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 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?
Elvis was an idea.
Elvis was the ultimate concept.
The redundant blog.
Sooner or later every one gets made redundant in this business. What strategies can you employ beyond going freelance?
Some opinions on opinions.
everyone has an opinion, who do you listen to?
Marathons versus sprints.
How do you feel about the gamification of creativity? You know: All night work-a-thons. Two day hack-a-thons. "Let's have a creative sprint!" "You mean doing the work in a really short space of time?" "Yeah but if we call it a 'Sprint' we can sell it as a thing!" Maybe I've just had my share... Continue Reading →
Why Pharma creativity adapted to the sea floor.
Hello dear reader, hope you're still enjoying this work from home lark? Me? well on one hand I have an office again, and the time to concentrate and get shit done. On the other I miss my work chums and that feeling of collective achievement and camaraderie. On the other other hand, I miss the... Continue Reading →
Hydrogen versus Bernoulli
People often wonder where ideas come from. I like to think that all ideas are just sitting there, waiting to be discovered rather than created out of thin air as one might suppose. Creative people just spend more time looking for them. We're like those people who suddenly got obsessed with Pokemon-Go and were out... Continue Reading →
Judgement day
For those of you who've sat on the PM society jury in the past you'll recall a big drafty room at the BMA in Russell Square and two days out of the office, walking round a room peering at rounds and rounds of cardboard. This year, like many awards shows, most of the judging took... Continue Reading →