of fate I have managed to find myself chasing a job that demands me to find a partner. In advertising most agencies only hire creatives in teams of two. Consequently I need to find someone whom I am happy to spend my working hours with, someone to set up a portfolio with and produce work that together we nurture into something incredible. So on the first day of term, SPANK sat nervously in some bizarre version of Blind Date whilst Marc, our own Cilla, announced the new creative couples for the coming months.
It is a funny concept the Art Director/Copywriter creative team. In many ways it feels outdated and nonsensical. It was originally conceived by Bill Bernbach in the 1950s. He realised that two heads were better than one. In an Industry that focused on producing print ads the combined skills of the copywriter and art director made sense.
Does this pairing still work today?
There are many out there who would argue not. Is this the death of the creative partnership? I believe it isn’t and have faith that there is a little life in them yet.
No one can deny the value of being able to bounce your ideas off another person. An idea when first grasped in your mind is an insecure, fragile, fleeting thing. It can be easily dismissed or at worst forgotten. This is where it helps to be working with a partner. If you feel confident with your partner it will become second nature to voice your half-formed thoughts and force it out into the cold outside. With a second pair of eyes scrutinising it, the idea cannot be easily forgotten or dismissed. Instead the idea benefits from another input, where it is developed and hopefully made into something great. This is why a productive creative partnership is so important. Although our industry is constantly changing one thing has remained fundamental to it. And that is – “that great ideas are always the ultimate goal.”
Despite the concept of working in creative teams still holding strong, it appears it is the pairing of art directors and copywriters that is waning. Our industry is no longer dominated by print ads and our platforms of communication are constantly being pushed into new areas.
Daniele Fiandaca, co founder of Creative Social, argues “you need a diversity of skills to deliver a brilliant piece of communication”.
This is why I feel fortunate to be working at SCA. Of the 27 of us who started the year no two students are the same. Our backgrounds, cultures and most importantly skills are spread across a broad spectrum. From a cabinet maker, ski instructor, to a classics student. Everyone has their own style, heroes and inspirations. This diversity is reflected in our work. Despite all of us being set the same brief no two have ever ended up the same.
Our school similarly encourages such diversity in the execution of our ideas. We are restrained from our desire to fill our portfolios with beautifully executed print work and instead pushed to communicate our ideas in a diverse range of media. In order to get the attention of a quickly changing industry our skills and knowledge need to be multidimensional and most importantly ahead of the curve. We can no longer rely on the basic skill set of an art director or copywriter. A creative team must be versatile, experimental, and innovative and in order to produce great work we must embrace and seek out a diverse range of skills and knowledge.
So at the start of 2012, a toast to our new teams, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, may our ideas be great and flow aplenty!
