An interviewer once asked me ‘who would be your dream dinner guest?’ My answer is as certain today as it was then: Percy Pig. For those of you in the know, this needs no justification. But for those of you who need an introduction to this titan of the confectionery world, strap in.

In 2017, Percy Pig celebrated his 25th year as Marks and Spencer’s premiere chewy sweet. Since his debut, he’s travelled the world, had a family, invested in real estate and even got married to long-term love interest, Penny.

He’s a business mogul. A millennial icon. And most recently, he’s even dipped a trotter into the realm of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), by removing all gelatine from his recipe.

This meant that almost everyone, veggie or otherwise, would be able to embrace this delicious porker - pork-free. And most importantly, the move implied that M&S were prioritising lessening their environmental impact even further, right down to their smallest team-member.

But as is now the tradition, when M&S announced that Percy would now be a pig of the people, the people did revolt. In small, Piers Morgan-sized numbers, but enough to cause a ripple in the internet. So now M&S have taken to Instagram to recruit 100 fans to form the #PercyPigPanel, and decide on the ultimate, Game of Thrones level plot-twist:

Should Marks & Spencer reintroduce pig parts to one special pack of Percy Pigs?

Obviously, this is not the first time a brand has done a U-turn. Some infamous examples include Gap’s universally hated rebrand in 2010. Or one that has somehow bypassed the pop culture subconscious: does anyone else remember when Pizza Hut tried to call themselves ‘Pasta Hut’?

 Nor are they the first company to attempt to capitalise on the growing veggie movement. The surprise hit of January 2019 was Greggs’ hotly (or at least ‘a wee bit o’ heat-ly’) anticipated vegan sausage roll. Seriously, if someone can get their hands on one for me, I’d greatly appreciate it...

 But the difference is, while Greggs and M&S were hit with both a mound of love and internet angst, Greggs stuck by their decision. And with some of the most delightfully satirical community management I’ve ever seen. M&S, however, seem to be giving themselves an excuse to back down.

Greggs on Twitter: "Doesn't really have the same ring to it… "

 So what does this mean for M&S? Does this change in stance signal that they value their customers’ opinions? Or does it mean that their attempt at CSR was merely them jumping on what they thought could be a lucrative bandwagon – only to jump ship when they realised their profits might start to sink?

It’s easy to see why brands can’t resist the lure of endorsing popular, social causes like vegetarianism or environmentalism. Often, they hold massive marketing wins, can be incredibly profitable and - from a creative perspective - can inspire some life-changing ideas.

But the danger begins when a brand has no authentic claim to its chosen cause; ‘brandwagoning’, as I like to call it. If they don’t actually care enough to follow through on a commitment - like pigless Percys - any previously warm messaging can come across as a mere marketing ploy. Worse still, some companies actively contradict their chosen cause; the most obvious examples are days like International Women’s Day, when some of the worst perpetuators of casual sexism come out to celebrate #Feminism. Such ‘brandwagonists’ risk devaluing the significance of the cause in the beginning.

When a social cause starts trending, it can become ‘trendy’ to jump on board the ‘brandwagon’. And as marketers, this is when we need to take a step back and make sure that we only get involved when it’s a trend that actually looks good on our brand. And not if we’ll look daft when someone asks us to defend our position.

Ultimately, authentic CSR has a sweet spot:

And if us digital marketers can spot it, it’s a win all round.

That’s not to say that your brand can’t change its ways. Maybe you’ve always been a huge environmental polluter. But now you want to clean up your act. That’s great - the polar bears thank you. But if you’re a huge environmental polluter except from #EarthDay when you make a point of sharing your new Keep Cups, the polar bears aren’t having it.

Overall, M&S actually have a good track record when it comes to sustainability. But their lack of pigheadedness in this case shows how easy it is to fall into the trap of inauthentic messaging. Perhaps the #PercyPigPanel (yes this has all been a shameless ploy to get me hired) will ultimately show that embracing vegetarianism is a good move for M&S. Perhaps not.

But for me, all it proves is that if your brand decides to take a stand, then make sure you can stand tall. If not, take a seat while you get to work on changing that.

Why have M&S been giving mixed signals about Percy Pig turning veggie? Could it be a prime example of brandwagoning?

Is your company guilty of 'brandwagoning'?

I’m not going to lie - when an email with the subject line “Contagious” landed in my inbox last month, I assumed the sender had come down with a rather nasty bout of flu.

This was not the case. It was in fact, an invite for two of us to attend the latest Contagious Live event, a monthly gathering of creatives in the heart of London. These evenings of ‘rapid-fire inspiration’ often sell out, partly (only partly) owing to the fact they also provide massive amounts of pizza and beer. 

The event was held in a suitably hip side street in Westminster on 28 February, where my colleague Lewis and I were greeted by 50 pizza boxes neatly laid out in reception. These were demolished in a very short space of time by a host of very hungry creative people from around the country - in horn-rimmed glasses, denim shirts and baseball caps.

There were two distinct reasons why I loved this event:

Firstly, it was short and sweet, which was brilliant. Everything was packed into an hour and a half - so no-one had the chance to get bored and start shifting around in their seats. 

And secondly, there was no single-track way of thinking, which can often be the case at these events. Instead there were two quite distinct views expressed, each equally thought-provoking. 

As we all sat nursing our glasses of wine and bottles of beer, our hosts gave us a round-up of the last few years in advertising. 

Recent ad campaigns have moved further into the realms of storytelling and brand affinity. We were shown some impressive examples of ads which aim to evoke feelings first and foremost, in order to boost people’s connection to the brand - but without explicit reference to the product or service itself. 

Take Ruavieja, the obscure Spanish liqueur brand. Their recent advert has made everyone who’s watched it cry, but although it lasts four minutes, the after-dinner aperitif itself barely features. 

Instead, Ruavieja focus on what they want their brand to stand for - quality time spent together with loved ones. And it shows how modern life is compromising that time, with worrying results:

Ruavieja Commercial 2018 (English subs): #WeHaveToSeeMoreOfEachOther

Or there’s AeroMexico, who tackled the biases of many Americans against visiting Mexico in a brilliantly poignant way. They offered discounts to those living in the heart of Texas, based on what percentage of their DNA is Mexican. 

The higher this percentage, the bigger the discount. Turns out, getting a discount and saving money can overcome some of the most deep-rooted prejudices:

DNA DISCOUNTS advertisement for "AeroMexico" airlines

Oh yeah, and there was barely a mention of an actual AeroMexico plane.

The result? The customer’s connection with the brand becomes the focal point of the advert. The product/service is still featured prominently, but the brand and its values hold centre stage. 

Dave Trott and the serious stuff of creativity

All hail Dave Trott. His answers in the Q+A session took the rose-tinted glasses still clutched by some of us young creatives, and hurled them out the window, along with our pretensions and our chronic need to be liked at every stage of our careers. 

This was an excruciatingly honest session. Trott was quietly reproachful when he commented on an industry more focused on winning awards, instead of those awards being the by-product of good work. Some spectators were positively squirming. 

He remarked about creativity becoming a lost art – that many creatives, fresh out of university, work to get a pat on the back for a job well done. They don’t unleash their ideas. They don’t risk causing friction in order to deliver work that could be brilliantly thought-provoking. Cue more squirming from the audience, the majority of whom appeared to be university graduates in their mid to late twenties.

For Trott, creativity is a muscle to be exercised, whether it’s the concept itself or how you put it into practice and get it out there in the world. He pointed out that convincing a client that your idea is worth taking a punt on is half the battle. 

This wasn’t a proclamation about how precious creatives were. He was pointing out that sometimes creativity is lost in the mire that is the fast-paced, time-is-money modern world. But creative tension is what drives good work - you need it to help your message hit home, to help your ideas resonate with your audience. 

And here’s where he got a teensy bit controversial – he countered the previous view that you don’t need to explicitly reference the product to create impact when you’re advertising it. On the contrary, he said this explicitness is needed – and that in an arena that is constantly being filled with self-aware, clever concepts, we’ve lost the ability to talk plainly. 

Read Dave Trott’s interview with Contagious.

Campaign Battle: Marketeers, are you ready?

As a fan of Pitch Perfect I love a riff-off. And as a highly competitive person I knew I’d enjoy watching the campaign pitch battle, which involved three Contagious writers pitching their favourite campaign of the month, and the audience voting for their favourite. 

First up, a digital clothing collection by Scandinavian fashion retailer Carlings - where the Instagram world has collided with fashion and AI influencers to address the very real danger that disposable fashion is to our world. Why sell real clothes, which will be worn once and then returned, sold on, or binned (thank you consumer culture).

Instead, why not sell digital clothes, superimpose them onto a photo of a customer and let them share the image on social media? The brand claims it lets their customers “be creative without leaving a negative footprint on the world”. 

The result: Instagrammers hash-tagging your brand left, right and centre, “wearing” their fake clothes at €20 - €30 a go – with a proportion of the proceeds going to WaterAid. And there will be a new collection of digital clothes ready to drop later this year. You can bet those will download fast. 

Next, the Skittles Super Bowl ad-that-wasn’t-an-ad. In a weird twist on what actually constitutes being a commercial, the Skittles Super Bowl commercial a) didn’t appear at the Super Bowl, just at the same time and b) was in fact, a one-off musical production, so didn’t appear on TV either. 

Skittles The Musical ))) Starring Michael C. Hall

Whilst admirable, this did smack more of one great big practical joke, and it’s debatable whether it makes Skittles seem cool and different as a brand. 

Although maybe the joke is on all the other brands who clamoured to get a slice of the Super Bowl, as they spend Broadway-production levels of money on their ads, without any guarantee of an uplift in sales. 

And finally, the Greyest Day of The Year by Hartwall, the Finnish alcohol brand. Sod Black Friday - this looked way more fun. 

Faced with grey days, only five hours of daylight in the depths of winter, and depressingly cold weather, an obscure day in November seems like an unlikely day for a national celebration. But that’s just what Hartwall did, after ascertaining that November 17th was officially, the greyest day of the year in Finland. 

Because of restrictive advertising laws, Hartwall was unable to explicitly advertise the fact they were flogging booze. Instead they celebrated everything else about the product – from its iconic grey colour, the same colour as cloudy skies, to the fact it’s the unofficial national drink of Finland.

OLD - The Greyest Day of the Year 2018 ENG

 The Greyest Day of the Year campaign took on the ambitious challenge of turning Finland’s grey weather into the world’s largest outdoor advert. It certainly sold itself to most members of the audience at Contagious Live, who voted it the winner. 

The outcome of this campaign battle was either further proof that the audience were partial to a tipple, or more likely, evidence that Dave Trott’s observation had a gleam of truth. That making the product the star of the campaign does in fact pay off. Even if in Hartwell’s case, you couldn’t explicitly refer to it. 

Thank you Contagious, for a top-notch evening. We left London suffering from a major case of inspiration overload. And I have to admit, I’m fairly glad I caught this one. 

Photos: Lewis Llewellyn, Digital Designer at Signal

The next Contagious Live is Thursday 28th March.

The lowdown on last month's inspiring Contagious Live event in London.

An inspiring selection of campaigns and speakers from the latest Contagious Live.

The rise of influencer marketing in recent years has brought with it more than a few legal and ethical questions. 

 In September 2018 the ASA launched an Influencer Guide advising online content creators how to disclose commercial relationships with brands. But there are still a few grey areas. 

 To get a clearer picture of where influencers stand, we’re going to take a closer look at why the rules are needed, what they say influencers have to disclose to their audiences, and where there’s room for improvement.

 Being ‘an influencer’ is a relatively new career option. Because of this, content creators have had to learn and adapt as they go along. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some have been caught flouting the rules (either accidentally or deliberately). 

 For example, it has been common practice to disguise ads as editorial content or bury the #ad label in amongst dozens of other hashtags where it’s unlikely to be noticed. In response, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have banned a number of posts for failing to make clear that they were ads.

 Posts from Louise Thompson and Marnie Simpson have been subject to ASA action. And there has been a growing public backlash over the unrealistically extravagant and staged nature of ad content, which Scarlett London quickly realised, when one of her posts went viral for all the wrong reasons. 

The best of days start with a smile and positive thoughts. And pancakes. And strawberries. And bottomless tea. My morning routine is now live on YouTube - and while I don't show you my real bed hair (trust me, it's not pretty), I do give you a little insight into how I start my day in a positive way. Head over to my stories for a swipe up link - and let me know what you think! It features my morning habit of rinsing with Listerine Advanced White to help whiten my teeth. @listerineukireland #BringOutTheBold | This is a paid partnership with Listerine.

Several followers seem to have spotted that London’s cup of tea was empty and her plate of ‘pancakes’ looked suspiciously like tortilla wraps. And then there was the not-too-subtle placement of a bottle of Listerine mouthwash on her bedside table in amongst a room full of balloons.

On this occasion, clearly labelling the post as an advert wasn’t enough to save London from a flood of criticism. While her loyal audience may have been sympathetic to her over-the-top aesthetic, the apparent lack of authenticity was met with ridicule by the wider social media community. This unfortunately escalated into nasty comments and even death threats.

The question is whether the ASA’s guidelines are comprehensive enough to help influencers like London avoid this kind of negative response.

 Who are the ASA? And why should I care?

In a nutshell, the ASA is the UK’s independent advertising regulator across all media, who make sure ads across UK media stick to the advertising rules laid out in the Advertising Codes, written by the Committees of Advertising Practise (CAP). 

 Their influencer guide was developed in conjunction with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It sets out what the rules are around commercial relationships, including what the ASA considers to be an ad, how to disclose a post is an advert as well as outlining the CMA’s requirements for other kinds of endorsements.

The APA’s guidelines aren’t actually new. Instead, they are comprised of rules set out by CAP, CMS and CPR that have been brought together in one place for easy reference. It’s a valuable document that may help clarify the rules for influencers.

 
Significantly, the guide is aimed at the content creators themselves, rather than the brands paying or enticing them to publish, which highlights in their view where they believe the responsibility should ultimately lie. 

So what do the latest rules state and how can bloggers and social media influencers keep on the right side of consumer law? 

1. Ads must be obviously identifiable as such 

Guy Parker, the ASA's chief executive has said that "people shouldn’t have to play the detective to work out if they’re being advertised to". 

“Under the CAP Code ads ‘must be obviously identifiable as such’. This means that consumers should be able to recognise that something is an ad, without having to click or otherwise interact with it. Since it needs to be ‘obvious’, consumers shouldn’t have to work too hard to figure it out.” 

Consumers should be able to immediately recognise that something is an ad. If this isn’t explicitly apparent, content creators “need to do more” to make it unmistakable. However, this is a rather hazy guideline. It states something must be done, but it doesn’t specify what that something is exactly. This could muddy the waters and makes things more difficult for influencers.  

“If you work with a brand to create content that you’ll be posting on your own channels, it’ll qualify as an ad if the brand: 1. ‘Paid’ you in some way (can be freebies, doesn’t have to be money), and 2. Had some form of editorial ‘control’ over the content, including just final approval.”

The ASA has recommended that labels such as ‘ad’, advert’ and ‘advertisement feature’ should be included in posts of this kind. Essentially, make it as obvious as possible; consider your labels carefully, always include them at the beginning (so that the post can be identified as an ad straight away), and don’t forget to make sure that it is suitable and prominent across all devices and channels. 

So far, so good. But then here is where it gets a little confusing:

“If you’ve been ‘paid’ (either in money or in gifts/freebies), but it isn’t as part of an affiliate arrangement and the brand doesn’t have any ‘control’ of what (or even if) you post, it’s unlikely that the content will count as advertising under the CAP Code. 

In that case it’s a little like sponsorship, in the way that events and TV programmes can be sponsored – the sponsor has no ‘control’ over the actual content of what they’re sponsoring, they’re just helping to fund its creation (and paying for an association with that content).”

Sponsorship isn’t actually covered by the CAP code, and the ASA won’t investigate complaints about it. However, it’s still subject to regulations under consumer protection legislation imposed by the CMA, and online influencers still need to disclose if they’ve received any form of product or payment, incentive or loan of a product or service. 

However, the likes of labels such as ‘sponsorship’, ‘sponsored content’, ‘spon’, ‘spn’, ‘in association with’ (or simply just mentioning the brand), are considered riskier and the advertising authorities recommend staying well away from these terms, as they may be confusing for consumers. 

In fact, the most ambiguous section of the guidelines relates to this statement about control: 

“It’s not an ‘either/or’ – there has to be both ‘payment’ and ‘control’ for this type of post to count as an ad under the CAP Code.”

It seems the guidelines around sponsorship are hazy because existing regulations are themselves vague. It’s a potential loophole and one that could lead to confusion and unnecessary complications for influencers, especially if it’s not covered by the CAP code.

We contacted the ASA directly to clear a few things up around the issue of ‘control’ and to find out their interpretation of a few common scenarios. 

We discovered that if a brand approaches a blogger with potential content and ask if they would be interested in covering it on their site, it counts as control because the website is implicitly mentioned. When payment is discussed, you guessed it - control. And when a brand asks if their content can be added to a blog post, it is again considered control. 

However, if information is sent over because the brand thought it would be of interest to the influencer and there is no specification of what they want done with it, it doesn’t count as control. The ASA consider each situation on a case-by-case basis so if in doubt, we recommend getting in contact with them to get the most accurate and up to date ruling.  

What is unmistakable is that there is a strong case for more clearly defined rules that are not so open to interpretation. Given the nuances involved, we need even more transparent regulation that is easy to follow, with officials and governments working together to provide fixed guidelines. Even though there have been some developments in the area, it’s still not as clear as it could be. And that is a big problem for influencers, brands and consumers. More detailed regulations will protect everyone. 

As mentioned earlier, the primary onus is currently on influencers, with the paying brands secondary. However, that doesn’t represent the complexity of the partnership. While influencers should, of course, put the work in to understand and adhere to the rules, the content is the result of a collaboration and the brand’s culpability should not be downplayed. 

We are expecting further clarification based on the following statement by the ASA: 

“We launched our call for evidence into online labelling earlier this year as the first part of a project exploring people’s ability to recognise online ads as ads, including by how they are labelled. We’ll be reporting more on this in the autumn.” 

However, as there was no sign of this update, we followed up with them directly to find out when it would be published, and received the following statement: 

“The announcement concerning results of our ad labelling project is now likely to be in the new year – apologies for the delay.”

Perhaps they have realised the full scope of the issue and it’s taking longer than originally planned. We look forward to reviewing the developments on the issue and hope it addresses some of the current ambiguity.  

 The ASA’s guide is a good step forward and shows that the industry as a whole is becoming more widely recognised, respected and regulated. It may just be scratching the tip of the iceberg, but it’s definitely a decent start. 

 However, the example of Scarlett London demonstrates that clear labelling isn’t the only consideration for influencers. Content creators shouldn’t underestimate their audience. 

More thoughtful, authentic campaigns are likely to lead to better results for marketers and influencers, as consumers are becoming more wise and sceptical to how they are being advertised to. And surely increased consumer trust is a good thing for the industry as a whole?

 Ultimately, content creators rightly want the freedom to create posts that reflects their style and that ultimately attracted their followers in the first place. They shouldn’t sacrifice their authenticity for a brand or simply defer to them. After all, if a product is shoehorned in, it appears forced and contrived.

As Shahriar Coupal, director of CAP states: 

“The relationship between influencers and their followers relies on trust and authenticity, so transparency is in the interests of all parties.” 

Download the influencer’s guide here, which also features a handy flowchart that summarises the rules on one page.

[It’s worth bearing in mind that these regulations are updated frequently, so if you are an online content creator of any kind working with brands, then you can check the ASA website regularly to stay on top of the best way to declare your content.]

Influencer #ad rules could still be open to interpretation

Advertising rules are still confusing for online content creators, despite recent clarifications from the ASA.

Influencer ad rules could still be open to interpretation

Insights from The Harper’s Bazaar Literary Salon.

Co-written by Signal copywriters Mairi Wilson and Emma Townley.

Often the role of us copywriters gets reduced to ‘they deal with the words’. And to an extent, it’s true. An iconic tagline or show-stopping headline, even a witty tweet - that is our job. But there’s a difference between a copywriter and a great copywriter. The art of storytelling is a big part of what takes our work to the next level.

Last Sunday, we attended the Harper’s Bazaar Literary Salon at The Ned in London. A day of enlightening talks and discussion from female writers, literary agents and publishers - some of whom were the reason we started writing in the first place. 

As budding authors ourselves, there was a lot to learn about the writing and publishing process. But it was also more relevant to us as copywriters than we might initially have realised.

Don’t worry, there’s no ‘once upon a time’ here. Although, storytelling has been an integral part of advertising since its earliest days. Advertising may have started as a means to sell products, but it quickly evolved into an industrial storytelling machine. 

All of the iconic, golden-age adverts which make up college syllabuses took products and turned them into stories, dropping the viewer into them simultaneously as reader and character. The copywriting heroes of old were great storytellers; far more than just the sum of their great lines.

As young creatives, we’re encouraged to look up to such copywriters. And most of us do. But there's a danger in looking solely at their taglines and posters for inspiration:

A. 99% of them are gents - these days, we’re looking for 50/50. 

B. It wasn’t their taglines that made them great, it was their storytelling.

What advertising and literature have in common

Often the worlds of literature and advertising feel divorced from one another. One is an investment of time for the reader and flexible to interpretation. The other is immediate and requires you to just ‘get it’. But there are many ways in which good copywriting and good literature conflate.

We came away from the Literary Salon feeling very inspired and there were several practicalities for us to take away and apply to our jobs as copywriters too:

It’s a writer’s job to reconstruct their world in their writing. We often get told as copywriters that bad adverts ‘hold up a mirror’ to people. But possibly there’s a way of doing it well. If we can hold up a mirror to people and say ‘this is you, what do you think about that?’, then we’re doing something right. Which is something novelist and political activist Elif Shafak noted during her talk on ‘The Power of Storytelling and Liberating the Female Voice’:

“At its core, storytelling helps us to look at the world from someone else’s perspective.”

The same technique should be applied to advertising. We need to drop ourselves into the minds of our customers if we want to understand their beliefs, and certainly if we want to challenge or change them.

You may have noticed the most pervasive YouTube comment under successful ads is ‘that really made me think’. Great writing tends to do that, whether it’s an advert or a brilliant novel (or even the ending to Inception).

2. Both have great, timely stories that elicit real emotion

Anyone can write. As in, anyone can pick up a pencil or knock together an email. You don’t need to be an author to know that dropping ‘kind’ from your ‘kind regards’ is savage. But being a writer is different.

The third talk of the day was about how to get your first book published, with advice on finding the right agent/publisher and not being put off when your work is rejected. As advertising creatives, we’re taught that our ideas are what make or break us - just as the story does for the novelist. 

Karolina Sutton, literary agent at Curtis Brown, argued that the mark of a great writer isn’t the ability to string a sentence together, but to “have a good story…[one which] feels urgent and relative to the time.” As writers, we work every day on our craft, but the magic comes from the stories themselves. We also have to be mindful about our work. When we have ideas, they can’t just be interesting. They’ve got to meet the brief and be ideas we’d be happy to turn into a finished ad if they get the green light. Just a few things to think about...

We need to have our fingers on the pulse, watching and observing real people so our stories and copy also feel real and relatable. The second talk featured Jessie Burton and Tessa Hadley, and was based around the theme of magic and realism. Ironically, as Jessie Burton pointed out, there’s a lot of “faking we do in order to make the story seem real.” We never want readers to say ‘as if! That would never happen’. But sometimes, in real life, strange or unbelievable things do happen. When writing, or coming up with ideas for brands, events need to seem real without seeming forced. A bit of a fine line. Good writers and great copywriters have the same talent: the ability to make the randomness of reality seem realistic and believable.

All of the speakers were a touch rebellious, which we loved. But more than that, none had taken the safe route. Justine Picardie (Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar, and a woman we both idolise) “took an enormous leap of faith and quit [her] job at Vogue to finish writing” her novel. Likewise, Ali Smith wanted her amazing novel Autumn to be topical to a post-Brexit-referendum audience. So topical, that she asked to bring her publishing date forward, giving her a terrifying seven weeks to finish it (a process that usually takes several months at least). Brave ladies.

We should apply the same approach to copywriting. Perhaps not the job-quitting, but the passion and courage to try something new - even if we fall on our face a couple of times. 

Karolina Sutton also implored us to “finish our work” to a level we’re happy with. Which is easier said than done when you’re up against a deadline. But, if you really believe in your idea, don’t be scared to push back a little. You, as a creative, need to be happy with what you’re putting out. If you know it’s good, convince an agent or a client that it is. It’s a challenge. But you’ll all be winners in the end.

As you can imagine, writing a novel takes a lot out of you. And even in a room of esteemed writers, it’s good to know that they don’t always hit the nail on the head on the first try either. Tessa Hadley gave one of the most down-to-earth talks of the day, about her earlier work. She talked about persevering when your writing feels like it’s losing its way, even when “you cannot bear that stuff came out of you...you have to do it.”

Once again, it’s the same for copywriting. There’s a ‘tah-dah’ moment when you eventually find the right tagline. But until that point, you thrash around hundreds (sometimes literally) of terrible stinkers. But you have to persevere. Set yourself reasonable goals and you’ll learn to meet them. Whether that be writing 500 words a day or doing that little bit of proactive work for a client.

One of the best, and simplest, pieces of advice came from Alexandra Pringle (of Bloomsbury Publishing) - “read your work aloud.” It may be oft-repeated, but there are few better ways to determine if a piece flows, or if any strange sentences or cheeky spelling mistakes have been hiding in plain sight. It’s the detail that matters, and it’s worth that extra hour or two.

And for one final piece of advice, we look again to Justine Picardie.

Insights from The Harper’s Bazaar Literary Salon. Co-written by Signal copywriters Mairi Wilson and Emma Townley.

This is Part Two of an interview about last week's D&AD Festival with Signal's Matt Higgins (Art Director, Edinburgh) and Aaron McCarthy (Art Director, Cheltenham).

In Part One Aaron and Matt talked about their overall impressions of the event, plus Matt shared video footage to give us a flavour of what it's like to attend. 

What follows is their top 5 highlights from the event.

Signal on Twitter: "Day two of #DANDAD2018 underway ✏️… "

Milo: The Festival sounds pretty amazing. Do you have any particular highlights from the 3 days?

Aaron: “What about the cheese toastie Matt?”

Matt: “Best cheese toastie I’ve ever had. But let’s not include that in our top five."

1. Caroline Pay - Do Not Watch This Talk!

Matt: "For me, the talk I enjoyed the most was Caroline Pay, joint CCO at Grey. She was just so refreshing, because she’s so down to earth, she’s extremely funny, she’s very straight-talking, and she made me feel like it’s okay to stick up for what I actually think we should do. Oh and she had a ton of great work to show for it.

Signal on Twitter: ""Don’t do what you’re told, and definitely don’t do what you’ve done before". Words of wisdom from Grey's CCO Caroline Pay. 

#DANDAD2018… https://t.co/f8LN7vgjkk"

For example, when answering a brief, you sometimes think too much about ‘oh, the client may not like that’, or it’s not quite what I was asked to do. But if you think it’s a great idea, stick up for it and push for it a little bit. Be on the right side of passionate. She gave me the motivation to do that more. 

And there’s so many people at her kind of level that can be a bit annoying to listen to, because they think they’ve got the industry all figured out, they’re kind of snobby when it comes to advertising. She just seems like.."

Matt: “Yes, real. She was a very real person.”

Aaron: “She had my attention for the whole 45 minutes. Some of her favourite creatives are people that don’t follow the rules and come up with amazing ideas because of that. The title of her session was ‘Don’t Come to this Talk’ and the first thing she did was get everyone to applaud each other for breaking that first rule.”

Caroline Pay On Breaking The Rules | D&AD Festival 2018

2. Ben Priest - The Importance of Getting Things Utterly Wrong

Matt: "Ben Priest of adam&eveDDB talked about all the mistakes he’s made and why they were important, and he was hilarious too. he made me feel that if I make mistakes, it doesn’t mean I’m shit at my job."

Signal on Twitter: "Learning why it’s important to get things wrong with Ben Priest, Creative Director of adam&eveDDB.

#DANDAD2018… "

Aaron: "It was quite refreshing to know that as one of the main figureheads at adam&eveDDB, he initially didn’t think that the Penguin John Lewis ad from a couple of years ago was actually any good. It was his colleagues who ended up convincing him to get it in front of the client, and then the client cancelled a trip to China to get the idea to run.

So again, he was laying down the fact that he makes mistakes as much as anyone else, because that ad went on to be one of the better ones."

3. Jeff Goodby - How Vandalism Will Save Advertising

Aaron: "For me, Jeff Goodby, who is a veteran ad guy from America, was also immense. He was relaxed, and had the same appeal as Caroline did, in that he seemed very real. His talk was about taking inspiration from the rebellious, humorous and surprising nature of “vandalism” in advertising.

Signal on Twitter: "Next up - Jeff Goodby is going to tell us why our futures are dependent upon a sense of fun and why we all need to be more naughty to be more famous.

#DANDAD18… https://t.co/DazDYoEQol"

One of the biggest and best ideas that he showed, which got a round of applause on the biggest stage at the D&AD, was an ad for Cheetos, where they played on the fact that Cheetos aren’t perfect, they’ve got imperfections, they’re all bobbly and in different shapes. And then tied that in with those stories you see in the tabloids where someone’s found a crisp that looks like Jesus. It played into that and people’s desire to see into things that aren’t really there. 

So they created this Cheetos museum, where people would send in pictures and send back Cheetos. One looked like the Statue of Liberty, and somebody found one that looked like Harambe clinging to a tree, and they put it on ebay and it sold for $100,000 dollars, because people were so infatuated with all these Cheetos that looked like other things. Cheetos were also paying prize money for the best ones. And they even held an exhibition of them at Grand Central Station. It was such a simple idea, but it blew up in the media."

Cannes Lions 2017: Cheetos Museum, Cheetos (Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco)

Aaron: "We also went to a series of Judge’s Insight Panel talks on different categories from the D&AD Awards. The judges talked through their favourite ideas and it was really nice to see what they think is award-winning work. A lot of the stuff that seemed to be most appealing was things that are authentic and emotional, and human."

Matt: “Yeah, anything that cast real people with a story that strikes a chord. I think D&AD are really strict with what they award, so it’s not just about having a good idea, it’s also about how that idea is useful and the craft that goes into it. 

It’s very hard to tick every box with a piece of creative work. You can  see that these people don’t always agree with each other. They are all at the top of their game, they’re not quiet about their opinions and they’re all there to put their case across as to why something should win. That’s when you realise how much it takes to win one of these awards."

Aaron: "I’ll tell you what else was awesome - Pixels of Fury."

Matt: "Oh yeah, that was brilliant. It’s a weird mix between a night out and a bit of work. So you’ve got designers onstage, who have 20 minutes to design a poster that’s for a cause they  believe in. So they’ve got a blank page. And 20 minutes with a whole crowd of people that are drinking, egging them on. So it’s tense."

Aaron: "And it’s all up on big screens - literally everything they were doing. It’s basically a ‘rap battle’ for designers."

Matt: "Yeah, there’s a DJ, the music’s pumping, and there’s an MC running around trying to talk to them and he’s shouting out to us. Plus free booze and free food - it was cool."

Matt: “Yes, so I went to a photography masterclass with Mr Perou, who’s a legendary fashion and portrait photographer. He started his career off as a fetish photographer, and you can see the influence of that in all his work. If you look at his portraits, even of big celebrities, there’s something a little sinister about the way that they look.

He was really cool but there were some technical issues. But what you did see, was a massive massive name in photography, standing in front of you, taking the pictures, directing the models - and it was very cool to be part of that. 

I would have liked more of that. I don’t know about you Aaron, but it felt like that sort of stuff was nice to break up the talks. There was also an Adobe area where you could go and use all of Microsoft’s latest computers and tablets.

Aaron: "Yes - I would have liked to have done more, however a lot of the hands-on stuff was either rammed or already pre-booked. One workshop I didn’t actually go to, but was premiered at the end of the event, was the Straight8 filmmaking session. It’s a competition that runs yearly at Cannes Film Festival where you have to film using a Super8 camera, and they come up with a concept for this workshop and they had to film it there and then.

And there’s no editing allowed, so they come up with lots of techniques to get around that. For example covering half the lens in black so it only exposes the film on one side, and then they’ll put the film back in again and expose it a different way so you get merging, overlapping imagery.

It would have been really nice to have done more of that kind of stuff which you can throw yourself into and immerse yourself in. Because as good as the talks were, at the end of the day there was so much to take in that it was approaching information overload and I just wanted to dive in and start making things."

D&AD Festival 2018 - Our Top 5 Highlights

The best bits from the 3 day celebration of creative advertising and design, as chosen by two members of our creative team.

Two members of Signal’s creative department, Matt Higgins (Art Director, Edinburgh) and Aaron McCarthy (Art Director, Cheltenham) won tickets to attend all 3 days of the D&AD Festival last week at the Old Truman Brewery, London. 

Having followed their updates on Twitter throughout the event, I was excited to find out more, so I grabbed them on their first day back in the office to ask them all about it.

A big thanks to Matt for sharing his excellent photos and video footage from the event.

First of all, for those who don’t know, what exactly is the D&AD Festival?

Aaron: "I’d say it’s a celebration of creativity - all aspects of it, from filmmaking, to copywriting, to animation, to product design. Everything that somebody has put some blood and sweat and tears into, and put their emotion into it, laid out for people to enjoy. 

And then there are talks that back it up and show how different people have different ways to generate ideas - and get them out there into the world."

Nice! So what was it like to experience the event for the first time?

Matt: "It was amazing. Working in an agency, you have your successes and inspirations on a day-to-day basis, and then you have all these websites that you go on now and again, where you read about all this great work. 

But it makes a massive difference to be there in person and hear about these massive campaigns from the people who worked on them, and to be there with people like you from various other agencies is a lot of fun. 

Each talk was roughly 45 minutes to an hour, and when you’re there, it goes incredibly fast. All the speakers have got their own style and attitude, and what everyone’s saying isn’t repetitive either. Everyone’s got a very different approach to how to be successful as a creative, or a designer, or whatever it is you might do.

It’s a lot of very talented people coming together that have contributed in some way to what the D&AD stands for, which in terms of awards is obviously one of the biggest accolades you can get in the creative industry. To get all of that in one big place is so, so inspiring."

Aaron: Being amongst like-minded people was definitely what made it such a great experience for me too. As part of a creative department within a bigger company, you feel like not everyone understands what it is you do day-to-day and how difficult idea/content/creative generation can be. 

But being at that event, where everyone is all about creativity and idea generation, and craft, and design, has brought it home to me that everyone has the same struggles and we’re all in it together."

Matt: "Yeah, in agencies the creative department is treated like “you guys go and have fun.” Everyone thinks you’re just walking around having a laugh, but Aaron’s right -  when you’re at a thing like the D&AD Festival you realise we don’t actually have it easy. Because as a creative, you torture yourself to come up with good ideas all the time, and you constantly second-guess yourself. You constantly think, “Am I good enough  to do this job” - but what people there make you realise, is it’s normal to feel like that, and if you don’t then you’re probably not pushing yourself hard enough."

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