Big ideas, jack shit, and blank pistachio shells...

I’m a big fan of the little guy.

I like the idea that talent can beat the shit out of size

Any day of the week.

Any week of the year.

Of course, in most cases that’s just a romantic notion. The reality is that, more often than not, size can attract and buy all the talent it wants. Well…most of it. Any time it feels the need.

The fact is that money talks.

Sometimes it yells.

And, in most cases, it has the loudest wallet in town.

Which means that it can behave like a real pain in the arse whenever it feels like it. And it doesn’t give a shit who knows.

But every now and then the big guys have their lips well and truly zipped.

With a big idea from a little guy.

Because deep down inside, big ideas don’t care where they happen, or who they happen to.

And they don’t give a flying fuck if they happen in a creative department the size of a broom closet. Or one the size of a five-a-side football pitch.

All they know is that they’re a big idea and they’re as happy as a clam at high tide.

Where little guys score over big guys is that big ideas love to feel important.

And little guys make big ideas feel like they’re the most important thing on the face of God’s green earth. Next to clients.

Where big guys score over little ones is that, more often than not, they believe they’re better placed to handle what happens next. After the big idea is born.

To help it grow into more than just a big idea.

They simply have more boots on the ground.

And clients think that their account will be handled better with more boots than with fewer ones.

They think that more boots means more talent.

They think that more boots means their agency will be better prepared to handle big ideas when they come along.

Which, of course, is absolute bollocks.

Because that presumes they’ll have big ideas in the first place.

Which anyone can have. Even in a broom closet.

Big advertising agencies are a bit like a modern saloon car.

They’re safe. Fast. Clever. Advanced. Impressive. Full of ego and a sense of their own importance. And packed full of the latest cool technology.

So, there are lots of things that can go very right.

But there are also lots of things that can go very wrong.

Small advertising agencies are as fit as a butcher’s dog.

They’re edgy. Gritty. Exciting. Smart. Creative. Inventive. Hard working. Full of piss and vinegar. They have balls the size of pomegranates. And there are more of them than there used to be.

I read an article not so long ago where the writer was saying that having big ideas was no longer the big deal that it used to be.

He said that how you say something is just as important as what you say.

He said that the execution of the idea is just as important as the idea itself. Maybe even more so.

He said that conversation was the new communication. Or maybe it was just words to that effect.

So much advertising these days makes me think of old Billy Shakespeare and that man Macbeth. Especially when he says: “…a tale told by an idiot, full of sound a fury, signifying nothing.”

Anyway, here’s the thing…

I love pistachio nuts.

I can happily munch my way through a fair-sized bowl of them. And getting more never seems to be a problem.

In fact, last year pistachio growers in the US were over the moon because they had a record-breaking crop.

But it was a different story in California a few years ago.

There was a drought. And one of the side-effects of it was a lower yield on the pistachio farms. Another was that more pistachio shells were firing blanks.

Young nuts simply didn’t have the nourishment they needed to grow and fill the space available.

They were all style and no substance.

A bit like a creative execution without a big idea at the heart of it.

Full of promise on the outside.

Full of jack shit on the inside…

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The above is an extract from my book Ad Infinitum (NOW AVAILABLE).

Like its sisters Ad Lib, and Ad Hoc, it's about creativity, advertising, life, and lots of stuff in between.

You'll find Ad Infinitum, Ad Lib, and Ad Hoc on Amazon, along with my other books, Love & Coffee and Heaven Help Us. In print and ebook. Waiting for you. Just look here:

Ad Infinitum: https://amzn.to/3pof7Uq

Ad Lib: https://amzn.to/2kd4LKf.

Ad Hoc: https://amzn.to/2Nx8GL8

Love & Coffee: https://amzn.to/28IWaHq

Heaven Help Us: https://amzn.to/2nkQ1Jk

Grab a coffee, grab a chair, and grab a sneaky peek.

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