Openning Shot
I’ve worked 20 years in the communications business to reach the vaulted position of Chief Creative Officer. Perfect, just in time for “creative” to mean absolutely nothing. Today, touting creativity is like bragging about a boob job in Los Angeles.
Everyone claims to have the inside track on creativity, from movie and video game producers to chefs and child psychologist to advertising and public relations execs to NASA scientists and high-tech gurus. Hell, there’s even an association for creativity, the American Creativity Association, dedicated to “promoting the development of personal and professional creativity throughout the US and in more than 15 countries.” Hmmmm … thoughts on Iraq? And universities from the hallowed Harvard University to Zhejiang University in China carry courses on creativity. This begs the question: If everyone knows so much about creativity, why does so much of it suck?
If you plan on arguing that, I got two words for you: Today’s Movies. “Rocky VI?” “Mission Impossible III?”
What’s funny is, the entertainment industry is struggling to understand why the U.S. Box Office is in a slide. In 2003, 29 movies broke the $100 million mark in Box Office sales. In 2004, that dropped to 24. In 2005, they couldn’t even break 20. Industry experts are struggling with how to bring more people to the theaters now that home theaters and advanced DVD technology offers just as much viewing pleasure at home. I’m a creative, guy, I think. So, I came up with three ways to generate biz at the Box Office: Make. Better. Movies. Taadaa!
The bigger problem is that the people out there paying for all this “creativity” don’t know good from bad. That’s because creativity has more knock-offs than a sidewalk bazaar in Beijing, and trying to find good creativity is like auditioning the estimated 85,000 Elvis impersonators around the world for one who actually sounds and looks like The King.
What makes me an expert? Nothing. That’s the thing, nobody’s an expert. It would be like being an expert at the Nobel Peace Prize. While it’s the same general category – peace – everybody has his or her own way of getting there. It doesn’t have to be entirely new, just with an added twist. Here are some examples from the holidays:
NOT Original/Creative: Fruitcake
Creative/Original: Fruitcake delivered by stripper
NOT Original/Creative: Getting kids what they want for Christmas
Creative/Original: Making them give it to someone in need
NOT Original/Creative: Tickle Me Elmo
Creative/Original: Torture Me Elmo
That, as they say, is that. This blog will be about two things: Creativity, and everything else. Hopefully, by the time we’re finished (or, at least, bored with posting), we’ll all be a little more inspired than we have been in the past. I hope you join me and my bitch Marc Levy in New York for the ride. I promise you, if nothing else, it will be interesting.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Post away. Comments, feedback, and entirely inappropriate humor are welcome.
Peace.
Jeremy