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Expanding Our Definition Of Creativity Advertising's very currency is creativity. I believe creativity is a universal gift, which we may or may not choose to exercise. Most people, whether they work with creativity or not, are creative, in some way. This creativity can be expressed in the way they cook, the way they make love, the way they decorate their homes, the way they dress. When creativity is central to one's occupation— architecture, music, industrial design, literature, painting, sculpture, advertising, filmmaking then it tends to be more visible, more palpable. Creative people share certain lifestyle traits such as a similar language, an attitude towards daily living, an approach to tasks at hand—that are recognizable. But creativity is not the exclusive province of those who use it professionally. Paradoxically, creatives have been slavishly dependent on prevailing views of creativity. And although they design the work, they default to others to creatively judge it. Festivals, award shows, the trade press and the buzz on the street: this is what provides the framework of their creative self-worth. They know the rules of the game and they will continue to compete. After all, victory is sweet and fame is an aphrodisiac. Games are won by ingredients such as talent, style, stamina and perseverance. Can creativity exist without talent, style, stamina, perseverance? I don't think so. In the artistic world, people like Beethoven, Picasso and Hemingway had to apply a considerable amount of all those things to achieve the greatness we now attribute to them. In advertising, a commercial form of creativity, the rigors are different (demanding clients; challenging strategies; interpreting consumer insights) but creativity only shines if talented people persevere through it all—without a loss in style! This is a time of trouble for conventional creativity. There are few certainties left. It is a time of blur, a time of maybes. You unfold the map and it is blank. Or it contains imprecise, incomplete directions. Inhabiting a world controlled by others, creatives find themselves left to their own devices. Most of them were raised in a world characterized by “yeps” and “nopes”, and now reside in a world of “ya knows”, “likes” and “whatevers”. They were moved from a neighborhood of oversimplification to Optionsville and the instructions manual to our navigational system has been misplaced. We have been put in Cyberage's witness relocation program. My view is that creativity is about inventing things or combining things in a fresh way. Therefore, all that surrounds us counts: popular culture (music, fashion, design, styles); and technology definitely has enormous impact (from the written word to images on celluloid to the digital era in a few centuries.) One of the biggest challenges is to sell exciting, innovative creative solutions. There's great uncertainty in the world, the mood is not for risk-taking and that seems to be true locally and globally. On the positive side, creativity is now on all-pervasive human manifestation, with many common traits, which makes it more universal, less parochial or provincial. There was a time when all thought humor and music wouldn't travel—they were local in nature. Well, humor and music are two of the most powerful connectors in the world today—and it doesn't really matter where they come from! In my experience, consumers are critical of things that are arrogant, annoying, boring or irrelevant to their lives. If an international ad is culpable in this regard, perhaps it shouldn't be on the air! Around the world, many brands have achieved great effectiveness by combining a powerful idea about themselves with creativity that excites, informs and entertains. As markets become more competitive and brand messages less distinctive; as consumers become more exacting in their choices, ads must persuade in powerful and compelling ways with a sharp, invasive and non-negotiable voice. It's time for a new vision. It's time for an original voice. An original voice is often a voice of dissent. It impacts and affects people and things. It is unruly and off key. It gets rebuked more than it gets rewarded. It wins no popularity contests. It is mostly celebrated in history books and lifetime achievement awards. But is invariably intrusive, remarkable, unforgettable. Our mission is to invent a new language for ourselves. To sharpen our tongue. To find our voice. Our creativity now needs to play in a larger field, in more ways and to more diverse audiences than even before. It must effectively find and communicate with those audiences wherever they are, whatever they are doing, however they feel. And this requires a collaborative mindset; a devotion to seamlessness; and the courage to integrate. It requires leadership. Let others waste time grading a conventional industry by conventional standards. Our time will be spent setting new standards in what we know is a new industry. Let others be foreign in their respective Towers of Babel. Our multiple, multifaceted, multichanneled voice will be seamless, will be one. And to achieve it, we must: -—Invent a new language for ourselves. Sharpen our tongue. -—Design a new voice—invasive, involving, non-negotiable. -—An immediate voice. (Leadership without urgency is self-defeating). -—An independent, inquisitive, integrated, and organically interactive voice. -—A high quality voice. (Integration without brilliance is pointless). Our mission, market by market, discipline by discipline, is to speak with an assertive, augmented, ambitious voice. To expand our definition of creativity by expanding the quality and the reach of our work, from insights to expressions. To embrace Imagination.