Checking in

Something extraordinary happened this week.

And when I say extraordinary, I mean something "Old School". And of course when I say "old school" I mean better.

Allow me to explain.
To the extent that I can and without violating any NDAs.

My partner and I are working on a project for a NY ad agency. A big one. The project is fun. It's open-ended. And it's huge, meaning they want a huge solution.  We did a couple of small conference calls, then a larger briefing over the phone and then we were sent a schedule for the first check in.

Which was in five days. FIVE DAYS!!!

This is unheard of. Many agencies want to do the initial check in after 5 hours.

Some of the snootier agencies, who wear their "edginess" on their sleeves insist on check ins every 5 minutes. I decided I'd rather make money trading penny stocks than to go work at a creative abattoir like that.

The extraordinary occurrence?

One day my partner, Dave Gassman and I were sitting at the Crave Coffee shop in Sherman Oaks. And in between ogling the waitresses and the gaggle of wannabe porn stars that walked in, he suggested an idea for a campaign. We talked about it. Discussed its positives and its negatives. And then we decided to shelve it.

We moved on to other, more promising directions.

Then, two days later, while stuck in a paralyzing traffic jam on the 405 (a redundant phrase if there ever was one) I had the kind of synapse connection that only comes when afforded the time to stew. What if we twisted my partner's idea and did such and such -- the details are unimportant.

What is important is that an idea, a valuable commodity, was rescued from the waste bin only because nobody was holding a gun to our head and saying, "Make with the creativity we have shareholders to appease."

This is the way the process works.
I'm sorry, let me say that old school-style.
This is the way the process used to work.

I'm going to leave you with an important video on this matter. I've shown it here before but I'll show it again because I'm pressed for time. I have to write an anthem spot for a new client in Australia.

It's due end of day today which, if I understand the International dateline and the mechanics of time zones, is already last week.