Big Fishes – By @MrBenGolding
By Ben Golding
Big Fishes
The Truth upholds the fragrant earth and makes the living
water wet. Truth makes fire burn and the air move,
makes the sun shine and all life grow. A hidden truth
supports everything. Find it and win.
– Ramayana
We are all at a stage now where we can do it. We can all make stuff that’s pretty alright. A hell of a lot of ideas rate about 7 out of 10. And thats good, well, it’s good-ish. To be perfectly honest, I’m sure an okay creative at a forgettable agency could get by with just 7 out of 10s. But that’s not us, we strive for the very best. And that’s what Mikey and myself have tasked ourselves with doing. We are looking for the oh-my-god idea, the blockbuster idea, the biggest of fish.
So how does one go about coming up with this sort of idea? Well, we are sort of finding that out as we go, but first of all we looked at our best work and tried to isolate what made it good. The insight is obvious but not over-expressed. The truth is subtle and mature, it has a tone of voice and a point of view.
That truth is the SCA way of doing things. We generally try to crack things with problem/insight/solution, which so often works but can sometimes be a little limiting. I wonder if we are ever hamstrung by this way of doing things. Perhaps if we just dove into working, like some other schools, we could stumble upon something amazing. But with so little time to go, I think we need to work smart, stick to your process and keep your work turnover rate high.
Letting the back of your mind be open to anything and keeping your ears pricked for throwaway comments is a great way to tune into other people. How can we use that for a campaign. Would that work as a racy headline? Keep working, but always remember to leave time to let your subconscious whirr in the background. I find meditation really helpful for focussing things, it lets the extraneous float away and gives you a new light to see the idea in. It lets you put yourself into the shoes of your audience, how does this advert make me feel, how do I want it to make me feel?
The other thing about our favourite work is it has us in it. Our way of seeing the world, our tone of voice and personality. I think the best work has to come from your own nature, it has to ring true with your vulnerability and your strengths.
And so, with big fishes in mind we dive deep into ourselves and our work. One last push to the end as we brace ourselves for the sharks of the industry.
Curving back, upon My own Nature,
I create again and again.
– Bhagavad-Gita