John Hegarty says a great ad is 80% idea, it’s also 80% execution.
I love that, it’s how anyone from Bill Bernbach to Alex Ferguson puts a team together.
Find people who think their part of the process is the most important.
The resulting energy from their separate passions will cause tension, sure.
But you’ll get something far bigger and better than a merely comfortable result.
So how do you put a team together in the first place?
Students always find it difficult working out who to team up with.
Usually they look for someone they like.
Someone they can sit and chat with.
But spending social time with someone is not the same as working with someone.
They’re two separate briefs.
You need someone who’s good at the things you’re not.
So the first thing to work out is what sort of person you are.
I always tell them it’s pretty simple.
Are you a fusspot?
Do you get fanatical about getting the details right?
Will you be fussing about type faces and point sizes until 2.00am?
If so, be an art director.
If not, be a writer.
“Writer” is actually a misnomer.
The job is actually more of a strategic thinker.
While an art director’s job is more of a tactical thinker.
Think of it as a military airplane.
The writer is the navigator, the art director is the pilot.
The navigator is in charge of the mission.
The pilot is in charge of the plane.
For simplicity, split it into right and left brain.
Right brain is emotion and feeling.
Left brain is reason and logic.
Right brain is the senses: pictures and sounds.
Left brain is thought: words and numbers.
Right brain can tell you what’s good, but not why.
Left brain can tell you if it works, but not if anyone will like it.
Right brain is brand, left brain is product.
Right brain is sizzle, left brain is sausage.
Right brain stops you, makes you read the ad.
Left brain makes the ad work, makes you want to buy.
In any team you need both.
So, first you have to work out which you are, then you can look for the opposite.
A simple test is, do you find this interesting?
If you do (like me) you’re left brain, be a writer.
If you got bored and stopped reading way back, you’re right brain, be an art director.