As Ron Tite points out, the ad industry did not fare well on Fast Company‘s last “Most Creative People In Business” list. Of the 100 names on the list, only two were from ad agencies (and only one Canadian made the list: HBC’s Bonnie Brooks.)
So his first question of the fifth and final part of our creative director round table is a fitting one: “Have we, as creatives, thought in the past that we owned that title of being the creative person in business? And are we losing that?”
“We want to be considered the most creative people, but everybody who considers themselves creative wants to be the most creative,” said Virginia Magaletta, ECD at Twist Image. “We make lists, and when we don’t get on the lists… when we don’t win the awards, it’s a really big problem. Nobody’s harder on themselves than creative directors.”
“The fact is everyone’s creative,” said Israel Diaz, CCO at Y&R Canada. “There’s just so much technology out there to express your creativity. We’re seeing creativity in every sector and industry. All of a sudden, we’re not the keepers, the gurus of creativity anymore… Sometimes you feel inadequate in this position because [some people] are saving the world and we’re just trying to get an ad out the door.”
Diaz and Magaletta were two of five creative directors who agreed to sit with Tite, vice-president of innovation practice at Euro RSCG, for a one-hour discussion on the ever growing challenges facing creatives in advertising. Joining them were Jon Freir, senior vice-president and creative director at MacLaren Momentum; David Houghton, CD at Two Headed; and and Glen Hunt, former CD at Dentsu Canada.
