When you apply for an advertising job as a trainee writer – the first thing they do is to give you a ‘copy test’. It will have questions like – how will you describe the colour red to a blind man? How will you describe the aroma of coffee?
There are some 20 questions like this. All of which test the ability of your right brain to come up with innovative answers. If you clear this acid test – then you may be considered for the job.
And then once you get the job – you don’t straight away get to do the coveted ads for the big brands. You get to do the donkey’s work. Proof checking, doing research, writing lengthy brochure copy, and all things that are so ‘noncreative’ and ‘unromantic’. If your spirit does not break with all this – then you get into the real action.
You’re given a brief and you work all day and very often all night. The greatest adrenaline flow happens when you crack an idea. Which means, you find an exciting, innovative, clutter-cutting way of saying what you want to say. Many a times – you go bubbling with enthusiasm to your Creative Director who will instantly bomb the idea and then you go back to the drawing board. Somehow you find the reserves, the enthusiasm to overcome that rejection and come up with yet another idea. And this goes on. Perhaps the 50th idea you come up with – gets approved – internally. So you go ahead and do a creative rendition of the idea – be it a press ad or a TVC or a radio spot or a hoarding or a website or all of it.
And then you go and present it with full enthusiasm to the client. You’re sure he will love the idea because this is not your first, random idea – it’s the 50th one – it’s like the purest diamond buried deep inside the mine. It’s like the most precious pearl in the deepest waters. Yes! You’ve delved so deep to get this one just right.
But the client…does he understand that this one came up after you delved so deep for it? The right brain is put on hold and their left brain takes over. It analysis and thinks and presumes. The left brain believes that the consumer is an idiot. He will not get the message if you say it like this. What if he misses the message – all my money will go down the drain na? He argues. Your right brain does not give up – you argue back and you uphold the virtues of your idea. The left brain threatens to throw out your services and use the services of someone else knocking at his door. In a huff the right brain wants to say – ok buddy do it, I assure you I’m the best. If you want to go with the second best – it’s your call. But hold it right there – says your management team. The left brain is giving the money, so put your right brain on that shelf up there. Don’t you want your salaries? Ah unfortunately – we do! So…listen to the left brain. You have tried your best. Now let’s talk business. He wants to call a spade a spade – let’s do that for him. He wants Amitabh Bachchan to endorse his product – let’s give it to him. He wants to ask if the toothpaste has namak – let’s ask – that is after all the product USP. Orient fans will only sell if MSD endorses it – chalo lets give it to him.
And so on…
Very often the right brain gets subdued. It’s brilliant ideas remain on paper, in sad folders in the D drive or tucked into portfolios (Oh yes take a look at the portfolio of any creative person, you’ll be amazed at all the work done. And most often it’s all work that never saw the light of day).
So in defense of creativity, I want to say here and now that creativity is not dead. It’s merely entangled in practical issues. It has been strangled by the market situation. It has been crippled by the need to get remunerated at the end of every month. It has been subdued by the over analytical left brain. Yes, sometimes it is allowed to shine – that’s when the right and the left brain arrive at a golden mean. But that’s a far away dream – like the earth meeting the sky in the horizon so far far away. So creativity waits – like a trapped genie to be redeemed of its slavery. One day soon…
