By Katy Edelsten

Be a Chocolate Chip.

At SCA we are encouraged to do ‘Passion Projects’ alongside our work. 

Passion Projects is just a fancy name for those little projects that creative (and the rest of the world) people have bumbling along on the side of life. Those weird little things people do; like collect stamps, photograph post boxes or write strong political opinion blogs. Things people do for the love of it, or the laugh of it, or for some other deep inner need. Things we do cause we need to embrace our need to create. Things that mean our ideas actually get off the page. 

They are necessary things. Like how some people have to play football or have to go clubbin’. Passion projects (for want of a way better name*) are things we just gotta do to unwind and stretch our fingers and satisfy our mad little lost creative souls.

I think they are things that everyone does whether they are aware of it or not. 

And they’re great. They’re nuggets of ideas you get to own completely. Ideas you get to experiment on and then throw away if you just feel like it. Ideas you get to have fun with, but not rely on for income. Ideas that bring out your real motivation and drive. Ideas that let you learn new skills. Ideas that push your brain and help you seek out what you really really really care about. Ideas that come from a really honest place, that don’t have to actually succeed. And sometimes they are ideas that turn into lol-tastic viral blogs or life-changing businesses. 

But now there is a title and a space at the back of the book and it’s a ‘requirement’ it all seems a bit more serious. It’s suddenly turned into some kind of goal-orientated thing, something to talk about and something I have to be able to explain. Not so easy. Not so natural. Naaaat me.

However, I am starting to get it. 

We go to Book Crits and we talk about Advertising. We talk about Industry. We talk about Copy and Art Direction and Agencies. 
We talk about Straplines and Layouts and Partnerships and Mentors. We get asked about Processes and Propositions and Personas.

AND THEN we get asked what we’ve been up to —– (AS IF we have time to get up to anything other than the terrible book we just made you look through)

And we need an answer that’s none of the above. 

Because the above is just a job. It’s a job that existed before you and will outlive you, it’s not actually you at all. You didn’t make it. 

It’s just a big old cake you want to be a part of.

Being in Advertising doesn’t make you different. Only you make you different. Advertising doesn’t even need you unless you’re different. It’s already got a bajillion** other people hanging around in it looking for jobs. It’s bursting with flour and butter already.

Imagine being the Advertising cake. Imagine trying to make yourself delicious.