29 Idea Killers
I had a very long and exhausting day yesterday, 12 hours of creative productivity. I did 2 entire campaigns so I was kind of really tired when I got home. The campaign ideas are pretty good, according to my colleagues. I figured out quite a solid strategy and concept. I’ll blog about them as soon as they’re out in the open. (Might take a little while though, because the design still needs to be done etc.) - In the beginning of a creative process, ‘the brainstorm phase’, there’s always some real ‘idea killers’. Things people say that block what you’re doing. Here are remarks you don’t want to hear/say when you’re thinking about ‘things’, because they interrupt the free flow of ideas and associations:
- Yes, but…
- There’s no time for that
- No
- Can’t do it
- Too expensive
- It’s not logical
- Need more research
- Let’s be realistic
- That’s nothing for our customers
- No budget
- Don’t make mistakes
- The board isn’t going to like it
- I’m not creative enough
- It’s not my responsibility
- Too difficult to control it
- The change is too big
- The ‘old generation’ will not comprehend
- The market isn’t ready for that yet
- Think ‘real’
- We’ll think about that
- Maybe later
- Been done before
- That’s future-talk
- Might work somewhere else, but not here
- Since when are you the expert?
- We’re too small to do that
- That’s not our style
- Are you sure?
- Why?
Later on in the process, some of the remarks mentioned above might become keypoints (been done before, budget, …) to take note of. But in the first phase, when you have to think of ideas, you have to make sure nothing stops you from going down a certain road. You never know where it might end. If you don’t try to think in a certain direction because of one of the remarks above, you’re already limiting your creativity and that’s not what you want. Or is it?
Andrea said
on July 27, 2006 around 7:31 pm
I love you :D
I just wanted to post something like that. I can add one which we hear every day : “It’s nice but we can do it better”. That kills everything you’ve had before :D
ivan said
on July 31, 2006 around 6:51 am
heh! so true! :D
José Manuel Dias said
on August 2, 2006 around 4:52 pm
Blogue mt interesante. A revisitar…
Cumps
albeenah said
on August 21, 2006 around 2:21 pm
first off..u have a really cool advertising blog…it’s the kind I’ve always been looking for!!!
…as for dumpers on ur parade at brain storming…I can think of a thousand more…thing is …that’s why it’s called a storm cose it needs to storm ur brain…it needs not to be logical or simple or ‘doable’…it needs to trigger ideas…and ideas are triggered when ur mind is taken away from its usual frames of thought…when will they get it ?!?!?!
Coolz0r said
on August 21, 2006 around 2:42 pm
Thanks :)
O.S said
on September 7, 2006 around 3:20 pm
Yep, you’re definately right. Those comments do not fit in with brainstorming. But, they are more than ok after. I’d say more ad agencies should ask them; Too difficult to control (blogs), it’s not logical (far too often…). But no, not during brainstorm.
Beta Alfa 2.0 » 29 fraser som punkterar kreativiteten said
on September 7, 2006 around 4:30 pm
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on October 4, 2006 around 12:20 pm
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