A - That's an impossible question, but I'll try to answer it! We have a staff creative department meeting every morning when we review what the different artists are working on and what the different copywriters are working on; this is to keep us all in tune with the rest of the business. I may be involved with a couple of client meetings; I might have creative strategy meeting for two different clients. When I'm not in meetings, I'm writing. I'd rather be writing. One day I went and played at day-care center to get a feel for a commercial for toys for children. I will take plant tours to try to find a product feature there. I'll go to the store to get a feel for how the customer looks and acts and dresses. It help you feel fresh, and lets you come back with a new perspective, instead c looking at the same four walls and the same twenty-five people. I read trade journals, but not just trade journals, not just Ad Age and Ad Week I read Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Popular Mechanics, Good Housekeeping, and all kinds of crazy things.
The first thing that happens here is that several people gather around the coffee pot and just shoot the breeze about things they saw on TV the night before, movies they've seen, books they've read, all kinds c things like that. We just kick things around and see what everybody thinks of them. You get a sort of nourishment from being with other creative people.
We spend some time talking about things that aren't related for business at all. Then we start getting down to business. One day I might be working on a brochure for oil filters, the next day a radio spot for , bank, the day after that a trade advertisement for furniture. There's a lot of variety.
No two days are alike. It's not like sitting down at a typewriter and hammering out the same thing over and over again. There are always projects to work on and deadlines to meet. Something that you didn't intend to do at all may wind up being the most important thing you do all day and may take up most of your time.
Probably 50 to 60 percent of the time I spend in pure writing for my accounts. Another 30 percent I spend in meetings with other groups whether it be working with an art director, dealing with account people or qualifying changes in scripts; just interfacing with other departments The remaining 20 percent is spent supervising or going over things the people under me have done.
The first thing I do with a new account is to call up the account people and say, "Hello, I'm the new writer on this, can you give me another review?" They make a presentation and show me the commercials at have been done over, say, the past ten years if they are relevant. They'll tell us the marketing history of the brand. The product had this strategy and sales went up, then it changed to this strategy and sales went down. By the end of it, I'll have a sense of where the product has been and what the current strategy is.
Then I'll ask for information about the product itself. Generally we have the information at the agency or the client will have it. When we're given an assignment, we're also given a written brief with a strategy, a target market, and a timetable all very clearly written out. So we have a pretty good idea at that point what the product is and what the problem is.
Q- What do you enjoy about copy writing?
A - I like working. Every once in a while I have a day when I can't believe I'm getting paid to do what I do, because I'm sitting around with million-dollar film crew waiting for a dog to eat dog food. There are forty people sitting around trying to coax this dog to eat, and they all are getting paid to do that. Other times I'll sit around all day and come up with nifty ideas and write them down and feel terrific. I'll look at the lock and it's 7:30 P.M., and I don't even know where the day went; that's exciting! It's exciting to turn on the television and see something I did. That is, assuming I still like it by the time it's on the air. I particularly like working with music. I get to work with composers, film directs, all kinds of people who are doing very interesting things. You also really get to know what motivates people. You find out what convinces people of things and what doesn't, what people think is beautiful and /hat they think is ugly; I find that fascinating.
I like the kind of people with whom I have come in contact. Most of the people in advertising are bright and interesting. I like the chance to express my creative ability. That wouldn't come out in a lot of abs.
The freedom. Being with other creative people. Getting to write. Getting to use my talent to make money. For me, this is the laziest way to make a living. I learn about cars one day, fashion the next, machinery the next. It's all very interesting to see companies that are thriving for growth and to feel you had a part in producing greater sales or maybe even in providing a public service.
I like the challenge. I like the idea of taking a product or a service or a company and presenting it to the public in a way that will make a positive impact. I enjoy the craft of writing. I enjoy taking quart ties of information, distilling it, and recycling it into nice copy. I think that advertising copy should reflect the client's best. It should have the same things you look for when you hire salespeople.
It's a job where you can show off. I like that. I also like because it's a job that changes all the time. I work on four different brands now. A year ago I was working on two of the brands I now have and two other brands. It changes all the time. Every assignment is a new assignment. It's not like doing the same thing for years at a time. I like the variety.
