We took to the web to digest the most interesting recent stories on creativity, whether it’s pressure thanks to either politics, time or bad behaviour, or defying convention as Warhol did. Here they are in case you missed them.
‘Has the democratisation of distribution revolutionised creativity?’ – Campaign Brief
Jonas Lembke, executive creative director, Atomic 212, argues that it’s ideas, not technology, that determines success, even in today’s social media-centric world.
‘The test of time facing creatives’ and ‘Meet the author who wants to wake people up to their creativity’ – Campaign Live UK
This candid piece by Ana and Hermeti Balarin, working parents and executive creative directors at Mother London, will make you laugh out loud. But the constant race against the clock to be creative, while juggling family and life commitments, may touch a nerve with many in the same position. Meanwhile, Sonoo Singh takes on the challenge of author Chris Baréz-Brown to ‘Wake Up’ and tap into some unleashed creativity.
‘Adland can thank Wicked Campers for getting the law involved in ad regulation’ and ‘Modern brand-building in age of crisis’ – AdNews
The provocative messages plastered on the sides of Wicked Campers have seen the Advertising Standards Bureau look towards legislative support to crack down on the offensive marketing strategy after deeming it to fall foul of the AANA’s self regulation system. Simon Canning asks whether this is a one-off or the beginning of the end of self regulation.
But at least Wicked Campers is using creativity to provoke a reaction: Iris Sydney planning director Celia Garforth tells AdNews that “more Australian brands need to embed themselves within culture in Australia or ultimately they will lose consumer involvement.” Garforth’s comments follow a global study conducted by Iris that reveals three in four brands fail to create any form of emotional connection with people.
‘5 charming ways to make your owned media memorable’ – The Challenger Project
Brands often overlook their seemingly functional physical owned media, such as their packaging or business cards. Jude Bliss of brand strategy consultancy Eat Big Fish explores five charming and creative ways brands are transforming their off-screen owned media into valuable earned media.
‘Political correctness threatens good advertising’ – Australian Financial Review
Simon Collins debates whether ‘it’s borderline bonkers to alter beyond recognition the DNA of a brand to pre-empt the disapproval of a minority who may not even be in your target audience – especially when it runs the risk of alienating the demographics which constitute the bulk of that target audience’.
‘Andy Warhol before Pop explores artist’s New York advertising career’ – The Australian
“When it came to advertising, and fine art, Warhol had a very full and sophisticated understanding of those industries: I would say he had a strategically contrarian approach to what was conventionally accepted in those worlds”: Matthew Wentworth quotes Art Gallery of NSW senior curator Nicholas Chambers in this detailed piece on Warhol as an adman.