So one week on and the Watford Creatives have given us the full range; big ideas, small ideas, dumb ideas, smart ideas, sharp ideas and of course the bluntest of ideas. We were once told by a creative director when we were hiking our book around, “ahh you lucky buggers, working on your student book is the best time to be a creative. You don’t have planners, account men or clients holding you back!”. At the time my immediate internal reaction was, “don’t patronise me! Give me patronage by giving me a job!”.
In the warm glow of hindsight I now of course see that he’s absolutely right. Giving the Watford Creatives briefs and seeing the pure eyes of the unpolluted soak them up and come back with ideas that were… fresh. Well that was worth it. Who cares if a lot of them were the least client friendly communications imaginable or some weren’t audience friendly? (God getting pissed off with product X because it was more popular than he was. A particular favourite).
I’ve always believed a good creative director does exactly what it says on the tin; directs. Sometimes that means letting the creative talent go off into unchartered waters, who knows what they’ll come back with? Isn’t that half the fun? Let them go and be curious. After all if you’re not enjoying it how do you think the general public will take it? You may as well go and make health and safety films.
With talent like the Watford Creatives there is so much of that curious nature that sometimes the way will need to be shown; “Don’t put God in the ads, it’s bound to piss someone off”.
Well done to all at Watford. Especially Tash and Dan, thank you.
