Thoughts on creativity, Pharma and whatnot
When I started out, after a period traveling around the USA with a backpack, I decided to give this lark a proper go. I found myself a writer out of Watford Copywriting school to partner with (I was very much an art director then) and Rob and I started to get a book together. We... Continue Reading →
Back in May I received one of those emails you cannot ignore. "Dear Olly, we would like you to be a judge in the inaugural Health and Wellness category at the LIA (London International) awards in Las Vegas in October." Hotels and flights paid for. Hmm, let me think for a moment. To be honest,... Continue Reading →
It's been an interesting year for judging awards shows, from my perspective. Two down, one to go. Last November I joined a small band of creatives and clients in judging the PM Society awards. As you may know, these awards guarantee a winner in all categories. Some people find that against the principle of an... Continue Reading →
So the week is over, and Lions Health is a distant Rose-tinted memory. It's been a weird period with the new CEO of Publicis, Arthur Sadoun, risking pissing off his entire creative workforce by pulling out from entering Cannes 2018 or indeed any awards, in order to spend money on an internal collaboration tool called... Continue Reading →
There will be many observations made about this election in June 2017, but here's mine. There's a very simple set of principles in advertising. Over the years, if you watch closely, you can see them played out in various campaigns to great effect. You can also see when those principles are ignored and disasters ensue.... Continue Reading →
Everyone has a story they tell when they dine out or meet new people. Mine is about the time I found myself in the lift with all of the members of U2 and was greeted by Elton John. But that's for another time. My brother-in-law Dermot has a story that he used to tell a... Continue Reading →
I recently had a phone conversation with a Creative guy who was uncertain about a move to a CD role in Pharmaland. He had some legitimate concerns. Would he be forever labelled as a 'pharma-creative' with all the mediocrity that that would imply. Could he ever get back in to consumerland after having the 'Pharma... Continue Reading →
One of the things that separates creatives from mere mortals, (I jest) is the ability to finally accept that your idea didn't fly with good grace and resilience. Nobody understood it. Nobody liked it. You could never afford to do it. It had been done before. ''Don't worry I'll think of something else." All those... Continue Reading →
So it's been Pharma-awards season recently and we have a few on the horizon. Did your agency enter work this year but not garner the adulation you expected? We've all been there. If so, there's a reason for it and it isn't necessarily because your work wasn't good enough. It's because jurors are well....a bit... Continue Reading →
Aren't all branding ideas sort of advertising ideas and vice versa? Well, sometimes, I guess, but not always. In Pharmaland we can lean towards treating every problem as if it needs a good whack on the head. Give it a brand image that people will remember, plaster it all over the congress stand and the... Continue Reading →
ollycaporn's blag 