2007: When the going gets weird. The weird turn pro.

What's in store for 2007?

  Of course every year has been pivotal for digital - that’s why it’s so exciting - but I have a feeling 2007 is going to be the year when it all goes a bit weird. We have already seen traditional agencies taking on digital briefs and digital agencies pitching for TV briefs. Where can it possibly end? Who knows, but I feel it would be remiss of me not to stick my neck out a titchy bit. 

 Let’s have a look at the best digital work for the last few years. The last 3 top 10s in Campaigns’ Annual have not seen a single entry from a non-digital specialist. Indeed, of 30 entries only one (from Tribal DDB) is even related to a traditional agency and that was from 2003. There was a time when the digital departments of TV agencies, such as Ogilvy, were much stronger. But as the boys from Freakonomics* will tell you, the stats don’t lie. 

 So…if 2007 is the year that the big agencies make a push for digital how many of the top 10 digital pieces of work will come from non-specialists? It would be interesting to hear what you think the figure out of ten might be – please leave a comment. Personally, I certainly think they will catch up quick, very quick, and no doubt there will be some great bits of work but I have a feeling the specialists will dominate again – for this year at least! 

On traditional agencies doing digital, one other thing struck me about this years’ top 10. Half of the entries came from just two agencies (Dare 3 and Republic 2) so there is clearly room for competition.  I’ve said before that it’s too easy to win digital awards. Competition from the best ad agencies around might just be the shot in the arm our industry needs.  

*I read Freakonomics over Christmas. I know a lot of people pooh-pooh it as not being a proper economics book but as someone who did Economics A level and therefore should, in theory, have read a proper economics book, that was precisely the reason I enjoyed it so much.

Originality is overrated

Florian and I went to a creative conference in Miami a few weeks ago.One of the creative directors there said that, ‘Originality is overrated’.

This, we thought, was quite a brave thing to say. We are always taught that it’s the most important thing in advertising. But of course it’s not. Many original things are absolutely terrible ideas and worse executions. Far better, actually, to do something brilliantly, to improve on something that has been done elsewhere. If you have a spare year or so you can ask Flo his feelings on this subject in relation to Honda’s Cog and Fischli and Weiss.

Having said that - and this was actually the reason for this post (it’s my first attempt, give me a break) – I am going to attempt to be original by being the only advertising blogger in the known world not to link to Russell Davies.

(Not because he isn’t a top bloke, he very kindly came into Dare towers recently to do a Dare Session, just, you know, to be different)