Red doors, individuality, and telling your arse from a hole in the ground...

When I was very young I lived with my parents in a council prefab.

It was one of those drab throw-up, pull-down kinda places,

It was all my parents could afford, and the only thing that made it stand out from all the other prefabs on the same street, was the small touch of individuality we were allowed to give to our prefab’s entrance and exit.

We were allowed to choose (and paint), the colour of our front door.

Ours was red.

Bright, telephone box red.

There were others on the street that were racing green, or tulip yellow, or even Downing Street black.

But we had the only telephone box red one.

I watched my dad spend one whole of one Saturday afternoon painting it.

Slowly and with great expertise, like he was creating a work of art.

It even had a brass letterbox and handle, as a finishing touch.

It was the bee’s knees and it was, without doubt, the best-looking door on the street.

And then,one day, our individuality was ripped away from us by someone small and insignificant who thought he was larger and more significant than he really was.

Over the course of a week, all our doors were painted royal blue.

To celebrate the anniversary of the coronation.

No questions asked. No permission needed.

Overnight, our beautiful red door lost its individuality, and our prefab lost its unique personality.

Anyway…

Many years later, when I joined the the ad business and became a copywriter, somebody said to me that they could always tell my copy because it always had a touch of individuality almost built in.

It reminded me of my dad’s red door.

The thing is…if you find yourself with a touch of individuality in your copy…don’t lose it. Hold onto it for dear life

That’s what separates us from the unthinking beasts in dark suits on floors above

The ones who can’t tell their arse from a hole in the ground…