Abstract
If you are a fan of Dave Trott, you will already have his earlier tomes in your library (Creative Mischief, Predatory Thinking—A Masterclass in Out-thinking the Competition, 1+1=3—A Masterclass in Creative Thinking). You probably follow his Campaign articles (A view from Dave Trott). Most likely, you download his blog from www.davetrott.co.uk. Certainly, you will have already ordered up this latest compendium of clever, creative wisdom and illuminating, insightful, applicable “stories.”
If you have done none of the above and have never heard of the (in)famous east London copywriter (Lipsmackin etc., You can’t Knacker a Knirps, Gercha, Hello Tosh and so [Artisonandonand] on) and creative director of several eponymous ad agencies (Gold Greenlees Trott, Walsh Trott Chick Smith, and Bainsfair Sharkey Trott), then you are in for a real treat. You had better start clearing some room on the bookshelf, or in your Kindle memory. Personally, I prefer the former format because the pages are easier to label (below headings like “context is everything” “know your audience,” “break the rules,” “change is hard” and “teach strategy,” and “heart not head”). This makes it simpler for me to dig out the lessons I want to adapt to my current situation or simply nick to make a point. Buy the book and you can download the ebook for free anyway.
Clearly, given the titles of his output, this very witty, clever man is obsessed with creative thinking and the application of creativity to practical problem solving, especially under stress. Many of the 70+ stories in this volume concern military warfare, which is an interesting parallel because it’s a discipline that has given us battling, competitive marketers the vocabulary (campaign, target, and strategy) to guide our craft. That aside, Trott’s ideas and advice are not limited to those of us working in marketing and brand communications, or indeed the armed forces; they are equally relevant to kids as well as adults, working or not, and applicable to any sort of activity or walk of life. If there is a problem that needs solving, changes to be made, and turf to be won, then these innovative approaches from a fresh perspective will inspire and enable you to solve it well.
There are other folks out there, such as Sir John Hegarty (another living adland legend and book author), who believe that successful (advertising) communication is all about telling stories because storytelling lies at the very foundation of society—it is what holds us together. Telling stories well captures and holds our attention, strikes a chord, and contains a “truth” we can all buy into and remember. There are naysayers who reject this concept as all so much campfire twaddle, but it works for me, and I feel it is a rule of thumb that is equally applicable to research debriefs and strategy presentations.
As Oliver Feldwick puts it in his IPA award-winning Cyborg Creativity essay, creativity grows brands and is the key differentiator and core competency of any communications agency. It is, however, being devalued and diluted by the pressures of digital communications to create more with less. This leads to a creativity deficit which is harmful to business, to brand building, and ultimately, to consumers.
As Trott sees it, technology may be making everything faster and cheaper and more accessible, but it is actually hypnotizing us into sleepwalking through our jobs. The machine has become our master, rather than the other way around. As a result, we are more risk averse, generating an ever-increasing, bland, uniform output that does not even touch the sides in an attempt to keep our jobs and not cause any upset. The creativity deficit is being exacerbated by our failure to raise our eyes from the screen to notice or seek out the inspiring, visionary output that is all around us, in the everyday.
He is frustrated to see a creative culture that has lost its fighting mojo. The book was written because he wants to provoke and challenge us into making something different and remarkable again. He fears we are allowing our creative muscles to atrophy and die through lack of use.
“Creative Blindness and How to Cure It” is therefore Trott’s solution to resurrect an industry and a livelihood that is crashing around our ears while we risk sitting on autopilot quietly waiting to retire. As the man who was awarded the D&AD President’s Award for a lifetime achievement in advertising, he clearly has no intention of going “gentle into that dark night,” and I for one am grateful for his desire to keep real creativity alive and thrusting.
In his fourth book, the format is the same as the previous three.
Packed with over 70 concise, anecdotal, well-researched tales.
They are never more than three pages long.
Every one relates a clever way to solve a problem.
Comprising short, lean sentences, each starting on new line.
Which in itself is fresh and inspiring, quick and easy to read.
Enjoy.