I am somebody! Really! I am!
Celebrities are famous. Pro athletes are famous. Even reality TV stars are sorta famous. Advertising creatives are not. Their work might be, but the minds behind the work are not. Even the greatest ad campaigns lack a face. Sure they may end up being a memorable part of pop culture, like the "Got Milk?" campaign, which sadly enough has spawned such creative rip-offs like "Got Fish?", "Got Wireless?" and my personal fave, "Got Jesus?".
Most times, if you're in this business or have some sick obsession with advertising, you'll know the agency behind the work but rarely the actual art director-slash-copywriter team who concepted day and night, sacrificing sleep and marriages, to come up with these little gems of ideas. Many creatives will tell you that they do it for the love of solving a client's problem in the most creative way possible. Or, that they couldn't find any use for their Communication degree and decided advertising could at least pay the bills.
But not so deep down inside, the actual reason why a creative becomes a creative is for the "fame." This sick need for recognition and approval from the advertising world. So that the gods (named Weiden, Goodby and Bogusky) will approvingly smile down upon them and one day offer them a job and some laughable amount of money.
The sad part is the only people who will see this "fame" are other creatives seeking out said "fame." They will log onto AdCritic.com, read Creativity magazine, study volumes of Archive and Communication Arts like they're the Bible, all so that they can cringe with envy and blurt out loud "Damn it! I had that idea first! Bastards!" and then crawl back into the comfort of their egos, sulking and licking their wounds, wishing and hoping that one day their names will also grace the same pages.
I know this because I am a creative. An Art Director to be exact. And like most creatives, I have become somewhat jaded. At least that's what I'm telling myself this week. You see, the problem is I'd like to think of myself as more than just an art director. That my creativity can spread it's love across many genres, not just design. That I too am a writer, a photographer, a filmmaker, etc., and that one label can't define my geniusness (see what I mean about the ego?).
Of course, before I decided all this, I had to get the approval from two of my girlfriends, RBrown and Virgo, who also happen to be talented creatives. (sigh) The cycle continues...
Most times, if you're in this business or have some sick obsession with advertising, you'll know the agency behind the work but rarely the actual art director-slash-copywriter team who concepted day and night, sacrificing sleep and marriages, to come up with these little gems of ideas. Many creatives will tell you that they do it for the love of solving a client's problem in the most creative way possible. Or, that they couldn't find any use for their Communication degree and decided advertising could at least pay the bills.
But not so deep down inside, the actual reason why a creative becomes a creative is for the "fame." This sick need for recognition and approval from the advertising world. So that the gods (named Weiden, Goodby and Bogusky) will approvingly smile down upon them and one day offer them a job and some laughable amount of money.
The sad part is the only people who will see this "fame" are other creatives seeking out said "fame." They will log onto AdCritic.com, read Creativity magazine, study volumes of Archive and Communication Arts like they're the Bible, all so that they can cringe with envy and blurt out loud "Damn it! I had that idea first! Bastards!" and then crawl back into the comfort of their egos, sulking and licking their wounds, wishing and hoping that one day their names will also grace the same pages.
I know this because I am a creative. An Art Director to be exact. And like most creatives, I have become somewhat jaded. At least that's what I'm telling myself this week. You see, the problem is I'd like to think of myself as more than just an art director. That my creativity can spread it's love across many genres, not just design. That I too am a writer, a photographer, a filmmaker, etc., and that one label can't define my geniusness (see what I mean about the ego?).
Of course, before I decided all this, I had to get the approval from two of my girlfriends, RBrown and Virgo, who also happen to be talented creatives. (sigh) The cycle continues...
Labels: advertising, creatives, fame
posted by DP at 12:22 PM
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