Work in advertising? You need a pep talk.

Welcome to the Hopeful Monsters Institute. A curation of the inspirational, entertaining and bizarre that will bend your noggin in a different direction. Hand-selected by Hopeful Monsters. For Hopeful Monsters in the wild.

You might not know you need one. But you do. This week, Hopeful Monster Garry Dawson has hijacked the usual blog proceedings to give you the lift you need.

Grab a coffee, get comfortable and prepare to be pepped.

Boring ads don’t just waste creativity, they waste money. Research shows that a dull campaign requires ￡10m more in media spend to match the impact of a more engaging one. To put that in perspective, if you’re a bit more unexpected with your next campaign, you could be buying your team an 8-bedroom retreat in The Bahamas with the money you save.

According to recent research, 56% of the ads that people consume daily are ‘irrelevant’. At Hopeful Monsters, we’d like to think that we are doing our bit for the 44%.

Blanding. Despite the press, it’s still happening whether we like it or not. But are we about to see a change from the ‘blanding’ era? While no one expects minimalist logos to disappear completely, it’s possible that they could take a backseat as some brands (like Burberry and Liquid Death) embrace distinctive branding.

It’s a bleak old world sometimes. There is a growing cultural need for levity, and brands have an opportunity to meet that demand. Consumers remember funny commercials 53% more than they do their serious counterparts. Humour might save you from becoming forgettable in a world of scarce attention.

We all know the importance of brand safety, but what happens when poorly targeted ads invade premium spaces with ridiculous visuals - like a soap-clenching cartoon butt? In some cases, they do more harm than good to a brand's image.