Why your next great idea could be found at home

One of the things creative people are taught when starting out is to 'write what you know'. 

But, for those of us working in the world of advertising, it’s tough knowing much about Popeyes’ new chicken-wing flavour, or Bank of America’s new cash-back card. So, we’ve gotta make stuff up, get inspired, find a new angle on an old thing. 

We’ve gotta make stuff up, get inspired, find a new angle on an old thing. 

And, since we’re almost always competing for jobs, the stakes are high. Common knowledge tells us that the best idea wins, so we better come up with something undeniable… by EOD Thursday! 

Above: The 'distractions' of home life should be embraced, feeding your creativity. 

It took me a while to discover that finding inspiration doesn’t have to be painful. Earlier in my career I tried getting into a pitching mindset by cutting out all distractions, which can be difficult when you’ve got the rest of your life to contend with – family, friends and that dentist appointment you still need to reschedule. But, after many years, I realised that, as Ken of Barbie fame so eloquently articulated, “I am enough". All the elements of my life I considered a distraction from work — packing lunches for kids, going to gymnastics practice, taking my dog to the vet — could actually be transformed into inspiration. 

Treating our home and work lives as two separate halves of a whole can lead to a ton of missed opportunities.

In fact, treating our home and work lives as two separate halves of a whole can lead to a ton of missed opportunities. It’s easy to see why directors are cautioned against mixing them — it’s 'unprofessional'. But, on the flip side, when you blur those lines, everything becomes much more personal. And, in a creative industry, personality is priceless. 

For example, I had a pitch for a Target campaign that would feature a new line of pet toys. I was struggling to come up with a fresh angle, finish the treatment and make dinner for my kids all at the same time. I turned my obligations as a parent into the actual pitch – I took my kids and dog to a nearby Target and captured some footage of 'dog joy' (aka, my dog and kids running around a Target) to put in my treatment deck. 

For me, the key was to lean into what came naturally. Rather than resisting everyday tasks, I try to embrace the unexpected moments and use them to set my treatment apart. (On a side note, the very nice people at Target told me that dogs aren’t allowed in the store and that I should not take my dog there again.)

Above: Kaplan's created a 'dog joy' video, which he used in a pitch for a Target campaign.  

Another job I pitched on this year required making office workers fly, and I wanted to show how we could easily achieve this effect in my presentation. Yet again I resisted pulling footage from Marvel movies (the obvious choice) and instead found inspiration at home. I went lo-fi and made my son levitate using camera techniques I wanted to test. With some poorly-lit footage and mediocre After Effects work, I had something that was serviceable, bordering on charming. And, according to the agency, it’s what won me the gig. 

Incorporating your life into conversations, pitches and treatments can lead to better connections with the people you work with.

I’ve noticed that when I’ve included details of my life in briefing calls, agency creatives open up about their own lives, too. They have also overslept because of daylight savings time, or had to unexpectedly pick up their sick kids from preschool. Sure, it might be derided as 'small talk', but incorporating your life into conversations, pitches and treatments can lead to better connections with the people you work with, giving them a glimpse of you as a collaborator.