Please, Don't Feed the Creatives

I had a boss who liked to comment on the perception of “creatives” in the advertising and marketing fields. For those not familiar with the lingo, “creatives” are the Art Directors, Copywriters, Designers and Creative Directors who work in advertising. How’s that for pretentious? We turned an adjective into a noun and slapped the label right onto our collective forehead.

The perception I’m talking about is that the people in the creative fields are a different. For example, at my former-former job, we got to "work" in a special room filled with games and other “brainstorming” inspiration. We always wore jeans…gasp…not just on jeans days. Some of us didn’t shave often enough. Others may have shaved a tad too often (maybe hit a nerve or something). Some of us took our work a bit too seriously, as if it belonged in Louvre rather than in the Sunday newspapers. Some of us got a bit ornery when a non-creative had the gall to suggest a logo should be bumped up in size, or a headline should be more to-the-point (less whit, more grit).

This particular boss liked the idea that we were a bit different, so he always joked with people about how on-the-edge we all were. He would tell people not to make any sudden movements around the Art Directors. Speak only in hushed tones around the Copywriters. And, whatever you do, don’t feed the Creative Directors. He treated the dynamic as if we were a bunch of gremlins who would go “Christian Bale” on anyone who didn’t walk lightly. He was joking…I think.

This guy exaggerated. It’s not really like that. Not completely anyway. Apparently there was a time when money was flowing through the advertising industry at such a clip that the top dogs in the business where treated like rock starts. But, those days are gone if they ever even existed. The creatives are no longer the David Lee Roths of the marketing world. The band broke up. We’re just normal people, trying to make it. Yep, I put on my leopard skin spandex pants one leg at a time, just like everyone else.

That being said, I think it’s true that the creative group in any environment does tend to live just a click farther off center than the majority of the population. But it’s subtle. Maybe we were born that way. Maybe it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people think we’re weird, we must be, right? Or, what’s more likely, is that we treat this perception as our license to be screwballs. Whatever. I’m not complaining. Yesterday spent two hours re-writing my resume as it would appear in the Dork-Based Bizzaro World. In that world, I'm certified to climb trees, get lost whenever I want and generally act like a Dork. The creative universe is a good one in which to live.

I bring it up because I think I found one of the reasons that the advertising gang tends to sort of wander around rather than march in a straight line. We’re not odd because we set out to be. We’re not weird because deep down we’re insecure. I don’t think we’re wired differently at all. We’re “off” because our clocks have gone haywire. Totally out of whack. And, I don’t mean we just tend to be night owls, or late for meetings. We’re waaaayyyy off. Months, in fact.

When I was working at Best Buy, I was fortunate enough to be on the team assigned to brainstorm and design the Holiday campaigns. I worked on those teams for 3 years in a row. Now, with my first freelance gig happening, I find myself working on a different holiday campaign for a different client. I said, “Holiday campaign.” Holiday? For those of you not paying attention, it’s February.

I always thought it was a bit strange to be concentrating on Santa, Christmas Trees and Candy Canes in early spring. Now I’m thinking that this might just be root cause that some of us creative Gizmos turn into Gremlins at the slightest turbulence in the air. Could it be because it’s NEVER NOT HOLIDAY? Think about that. Imagine a world where Christmas never really ends. Once it’s finished, it just kind of starts all over again. It’s the movie Groundhog Day, but without Bill Murray there to drive us off a cliff just to see what would happen.

I’ve had “Here Comes Santa Clause” and “Winter Wonderland” in my head for the past five days. Kind of like an actor getting into character, if you’re an Art Director designing something Christmasy, or a Writer bringing words to the page (some would say, “bleeding copy” but c’mon it’s just a flesh wound), you have to get into it somehow. I’m not putting on Christmas albums or anything, but I do have to look up a phrase or song lyric now and then. That’s all it takes. Try it sometime. Google the lyrics for a Christmas song. Read them. Now, try NOT to have that song stuck in your head. And, don’t think about pink elephants either.

So, as the snow melts and the ducks return home, carrying flocks of retired grandparents with them, the marketing folks will be neck deep in holly and mistletoe. Keep that in mind if you’re walking through the grocery store on St. Patrick’s Day, or Easter, or the Fourth of July and you hear someone humming Jingle Bell Rock. In that situation, here’s what you do; don’t make any sudden movements. Speak in hushed tones. You may have stumbled upon an advertising Gremlin, who is seeing visions of sugar plumbs dance through his head...in February. He's not weird. He's just confused. In that case, walk away. And, please don’t feed the “creatives.”