Love is all you need.

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”.

That’s something that most of us were probably told when starting the search for our new career. As a piece of advice, it is undoubtedly sound, and it probably something that millions of people wished they had paid more attention to in their youth. It does, however, have a couple of issues. One, it doesn’t tell you how to turn that love for your work into something productive. And two, it isn’t a very original way to begin an article. So let’s try something different…

Ever heard the tale of the perfectionist sculptor? No? Good.

The story goes that a man visits a church under construction during the Renaissance. There, he sees a sculptor, intricately chipping away at a statue of one of the saints, that will be placed in a recess twenty feet above ground. Nearby, the man spots another statue, identical to the one being made, lying on the floor. “Why do you need two statues of the same saint?” The man asks. “We don’t. The first one got damaged at the final stage” replies the sculptor. The man inspects the discarded sculpture, and sees a tiny chip on the nose. “But how will people know about the chip when the statue is put up high?”. “They won’t” replies the sculptor. “But I will.”

There are many ways in which people can enjoy their work. Perhaps they the like the hours, their colleagues, the commute, the view from their office or even the coffee shop nearby. Taking pride in one’s work, however - now that is something very different altogether. And it is something that we in the advertising industry can never afford to lose. Ultimately, work in an industry which depends on our ability to connect with people, and nothing does this more effectively than a piece of work that has been made with enormous care and attention to detail. The audience is not stupid and they will instinctively detect anything that has been made half-heartedly. Love for a project will always manifest itself in the final product. And this is something I can say with hand on heart, as we were just named Agency of the Year for the 3rd time in 5 Years at the El Sol Festival. (See header image).

Aristotle said, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”. But how can we tell if a campaign has been truly cared for? The answer is - It’s all in the little details. A passionate creator will give just as much attention to the minute issues as to the big ones, and it shows. Whether it’s finding the right actor, the best wardrobe, the best sound or even the best typeface, it all builds towards creating a piece of work that is truly yours and that you are truly invested in. This kind of dedication is never lost on the public. 

Take Hamlet Cigar’s 1987 ‘Photo Booth’ spot. If you haven’t already seen this, I urge you to find it on Youtube as soon as possible, before returning to this article! In the spot, we see a man’s frustration grow and grow as he keeps looking away from the photo booth camera just as the flash goes off, culminating in the seat collapsing. In writing, it sounds like a fairly mundane idea that has been done many times before. The execution, however, turns it into a work of advertising genius. The combover, the facial expressions, the ridiculous tie. It’s these small details that make the skit what it is, and Hamlet Cigars owe a debt to whoever it was that cared enough about the campaign to think of those details.

You could argue that since the advent of the digital revolution, our industry’s priority has been getting in front of an audience by whatever means. What you actually say to them, and the care with which you say it, has become of secondary importance. The result is that advertising is in danger of becoming stale and formulaic. Those who entered the business recently scarcely get the feeling of creating something that is truly their own. When this is the case, it can often feel easier just to follow the instructions. But what creative really wants to simply follow someone else’s formula? If we as advertiser’s become accustomed to this joyless assembly line, then so will the clients, and ultimately the public. We will have created a pretty miserable norm. But if we strive to maintain our passion and love for what we do, then the audience will be grinning like the man in the photo booth for years to come.