Dear readers,

As some of you may have guessed, this blog and Twitter account are not in fact those of Nathan Cooper.

They are written by a creative team, Nick Bradley and Jules Hunt.

The opinions and attitudes expressed on this blog and on the Twitter account are not those of Nathan, Anomaly or Nick and Jules.

The blog and Twitter account were designed solely to get noticed by Nathan as self-promotion, something he encouraged us to improve on when we last saw him.

We thought by expressing the views of Nathan's creative nemesis, in a way that was anathema to Nathan and Anomaly, we would get their attention and open up a dialogue with them. We sent Nathan anonymous emails saying we’d continue on this path until he agreed to see us.

It seems to have worked, as you might have already read here.

We knew it was potentially risky, but we thought it was a risk worth taking if it could work and if we wrote it in a way that was obviously fictional.

We also hoped to get talked about if people spotted a hoax, and enjoyed reading the blog or following the Twitter account.

All the events depicted in the blog are entirely made up. 

This will be our last post and the Twitter account will now be closed.

Thanks for reading.

Nick and Jules

 

Recently I've felt mighty lonely. The times they are a-changin'.

There was a time in advertising where creatives didn't even include art directors. Art directors were people copywriters went to with an idea for an ad that they could shove under their doors and it would turn up next morning all nicely done up. Then that changed and art directors were one of the creatives. In my opinion, they're still not that creative most of them.

Gradually, as the years have gone by, I've seen stuff change more. The landscape looks nothing like it used to. I don't know who's a creative and who's not, and whether that word has any meaning to people.

People are hiring from all different kinds of disciplines. Fashion, tech, theatre, film.

Here at Anomaly, they've got a flat policy, where creative ideas don't necessarily come from the creatives. They mix everyone up. They work with people from all different kinds of industries. And I hate it.

The good thing about being a creative is that it really impresses people outside of work. I still get a massive kick out saying I'm a creative, watching people's intimidated reaction as I guess they imagine I have the power to create anything then and there on the spot. Like a dangerous and alluring magician.

And in agencies too, I love waltzing around twiddling pens and chatting about stuff I saw on TV, doing my best to make other departments resent me. And I enjoy making them think they can't have thought of anything nearly as clever as I have.

But the way things are going, it's too even now. Both within agency cultures and how agencies are hiring. The single creative maestro myth is being eroded from all angles.

And I feel under threat. Who am I going to show off to in the future? Whose opinion can I laugh at, right in their face?

Isn't it time we, the creatives, all said, 'Look. Enough is enough. We don't want you to come up with ideas. We want you to let us get away with doing awesome big budget shoots in foreign locations.'

I've heard people moaning at Anomaly about some of the views I've expressed on this blog.

But what are they gonna do? I'll be ready for them. For they are not Creatives.

Last night was the Creative Social event which I was unlucky enough to go to. 

The guys here at Anomaly have been trying to get me to get more digital. Not really trying actually, more telling me to. So far, I’ve set up this blog (which I do kind of enjoy as a way to vent my frustration), going on Twitter (which manages to be very interesting and catatonically boring at the same time) and going to stuff like Creative Social.

You might have heard of it. All the industry digital bigheads turn up, a couple do a talk on something which only a few vaguely understand but that everyone pretends to. Afterwards you get to do a bit of networking to see if there are any decent jobs going at other agencies.

I can’t remember much of the event. These things bore the hell out of me if I’m honest. I automatically hit the snooze button when someone goes all binary on me. So I decided to nip off to the pub and then rinsed the free drinks they had going when I came back.

What I can tell you is they’ve published a book.

Which made me think that there’s a nice little earner to be made doing these kinds of things. Get some industry mates/CDs together for exclusive events, write a book for everyone else to buy, supported by videos which give a glimpse of what it must be like to go to these yawnfests. 

So, if anyone out there fancies setting one up for traditional creativity, hit me back at nathancooperblog@gmail.com and we’ll set something up. Then after a couple of months we can cobble together a bunch of essays and sell it on Amazon.

 

If you read the Metro you'll be familiar with Behind the Idea. The D&AD feature.

I've been hassling these guys for a while to see if I can be the guest writer, because I've got a bit of a bugbear these days with D&AD and nearly all awards bodies.

If you look through D&AD annuals, say 15 years ago, you'll see pencils rightly went to classic ads.

I can't remember any in particular because a lot of them were the same: a picture of something in the top half, black and white photography of something or other, three columns of copy in the bottom half, and a headline that said the opposite of what you thought it would say in the middle. I think it was Bill Bernbach and Helmut Krone who came up with this airtight solution. And creatives repeated their solution for years. Literally years. Years when we could all take turns to pick up awards.

Not now. Now it seems if you don't use Facebook, Twitter, a website, some QR nonsense or people shutting down the streets of London for an impromptu game of giant chess then you won't stand a chance of winning a pencil.

But as any creative knows, if it doesn't work in a poster, it doesn't work full stop. But the major awards bodies still award pencils to things that wouldn't work in a poster or press.

How would SubservientChicken work in press? Or that phone thing from Droga 5? Or Nike+? Or Twelpforce? They'd be impossible to work as press or a poster.

Which is why they will never be good ads.

Which is why they should go to people, like myself, who know how to do press and posters properly.

 

 

Just came back from a four hour lunch when someone emailed me this. It made me groan harder than usual because I have a post lunch hangover.

This guy is clever, I'll give him that. 

I've actually tried sending whoever Rubbishcorp is emails before to tell him I don't appreciate him pretending to be me.

But making out my blog is 'funny self-promotion' is very, very clever. He's twisted it as more self-promotion for himself. First attempt at going online and it backfires. 

This proves a point though.

I always say in meetings, it's better thinking non-interactively and staying offline because

PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET ARE FRUITCAKES.

Just look at any of the comments on YouTube and you'll quickly lose faith in consumers and people's grasp of English.

 

This has been doing the rounds recently.

To be honest, I don't have clue what it's about. If you do, can you explain it to me because it's doing my head in. Is it a poster, an online thing? What?

Ads that you can't put neatly into categories are ridiculous. Like those 3/4 length shorts skaters wear. Are they shorts, or are they trousers?

Much prefer the new MTV ad.

Winning formula: celebrity doing novelty rap, probably wicked after party.

 

 

 

I saw a bunch of students at NABS last night for a crit.

Very disappointing, because people are losing sight of the old ways.

Here's some general advice:

 

Keep it black

Creative directors like to know exactly what to expect before they open a portfolio. Use an A3 black portfolio. Don't try to be clever. Websites hurt my eyes. By the way, A4 portfolios make you look scared.

Posters, posters, posters

I find it hard enough working out how to blog let alone getting my head round other new media. I just want to see a funny strapline with a logo in the bottom right hand corner of a poster or press ad. It just has to be stupid and make me laugh. The shorter the line the better. I don't have all day.

 

Puns

There's a reason why puns still exist in nearly every other outdoor poster. It's because they're funny. And they run more than honey. And honey rhymes with money.

 

 

So. My first post. 

I decided to feature the brilliant and much criticised Go Compare campaign. 

Some creatives would sniff at Go Compare ads because they're a clear rip off of the similarly punny Compare the Meerkat series, have a bloke singing and dancing in them and are intensely annoying.

I think the campaign's good for several reasons. Pay attention, students.

1. The campaign rips off another campaign, running at the same time.

Some people think ripping off anything is a taboo. But as the saying goes, 'Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.' I say 'Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. Getting the job done is looking at what everyone else is doing, then just repeating it.'

 

2. They involve a singing, large man pretending to be Italian.

Good because they use one of the greatest and oldest techniques used in advertising. A jingle.

Things that rhyme are more memorable. Fact. If you sing them, they're even more memorable. 'Make it a song, it will get you a gong'.

I studied my GCSEs by making songs out of all the facts and figures to make them more memorable.

Also good because stereotypes are fantastic, particularly Italian ones.

 

3. They use TV in a traditional way.

Who really can be arsed to challenge a tried and tested formula?

 

I'll be giving out lots of tips for students and young teams on here. Stay tuned.