Untitled #8

The State - MTV Shows

Doug's Dad: "Are these your cigarettes, Doug?"

Doug: "Yeah, so what if they are? What you gonna do about it?
Send me off to grandma's so she can teach me pinocle and make me bland?"


This is from ""Doug," the above Michael Showalter sketch from MTV's The State. It's always been a favorite of mine and recently, with the announcement of The State finally (finally!) getting a DVD release date, I revisited it. Partly for nostalgic purposes and to tide me over till it's release but in any case, it was while watching this video that I started thinking about creativity in general and edginess vs. maturity, but mostly about my life in advertising.


When I first started off in the ad world, I was the crazy kid making spec ads depicting famous family-friendly brand mascots in various stages of pain and peril.
I was sending out promo pieces comparing the violent pen attacks in Grosse Pointe Blank + Casino with my skill as a copywriter. I was blowing chance after scarce chance because no one wanted the edgy offerings.


Fast forward a few years later and I've become accustomed to the constant heartache and soul crushing that naivety promotes and the compromise details.


Using such uninspired lines as "highest quality care" and "tradition of excellence," I watch as most true creative attempts die on the vine - the same vine, which I've tried in vain to strangle myself or others with many, many, many times.


That's advertising for you. That's the sickness.
For better or worse, I return each time for more abuse.
Why? Well, as a good friend and mentor reminded me, for every 300 dead headlines ("written but never used or changed beyond recognition by clients") there's one live line ("put into print without molestation or disfigurement") that makes it.

And it's that "one" which makes it all worth it sometimes.
At other times, it just delays further strangling attempts.


Of course, spec, pro-bono work and venting on your blog helps too.


Still, 300:1.
Good odds by most accounts, don't you think?