Actually, stupid is the enemy of great.

Well it's Friday here on the coast, a bit overcast but still warm. I can feel fall coming, which is a good thing because I love fall. It signals change and change as we all know is a good thing.

I was speaking with some friends the other day that also work in the ad industry and we were discussing the importance of award shows. It just so happens that I am working on the advertising for a local award show here in the city.

And so the age-old discussion around what matters most “the effectiveness” of the ad or “the recognition” was started. Now before I get into the meat and potatoes of it all know this, I think there is no right or wrong answer here. Much like advertising, it is subjective and depending on what your over all goal is, each side has its benefits. There is however one important matter to factor into the equation – What is advertising supposed to do? = Sell. That is the bottom line. How you get there is the grey area.

Being a creative working in the industry for a while I truly believe that advertising has to be…well…creative. You have to make the person want to buy whatever you are selling. You have to be funny, witty, shocking, heartfelt whatever you choose but just don’t be boring. Make it relevant to the target. Don’t just put up a price point or massive fucking logo in hopes that will sell.

But yet there are tones of that kind of advertising out there. So the importance of a creative idea is monumental in any form of advertising. It is the catalyst that makes people want to stop for 5 seconds, 10 seconds or a minute out of their chaotic lives to pay attention to what you have to say. In fact, if I as a consumer am going to take time out of my day to be distracted by your advertising you better make damn sure it’s worth my while. I want to laugh, I want to get pissed off, I want to have something added to my day that makes me start a conversation. No one talks about the massive price point they saw on a transit ad or billboard, no one mentions that annoying fucking floating banner ad that pops up on the page all the time other than to say it’s an annoying fucking banner ad. GET THEM INTERESTED BY BEING CREATIVE AND INTERESTING.

So that being said I think you get my point that in order to be effective you have to be creative. Now this is where the other side comes in. Do creative ads sell more than your typical eye numbing crap you see everywhere? Check this out.

It’s easy to dismiss ads you see in award shows as being out in left field and creative for the sake of being creative. People often ask “sure it’s creative but did it do anything for the client?” I think more and more the gap between creative work and moving the bottom line is being bridged. Lets take a look at this years' Cannes Lions winners. Being arguably the best award show in the world for advertising, Cannes recognizes the best in the world for being creative and for being effective. This year’s Cyber Lion winner the Tourism Queensland campaign was amazing. Was it creative? Yes. Was it effective? Very much so. Take a look at the ROI.

So what is the net take away? Award shows are important and so is the effectiveness of the advertising. After all that is what advertising is all about, selling. Great work should be recognized. It gives the client a sense of reassurance for trusting their agency. It gives the agency a sense of recognition for using their creative talent to the fullest. At the end of the day we all want the same thing, for our clients to be successful because that means we continue to get paid. But if at the end of the day all you want is to win awards for self-promotion, then heed this, an agency full of awards is worth nothing if the client has empty pockets.

Well it’s Friday, go have a drink! Or if you are living the Madmen life, have another one it’s still early.

Cheers.