Because like a one hit wonder (when hits were a thing back in the seventies) a tune or a look or an idea can be thrilling and life affirming by a series of strange coincidences or aligning of the stars. A galactic anomaly that just needs to be admired and observed for its singular celestial beauty.
The colour of your agency matters.
Diversity has many nuances, yes from the obvious ones in terms of colour and creed to neurodiversity and gender et al, but there is an underlying diversity issue some agencies need to manage that is less immediately visible.
Letting go is part of being let go.
Last year I wrote a blag about being made redundant and how it nearly always leads on to better things and new opportunities. https://ollycaporn.com/2022/06/08/the-redundant-blog Little did I know that I was about to test my own theory when the sword of Damocles finally fell last September and I left CDM London. Me and my big... Continue Reading →
The centenary blog. What we’ve learned so far. Part 3.
And so dear reader, I am compelled to only write three centenary blog reviews. Two seems too few, four is too many and much like the Holy hand grenade of Antioch, 'five is right out'.
The centenary blog: What we’ve learned so far. Part 2.
Why centenary? well, it's been 100 blogs and I thought that was worth a review. So while I am here, I'd like to say thanks to all of you who continue to read my ramblings and opinions. It reminds me of the time Eric Morecambe (if you don't know he was then I'm afraid we... Continue Reading →
The centenary blog: What we’ve learned so far. Part 1.
It's been ten years (more or less) of writing these blags and it turns out that I have now penned a staggering 99 blogs (okay, not the most staggeringly prolific writer I must say, but not a bad average) and so I have been thinking about what I should write for the 100th, or what I like to call the centenary edition.
How do you know inspiration when you see it?
The thing to remember is that everything is inspiration. It might be in a garden centre or a Masai tribesman's mud hut or a street performer. And it's the places you would least likely find it that are arguably the most surprising.
The eleven briefs of Pharma.
There's probably four rules for taking a poo at work and five rules for tap-dancing at funerals, for all I know. In fact any job, pastime or bodily function, can probably be broken down in to a list of key guidelines. But what of our beloved pharma advertising? Can we break down the myriad of brands, disease awareness and internal comms in to a simple list of 11 briefs? Well, I reckon it's worth a shot, dammit. You're welcome.
The Groundhog day principle.
Harold Ramis wrote, but ultimately left out the part of the ex-girlfriend who cast the spell on Bill Murray's character, meaning that he was sentenced to re-live the same day over and over
What brands can learn from dating apps.
When I started researching this topic, I quickly landed on articles that explained why men fail at online dating. The correlation between some brands and how they behave in the marketplace was startling.
What clients should look for in pitch creative.
Creative work in pharma can't win a pitch, but it can lose one. So how should clients judge work that might never run anyway?