Starting out.
When we?re starting out on an assignment, we usually get a lot of information from the account group, but I think sometimes it?s better when the creatives find it for themselves ?there?s a lot of information you can get online these days, about any product or just about anything. When you?re doing research, you can get overwhelmed with knowledge but I don?t think you need a lot of it. One of the main things you need to know is the consumer?s attitude to this product: Do they even know what it is? Do they know it and just don?t like it? Why don?t they use it?

Anticipating mistakes.
Sometimes I tell my people, when they get an assignment, ?I already know what you?re going to show me. And I don?t want that.? I predict what they might try, in order to prevent it from happening. In the advertising class I teach, I?ve created a list of critiques that go with the types of predictable ads students create, which I paste up on the wall. One would say, ?Sounds like advertising.? Another would say, ?Dull.? Another would say, ?Too damn cute.? Another would say, ?Bullshit.? Another would be, ?Good idea?but needs a stronger execution.? And another would be, ?I?ve heard it before.? Most ads can be placed under one of these critiques. And then every now and then you get a good one that doesn?t go with any of these critiques.

Inspiring creativity.
Fear is a very good inspirational tool. There was a point at the agency where we were sort of overstaffed and we had a relaxed attitude?like, ?If I don?t do it, he?ll do it.? Now that we?re getting a little leaner people know, ?Hey I have to deliver on this because there?s not a whole lot of backup right now,? and that can motivate. Money can also motivate creativity. A couple of times I?ve given bonuses to people who come up with the best idea?$1,000 if the client buys it, $500 if I buy it and show it to the client. It worked pretty well. But the main thing I do to motivate is just remind people why we?re in this business, or at least why I?m in it. Anyone can do another cute little commercial, but I want to produce something special. And the only way to do that is to try to think of something that doesn?t seem familiar at all. It?s going to be harder to do that and more risky of course, but if it works, it?s going to be wonderful.

Hands-on vs. hands-off.
I came up as an Art Director, but I don?t really art direct that much today. I throw out suggestions, concepts, or just a direction. But my mind is always thinking of ads; and if I get a great idea that seems like it will make a good ad, I may still do it myself. Like the ACLU ad with Martin Luther King and Charles Manson. Every now and then, you still want to step up to the plate, take a swing and put one over the fence. But there are some Creative Directors who want to do it all; I?ve met a few in my career when I was coming up. It?s not fun because they do not necessarily buy the best work. In our agency, I will buy the best work. I?ll kill my own stuff in a second, because I want what?s good for the agency. Besides I want my guys to do good work?that feels as good or even better than doing it yourself.

Presenting.
Presenting is like playing Vegas?it all depends on the crowd. I?ve had great presentations, with cheering, standing ovations, and groupies following me out by the end of the meeting, trying to get a piece of my clothing. And then there are those meetings where no one says anything. And I don?t know if that has much to do with presentation skills, it?s more just a case of?they just don?t get it, they don?t feel it. There isn?t even a little smile or a nod as you present the work. I?m sure there are some people who can turn a situation like that around. But when I get a crowd like that, sometimes I just can?t go on, I just have to end it. Because I want some respect when I?m presenting; I don?t want anyone yawning or talking or whatever. We?ve worked too hard for that, and my feeling is they should enjoy the show, it?s not going to take that long. The bottom line is, when you have the goods, presenting is much easier. On those days, I can?t wait to show it. And most of the time I get the reaction I hoped for.

Pushing clients.
Sometimes we push them until we lose the business. That has happened. And if it didn?t cost us the account immediately, it probably chipped away at it, and maybe cost us later on down the road. The way it works usually is, I push Ellis and Ellis pushes the client. We had a client called Empire Kosher Chicken and we came up with an ad that said, ?It takes an even tougher man to make a Kosher chicken,? with a picture of Moses. The trouble was, two of the clients were Rabbis and they had a problem with showing a religious figure in an ad. But Ellis kept calling them up and asking them to think about it, and trying to get other people at the client to talk these two guys into it. They ran it?and they?re probably still pissed to this day.

Fighting for every inch.
What I?ve never liked is when a client says to me, ?All our advertising has to look like this,? or ?The logo has to be this size, because that?s the rule.? There is no such rule. One time a client insisted on larger type size and Ellis went out on the street with this client and stopped passersby and asked them if they could read the ad okay with the smaller type. It worked. Would I still fight over an eighth-of-an-inch on a logo now? Maybe not to that extreme, but I?ll still fight over elements of an ad that are important. You?ve got to have that kind of passion for your work. It may be a commercial thing we?re doing, but I think it?s a bit of an art and I have to treat it that way. It?s the only way for me to survive.

The good book.
I carry a sketchbook around with me all the time. And any time I get an idea, I put it in there?could be a thought that I write down, or something I draw. It could be a full ad layout or just a little tidbit of something. I take the book everywhere, restaurants or wherever, and it?s a bit like a security blanket. You get an idea, you can always jot it down?and then look at it in the morning, when you haven?t been drinking and you realize it?s not a good idea after all. These books end up jam-packed; my last one took me three years to fill every page. It almost becomes like a diary, which can be inspirational, too; you?ll see ideas you had a couple of years ago, and think, ?Hey, that wasn?t bad.?

Gut check.
Gut reaction is everything. And not everyone has a gut. Some people have guts that do not work. They?ll look at a bad idea and say, ?Yeah, that?s good.? They don?t really know what?s good. If you?ve got a good gut, you can look at something and know right away whether it works or not, and whether it?s different or not. You can recognize mediocrity right away. And if you have a good gut, and you can really can trust it, often it eliminates the need for testing. Testing is needed by people who don?t know the difference between what?s good and what isn?t.

Small vs. big agency.
I?ve worked for both kinds, and I prefer small. There?s such a thing as too small an agency?two people is probably too small, because you need somebody different to go have lunch with once in a while. But the problem with a big agency is that there?s too much baggage. All those levels on the creative side, and then the levels on the account side?it?s almost like having clients inside the agency, slowing down the process. The advantages of a big agency: Better social life, maybe a health club, big Christmas parties. But in a small agency you?ll produce a lot more work, more quickly. And that matters more than all those other perks put together.