The Creative Companion

by David Fowler
 FOREWORD

David Ogilvy once said that, in the end, making an ad

comes down to one person shutting the door and just putting
it down on paper.
We all know that lonely feeling. So I thought I’d pass along
a little booklet written by David Fowler that crossed my
desk not long ago. It might help inform that desperate time
when a creative person needs an idea, but, alas, doesn’t
have one.
We’ve also found that quite a few planners find it useful.
Clients and account managers do, too. Perhaps it helps
them see inside the minds of the creative people who work
on their businesses.
Ogilvy has always been a teaching institution. David would
be proud to know that we’re keeping that tradition alive.

Steve Hayden
Vice Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

1
 GET UP AND GO.

Get a video camera and go out on the street and

interview people about the product. You’ll be
amazed how many people will stop and talk to you,
a total stranger. Make up a yarn about “doing
market research” or something.
I suppose you can surf the Web for ideas. The
trouble is, you won’t find any real people there
to interact with. And you’re still just sitting there
in your office.
Here’s a tip: bookstores. Go spend an hour
browsing in a bookstore. There, spread out before
you, is the sum total of human experience.
There must be an ad in there somewhere.

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 IS YOUR BABY A MONKEY?

The real trouble starts when you’ve fallen in love

with an idea and had it rejected. Somebody has
called your baby a monkey. So you feel you’re
being treated unfairly, that your boss is a hack
and the client a bonehead.
All this may be true. There are some ideas
worth fighting for, and this may be one of them.
But don’t do it now. Now, listen to the input you’ve
received and solve the problem on the terms
you’ve been given. Your anger is beside the point
right now. Once you’ve proven that you’re a
trouper by returning with thinking that follows the
input, you can bring up your original idea again.
It may get a better hearing the second time.
Then again, it may have been a monkey all
along. Or, most likely, you’ll have forgotten
all about it, because now you’re onto something
better. Try it and see.

3
 WRITE A THEME, NOT A LINE.

Everyone struggles when asked to define a

company or product using just a handful of words.
Some people call these phrases tag lines. Some call
them slogans. Theme line is the best description,
because it reminds you that beneath your line lies
a theme. The term also has a shred of dignity.
What is a theme? Well, it’s the proposition
whereby you intend to sell the thing. It’s the single-
minded idea from which all your advertising will
spring. If your theme is fresh, your line will follow.
The line is “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”
The theme: “BMW makes incredibly responsive
cars that satisfy people who really like to drive.”
See? Once you have a theme, simply express it
in shorthand.

4
 HOW TO WRITE THEME LINES.

The old-fashioned chain-gang way of writing lines

is this: write a page of lines, double-spaced. Let
one sentence lead to another, one thought to the
next. When you have three pages, print them.
Take a pencil and cross out all the lines you hate.
Maybe there’ll be one you sort of like. Now, start
with that line and go another three pages.
I call this the chain-gang method because it’s
a little like breaking rocks. Only harder.

5
 FOG IS NORMAL.

It is infinitely helpful to realize that in advertising,

as in life, there is no grand road map that everyone
is privy to except you. We are all muddling forward,
through the fog.
Sometimes, having a big idea means that you’ll
be the one to lead everyone through the fog. Are
you willing to do that? Are you looking for an idea
that big?

6
 W H AT D O E S I T WA N T T O B E ?

An idea is like love. The more you need it, the less
you can find it. The more desperate your search, the
more scarce it becomes. Stop. Settle down and
listen to the thing. It will tell you what it wants to be.
Maybe if you walked around the block, you
could hear it more clearly. Maybe if you went and
fed the pigeons, they’d whisper it to you. Maybe if
you stopped telling it what it needed to be, it would
tell you what it wanted to be.
Maybe you should come in early, when it’s quiet.

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 A S T R AT E G Y W H E N Y O U D O N ’ T H AV E O N E .

When the advertising strategy is not clear, you

do not necessarily have to charge into somebody’s
office and scream for a better one. You will then
create struggle aside from your intent, and your
intent is to have a big idea. Offer to sit down and
discuss the brief.
The strategies that lead to good advertising
are usually really simple. Maybe the one you’re
looking at is too complicated.
Write a simple version of it and share it with
the account team or planner. If you pitch it right,
they might just buy it. They might add to it. Then
you can go away and make great ads that match
your great, yet simple, strategic idea.
Sometimes, you can make the ads, then write
the strategy after the fact. Sometimes.

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 C L E A R I T U P.

If you’re stuck, just make a message that’s clear.

Imagine the most basic layout: headline at the top,
visual in the center, body copy at the bottom. Work
to that mental layout and make a clear message.
Just say it. Or show it. Stop trying to be brilliant.
For now, be simple and clear, even at the risk of
being dull.
Then pin it to the wall and say the same thing
in more interesting ways. With a more interesting
layout.

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 WRITE A SPEECH, THEN AN AD.

Before you start writing ads, write the paragraph

you will use to set up your work for the client.
That’s your premise. If you can’t write it down,
then you don’t have one.
Use this technique in internal presentations,
too. You will seem very smart if you lay out a
clear path of logic, then illustrate it with your work.
Your idea may be rejected, but everyone will
remember and respect the way you articulated it.
You win, even when you lose.

10
 S U P P LY Y O U R O W N V I S U A L S .

If you’re working alone, flip through magazines

or stock photo books to jump-start your thinking.
Magazines are filled with inspirational editorial
design. Stock photo books give you something
visual to think against. If there’s a newsstand that
has foreign publications, go buy some. It will
help you get outside the walls of your own head,
and give you a starting point that’s more interesting
than a blank screen.

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 DOES THE PROJECT REEK?

It’s hard to have a good idea when you feel that

the assignment in front of you is bad. But remember
that the project may turn out to be better than
you think. It may be your opportunity barometer
that’s out of whack.
You will look very smart if you take a deadly
project and make it great. You will look very foolish
if you take a peach of a project and blow it.
The advantage to riding the dark horse is that
nobody expects much. If you over-deliver on it,
you’ll be a star.

12
 GO HOME.

It’s hard to have an idea when you’re tired, no

matter how badly you need one. I promise, you’re
better off going home for the night and arriving
again at six the next morning.
You’ll be amazed how fast you can bang it out
when you’re fresh. Every minute you waste sitting
there like a stump tonight means lost time and
more panic tomorrow morning.

13
 H AV E T H E I D E A B E F O R E Y O U N E E D I T.

I have two notebooks, one entitled “People” and

the other “Ideas.” They’re blank books, spiral
bound for durability, in which I write down ideas or
techniques or names of talent that seem interesting
and potentially useful.
When you go to the movies or watch television,
read the credits and write down the names of
cinematographers, actors and potential voice-over
talent. Note neat scenes and special effects. When
you visit galleries, museums or exhibits, write down
the names of artists and photographers.
Most creative people begin looking for ideas
once they get an assignment. But by compiling
these little books, you’ll be having ideas well in
advance. You’ll be way ahead of everyone else.

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 PERK THE NOTION.

Define the problem in your head, as best you can,

then just chew on it for a few days. Never let it rest.
Keep it perking at some low level of your mind.
Keep a pad and a pen in your pocket.
Your brain is the ultimate tool. You carry it
everywhere. You can use it while you do other
things. You can use it when you may not even be
aware you’re using it. But first, you have to make
it understand the problem you want it to solve.
Inform your brain what you expect of it, then
give it a few days to deliver.

15
 T H E O V E R N I G H T T E S T.

If you’re not sure about an idea, noodle it out

and put it away. Then return to it the next morning.
I don’t know what happens overnight, but more
good ideas become dumb ones as a result of
darkness. Go away and look at it fresh tomorrow.

16
 GET A SECOND OPINION.

Everybody wants to have their idea validated by

someone else. But be careful about wagging it all
around the office in search of approval. Pick a
couple of people whose opinions you trust and
show it to them. They’ll give you a read on it, and
may have comments that make it better.
If your trusted advisors tell you the idea stinks,
then be willing to walk away from it. If you’re not,
then don’t go looking for outside opinions. You
have to be willing to hear the bad news as well as
the good.

17
 STOP MIND READING.

Trying to read the creative director’s mind may be

the thing that’s holding you back. The truth may
be that your fearless leader has nothing on his mind,
which is why he hauled you in to help solve the
problem. Do what you think is right, then present
it to him. The discussion around your efforts may
help focus the search.
Most creative directors are just like clients:
they know it when they see it. Show him or her
some options. Trying to use ESP can paralyze
your thinking. Follow the input, and your heart,
and go make the ads you think are right.

18
 T RY Y O U R H A N D .

Don’t abandon handwriting. For emotional subjects,

or journals, or travelogues, handwriting brings
something special to your words. It’s just different.
Try it and you’ll see what I mean. The connection
between your hand and the page via a tiny strand
of ink imparts something that is somehow closer
to your heart.

19
 IS THE IRON HOT?

When the muses are singing to you, when the ideas

are pulling you along, don’t get up and go shoot
hoops. Don’t go play eight ball on that pool table
set up for creative people to waste their time on.
Don’t go out and fog up your head with a couple of
beers. Sit down and crank it out. The moment has
arrived. You have the feeling. You’re on a roll.
You’re chasing the thing. Do it!
Keep a pad by your bed.The muses often strike
at that gray time after you lie down and before
you go to sleep. With the sunrise, your big idea will
be history if you don’t wake up and noodle it out
right then.

20
 JUST DO SOMETHING.

When all else fails, just start writing. Or designing.

Push back against the idea of not having any ideas.
Write headline after headline after headline.
Page upon page. Try writing the first paragraph of
body copy. You may find a decent headline in there
somewhere. Try writing a page of theme lines. You
may come across words you didn’t expect.
If you’re trying to write television, write a radio
spot instead. It’ll give you sixty seconds, twice as
long to spell out your proposition.
By beginning the process of writing, you
will discover ideas along the way. Don’t confuse
movement with action.They’re not the same things.
But sometimes, in lieu of action, making a little
movement is the next best thing.

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 T H E S A M E O L D S T O RY, B U T N E W.

Advertising, like literature and cinema, operates

on a mere handful of story lines, retold in hundreds
of new ways. Which one will you use? Well, how
about “conflict”? A problem occurs, your product
solves it.
Aren’t the classic Volkswagen ads really
about “the underdog”? What about “using product
changes world”? “Cute town where the thing
is made”? “Using product changes person’s life”?
“Founder as goofball/regular guy/earnest guy”?
“Factory tour”? “Quirky roots of product”?
“Employees”? “Title cards”? “Talking heads”?
Instead of just writing ads, stop and think about
the story you want to tell. Consider how others
have told it before you. Then tell it once more, new.

22
 T H E PA R T N E R T H I N G .

If you’re working with a partner and nothing is

happening, split up and work independently,
returning at a specific time. (It’s important to have
a deadline.)
When you get back together, be willing to adopt
your partner’s ideas as your own. Just because the
big idea didn’t fly out of your own head, or didn’t
happen while you were both in the room, doesn’t
mean it’s not a shared effort.
That’s what partnership is all about.

23
 B U I L D T H E WA L L O F S H A M E .

You sit down and make a stack of ads and what

do you have? A stack of ads. What you need, my
friend, is a wall, a pad of paper, a big marker and
some white tape.
Post each of your theme lines horizontally
across the wall. Then, beneath each theme line, tape
up your executions. You can tape scripts to the wall,
or just notions, or anything that fleshes out each
different direction. This “wall of shame” becomes
a diagram, an organizational chart. It will help you
build momentum because it physically shows what
you have in the bank. That gives you confidence.
It also lets you rearrange bits. It lets you
compare. And it helps you see, and trash, your
worst ideas.

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 W H AT ’ S T H E B A R H E I G H T ?

Do you understand the level of quality you’re

expected to create? If you’re the boss, do your
people get it? Does everyone know the kinds of
ideas they’re supposed to be having? This is
where awards books can help. They’re a physical
rendering of what is considered to be pretty good
work. They’re fun to look at. They’re a reminder
of what’s possible.
Awards books can give you a jump start. But
don’t spend all day reading them. The idea isn’t
really in there. It’s inside you.

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 M AY B E T H E I D E A’ S A L R E A D Y B E E N H A D .

When you don’t have an idea, maybe you should

ask around and see if anybody else has one. But
don’t spend all day jawing with other creative
people. Start with the broadcast producers. They
have all sorts of interesting notions about voices,
talent and music. Oddly, producers get included in
the creative process all too seldom. They’re usually
loaded with ideas.
Do the same with art buyers. They may know
a photographer or illustrator with a great idea and
no place to sell it. Same with the media people.
Same with planners or research people.
Sometimes, the idea has already been had.Your
job is simply to find it and present it.

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 MAKE A BAD AD, THEN MAKE IT BETTER.

Making a great ad can seem overwhelming. Pretty

soon, you’re paralyzed.
So make a bad ad. Then, make better ones.
You’ll shift the problem from “How can I have a
great idea?” to “How can I make this miserable ad
better?” Go make the ad you’d make if it was your
business, your product.
Sell something. Imagine you’re standing on
a used car lot, banging on the hood of a car. Now
make an ad like that and see where it leads you.
Just don’t stop with that ad.

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 D O N ’ T C R E AT E , U N C O V E R .

Stop trying to create a brand. Instead, simply reveal

an appropriate portion of the brand. The brand
already exists. It’s already at work in the minds and
hearts of people. Maybe they’ve just overlooked
an aspect of it.
Unless it’s a new product, don’t go off and create
anything. Just illuminate a corner of the brand that
has been in the dark. Then your message will feel
appropriate, like it comes from the brand.

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 W H AT B U S I N E S S A R E T H E Y R E A L LY I N ?

When you’re trying to define a company, don’t just

look at the physical, obvious products they make.
Look at the effect those products or services have
on the people who use them.
GE doesn’t just make lightbulbs. They bring
good things to life.
IBM doesn’t just make computers and software.
They offer solutions.
Kodak doesn’t just make film. They help people
share their lives.
What does the company really do in the world?
What comes of their efforts? What changes as
a result? Where would we be without them?
Sometimes, it’s not what a company does. It’s
what the company’s products mean to other people.

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 W H O ’ S T H E TA R G E T ?

Defining your audience will tell you their habits

and customs. You’ll know what currency to use to
communicate with them. The media people can tell
you the magazines, Web sites or television shows
they consume. You’ll have a context to work within.
If your target has been defined as adults,
25–54, you should push back. You won’t be able
to communicate clearly with your audience, and
your client won’t be able to judge your work,
because he doesn’t know his target.Worse, if you’re
planning to test the work, the researcher will
probably designate a narrow niche of people for
the focus groups. If you haven’t made advertising
that speaks to them, your work will bomb.

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 S O LV E T H E L A S T F I V E S E C O N D S .

The most important part of any television

advertisement is its conclusion, the last five seconds.
That’s the part that resolves, explains, summarizes
or excuses the preceding twenty-five seconds.
If you’re not clear about the last five seconds,
you’re not clear about anything, because that’s
where your premise gets pounded home.
Try to write the last five seconds first. If you
can’t, you don’t need to write an ad, you need to
develop a premise for an ad.

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 AFTERWORD

Many years ago, when I was a struggling copywriter desperate

for any kind of proof that I wasn’t a completely talentless
schmuck, I went to an awards show in San Francisco.
An ad I had written was a finalist in the show, and this was
my chance to officially be declared an “award-winning”
copywriter.
I can’t for the life of me recall whether I won an award or
got a certificate or what. In fact, the only thing I remember
is a very clever commercial for a San Francisco newspaper.
It was a series of vignettes of various people asking for more
sports coverage, more business coverage, whatever, cut
against recurring scenes of publisher Will Hearst holding his
chin, looking at the paper, while muttering to himself, “There
has to be something else we can do to make this paper great.”
Anyway, this goes on for 25 seconds and finally Hearst takes
his hand away from his chin, revealing it to be completely
smudged with newspaper ink. Followed by a title that says
“Introducing non-rub ink.”
It was a clever and witty piece of storytelling that made a
mundane benefit seem utterly bright and charming. I haven’t
seen the spot in 10 years, but to this day it’s one of those things
where I think, “I wish I had done that.”
So not long ago, I was talking with David Fowler and he
tells me about a spot he did while he was at Goodby in their
early years and, lo and behold, it was the non-rub ink spot.
Now, David Fowler is a superb copywriter. A great copywriter.
He is most famous for giving Motel 6 a soul.

32
This is no small achievement—since there are a dozen other
lodging chains made of the same cinder blocks and paint.
And it is all the more impressive since he did it through the
much-maligned medium of radio.
What makes David so good is that he can take seemingly
dull and ordinary things and find style, soul, dignity, spirit
and purpose buried inside them. Whether it’s non-rub
ink or investment bankers or what have you—he takes
the sorts of things that other copywriters turn up their
noses at and turns them into something honest, human
and meaningful.
This is a rare skill.
It is, after all, no big deal to make a great Michael Jordan
commercial — you start with something great and merely
allow that greatness to shine through. But can you make
dental floss interesting?
Fowler could.
And now, instead of hoarding his secrets, he is sharing
them with you. To help you through the dark times when you
are wondering whether you are a talentless schmuck. Or
merely stuck.
I wish I’d had this advice. It would have saved me some
sleepless nights.

Chris Wall
Co-Creative Head, Ogilvy & Mather New York

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 5.6.03
© David Fowler 2003

Your comments are welcome: David.Fowler@Ogilvy.com

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