Advertising is not for geniuses!

Let’s begin this article with a trip through the time-machine. Once the memory is all geared up, and the required bit of imagination has been summoned, it’s time we go back to the times of elementary school.

Do you remember the feeling of going to school for the first time and thinking how those ten-year old kids were ugly adults, capable of the most incredible exploits, such as cutting their own steak or skilfully going to the toilet with total independence?

I remember!

And, hell, how intimidating they could be!

This is pretty much likely to happen with everything that is new. With everything that appears to be way bigger than ourselves, even if that big and brilliant thing happens to be a ten-year old kid in the height of his 1,30m of perfect maturity.

The point I was trying to address with all this fancy talk is what the title of this article has already left you guessing: advertising in not for geniuses!

Yes, I’m aware that not everyone can create or develop an advertising campaign capable of raising sale figures or producing magic in 30 or 15 seconds. Sure. Still, you don’t have to be a genius. Fortunately.

On the other hand, it’s quite possible — in case you’ve just began adventuring yourselves through this art — you’ll feel like the kid that has just arrived in elementary school. But don’t let yourself get scared by the anglicisms, abbreviations or by the two week-old beard of your working colleagues. Some things are simpler than they look.

5 traits a good creative/strategist should have:

Be empathetic — Know how to put yourself in other people and the customer’s shoes. Enjoy being around other people. Work not for your ego, but for the sake of the customer and the team.

Be willing to learn — Whether by expanding the knowledge you already have about the subjects you like the most, whether by having a taste of the latest trend in the market. Advertising is just — and excuse me for the cliché — like life. It’s always going through constant changes and lazy people are not allowed on board!

Don’t have prejudices and pre-conceptions — Always be suspicious about whatever has been taken for granted. Raise questions. Respect all kinds of people and try not to have a prejudice against any consumption habits. Never ask questions just to get the answers you wanted to hear. Don’t believe in silly questions. Know how to embrace the unknown.

Know how to take risks (and dream) — In order to do something surprising and remarkable we ought to stop ourselves from going through the same paths — the ones that are already too familiar — all over again. You have to dream and, of course, work for it.

Common sense — All of this will only make sense if we have one last fundamental trait — common sense! It is rather needed in order to understand whether “this is the moment to take risks and dream big, or maybe not, this is the moment to stand still”. You can call it intuition or discernment, but you either have common sense or you don’t.

And nope, it doesn’t take a genius to have all these traits. Actually, maybe it’s better if you’re not one. That’s because most of the so-called geniuses live inside their own worlds, while people who work on Advertising should be living in the world where everyone else is, whether they are old people or annoying girls, students or mothers. We must place ourselves, even if temporarily, in the same level as every — and I mean every — person to make sure our message goes through — and excuse me for the simplicity — in the most beautiful way.

As an illustration, and for the sake of a conclusion, I’ll leave you with this example, taken from the book “Paula” by Isabel Allende.

Sitting like an empress right at the centre of the beach, my mother used to sunbathe in the morning, while in the afternoon she would go to the Casino: she had come up with a trick that allowed her to win enough money every afternoon to pay her expenses. To make sure we wouldn’t drown after being pushed by the waves of such a mischievous sea, Margara would tie us with ropes that she wrapped around the waist while she knitted endless coats for the Winter; every time a push was felt, she would raise her view slightly in order to see who was in trouble and, by pulling the rope, would drag him back to solid ground. We suffered everyday with this humiliation, but every single time we dived in the water we would forget about all the other kids laughing.

As we can see, somewhere in 50’s Chile, nanny Margara decided to tie a rope around children itching to play around, while she enjoyed the beach. It would be rather obvious to point out that, nowadays, ropes have been replaced by geolocation apps and nannies aren’t that common anymore, but those are the effects of the winds of change. And some things actually come for the good of everyone.

The so-called genius ideas, if had by normal people, are born just like this — in understated form and without ourselves being, most of the time, aware of them. They are born from banal needs and all they need is a receptive state of mind and a sharp eye that could make them develop into something.