:: adgruntie :: Some Things of Interest

+ PlanetOut Inc. names gay media advertising award winners. PlanetOut Inc. is a global online media company serving the gay and lesbian market. Their awards, in conjunction with Gay.com, go to companies showing innovation and excellence in advertising within the gay and lesbian community. And the winners are:
* Best Gay and Lesbian Interactive Campaign: General Motors, Saturn by GM Planworks
* Best Branding Campaign: NIVEA FOR MEN by RDA International
* Best Rich Media Campaign: Wrigley, Eclipse by OMD Chicago and San Francisco-based EVB
* Automotive Industry Category Leadership Award: Scion by ATTIK San Francisco
* Best DTC Creative Execution: Glaxo Smith Kline, Paxil by Beyond Interactive
* Best Overall DTC Campaign: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sustiva and Reyataz by mOne Worldwide
* Best Direct Response Campaign: AOL by Digitas

+ The busniess of creativity discusses a bunch of things but focuses on scam ads in award shows.

Corporate change made it such that creativity is being demanded in every facet of life, whether it be designing a logo or changing a toilet roll.

Clients have long wielded the big stick of authority and "interfered" in creative pursuits. A mature client who realises that consumer insights are important could actually add value to the creative development of an idea. This could best be served at the stage of the brief.

The not-so mature clients give incomplete briefs and wait to see some creative output, using that as a springboard to get the sagging right side of their brain to feebly start dissecting that idea.
[...snip...]
The advertising industry moans about not being taken seriously. Various management consultants have stepped into what could easily have been the domain of the advertising agency.

It is important that the industry rises above personal glory and thinks about common good. At the end of the day, I believe that even creativity has to bow before integrity. And then, just as you cannot be "slightly" pregnant, you cannot be "slightly" honest.

All of this is true, no matter where you are. I agree with the points made about integrity, heck I've been going on about it for ages here. Integrity in how you work, in the ideas you create, in how you communicate, and how we treat each other and clients are all very important and it's a shame that it is rare to find that anymore.

+ Ihaveanidea.org interviews Paul Lavoie of Taxi Advertising & Design. Here are some great snippets:

One of the ways to do great consistent work is to not have a company that is layered. In too many layers you can hide. Mediocre people hide in agencies. Mediocrity hides in these layers. We cut these layers at Taxi and because of that, people are accountable. On the good side, they are empowered.
[...snip...]
Never, ever assume, the only thing you should do is question everything.
[...snip...]
...I think it is really important for creatives to learn to sell creativity. Clients don’t want to know about kerning, they want to know how we can impact their business. And I believe creativity is a business builder. It’s a powerful tool to build business. It’s very important to be able to understand what your audience really desires.
[...snip...]
If you live for awards you don’t get any. This whole award show business can sometimes compromise great creativity. I wrote a little sticker that we put in books that says “This is an annual, not a manual. Look to life for inspiration”.
Award shows can actually reduce creativity. It’s the reference points of what has been done. Many times brilliant work is awarded, but at the end of the day, if you are a true creative you would be concerned about solving a business problem and innovating along the way.

Follow the link for more and also to check out Taxi's reel and portfolio.