If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then let’s say business is from Saturn and art is from Pluto.
They both live happily on their individual planets until one day they’re forced into an oddball union called advertising.
They both need each other to succeed, but there is constant tension — because, after all, they live everyday with a completely different idea about how things need to be done.
This constant butting of heads works well — until one partner successfully strong arms the other into a corner. And, unfortunately, as the economy sputters along and marketing nerves remain frayed, the business side of this duo tends to takeover our thinking and shoves the art side into a shadowy corner to await a brighter economic day.
So I think it’s important from time to time to reach a hand out to lift the art side of advertising back out of the shadows, so it can resume it’s role as a critical component in the creation of great advertising ideas.
I often tell young people getting into the business to have an artistic pursuit outside the business to keep their minds fresh. And most good creative people I’ve run into through the years certainly do.
They’re writers, photographers, musicians, poets, chefs — and nearly all have as great a passion for their art as for their advertising. Which I think is a good thing.
My art is playing blues and roots music. I’ve had the chance to do it in several countries alongside some of the legendary Chicago players who defined — even invented — the music. It’s been a wonderful pursuit that continually refreshes my artistic side.
The wild, unpredictable improvisational nature of the music makes good training for thinking in new and different ways. People ask me how I know what to play next when sitting in with new musicians. And the answer of course, is that I don’t. It just happens. That’s the beauty of an artistic pursuit.
So, what’s your art? I’d love to hear what other people in the business are pursuing these days outside of the work world to keep their creative juices flowing.
And just for fun, check out this link and see if you can guess … “Is it art or advertising?”
Great post, Mike. You’re absolutely right, the best creative people I’ve known have always had an outside artistic influence. It keeps them fresh, interesting and passionate about their advertising and artistic crafts.
To quote the legendary Bill Bernbach: “Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.”
We need fewer scientists and more artists.