Things Clicking Into Place

It's amazing how long you can go learning something without actually getting it.

I learned and played guitar for years and years, but when I gave it up recently (or at least gave up being in a band), I felt I was only just getting what it was all about - playing the right part at the right time. That's all.

It's not something you can really teach. I'm sure I could teach a kid to play guitar OK, but who really wants to hear "this is how you keep time with the drummer" when you can learn cool solos to impress your friends?

Well it's the same in advertising. We're well into Term 2 and I'm only just getting what it's all about. It's not about great lines (though they help) and it's not about sudden flashes of inspiration (again, not to be sniffed at, but not always necessary).

It's about finding a Creative Strategy. Once you've done that, you'll produce work that will look to outsiders like a flash of inspiration without breaking a sweat. It's this illusion that adverts are created in a sudden lateral brainwave that is the equivalent of kids wanting to learn guitar solos before they can play rhythm.

As King Charles I once said, "don't rush to execution".