Damon Stapleton: People. Always the last piece of the puzzle.
A blog by Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer, The Monkeys New Zealand.
“You can be cautious, or you can be creative, but there is no such thing as a cautious creative.” – George Lois
When Jerry Hall didn’t arrive for two sittings with the famous artist Lucien Freud he decided to change her into a man. He replaced her face with the upper torso and face of his assistant David Dawson. Freud informed his agent that the painting had a sex change. It is a particularly unflattering portrait, but it does show one very important point.
When it comes to creativity, people are the last and most important piece of the puzzle. Because they have the one power that is destructive and creative at the same time. They are unpredictable. They can be irrational. They are emotional and dangerous. I guess the question is will that unpredictability have value in the future? Is not knowing priceless or just irritating? And to be clear, that is a very big question.
In 1977, when Elvis Costello sang on Saturday Night Live, he changed from his label approved single “Less than Zero” to another song called “Radio, Radio” without telling anybody. It was a song about corporate controlled broadcasting. One of the main lines in the song is I wanna bite the hand that feeds me. Because of this, he wasn’t invited back to the show for 12 years. I am pretty sure Mr Costello didn’t give a fuck.
I put these two examples up because I think if creativity becomes predictable it loses a lot of its power and magic. In fact, I am not sure it is creative. The act of creativity is supposed to take leaps rather than incremental measured steps. It is supposed to be new. It is supposed to be surprising and often shocking. A lot of this has to do with how a creative responds to the people and the world around them. This leads me to my other point.
What people can do to the process of creativity.
This is especially true in our business. I often think people think a brief goes into the creative department and we do some scamps. Then we wander up the street and show the client. They pick an idea, and we make it. Now, if that were true why do many projects take a year and sometimes more to make. The simple answer is that there are many people involved. Each person is armed with an opinion and an ego. Some are helpful and some are not. So, even though the objective might be clear and predictable, human beings are very unpredictable. And therefore, so is the end product.
This unpredictability can manifest in many ways. Here is the bad laundry list. A creative having a tantrum. Control freaks pretending not to be control freaks. Insecurity that can cause paralysis when it comes to decision making. A smiling corporate psychopath who has their own agenda. Somebody who thinks they understand but really do not. Power games. Second guessing. Group dynamics. Having an ego so big you think only your idea is any good. Trying to look good in front of your boss. And my personal favourite, good old bullying.
Now, none of these things are the idea or the creative. But, believe me, they can and often do affect the work. Good and bad. Just like Jerry Hall did when she didn’t arrive for her sitting. Even that horrible laundry list above can in its own way shape and push the idea. Weird but true.
So, if you look at our business today, there are many that believe that getting to creative answers more efficiently is the answer. I am sure a lot of money will be saved by doing this. But the truth is you have only solved half the problem.
People are the other half of that problem. Strangely though, they are also the solution. Creativity needs them. They are its fuel.
Because without people, there are no mistakes, no bad decisions, inspiring choices, or stumbling adventures. There is only curation of what already exists. Creativity doesn’t move and isn’t new and it loses its value.
And that means, whatever is in front of you is no longer important.
Call it something else. But don’t call it creativity.
Viva la People.