Rethink the Think

Revolutions are a tough sell. And not just from a technical standpoint. Take what we've been doing with this "green movement" -- constantly bombarding one another with messages about recycling, carbon footprints, ozone depletion, trash islands, killer cow farts, drowning polar bears, and our planet's general inability to continue to sustain life at our present rate of consumption... yet we refuse to alter our lifestyles. Why? The ideas are out there. We have thousands of workable solutions at our fingertips, but (as countless hours of therapy have taught me) you've really got to want to change before you can begin to. And right now, we just don't feel like it.

So whose fault is that? Is it fair to blame the people hired to inspire, the creatives saddled with the arduous task of sparking a revolution? Probably not. But if after several failed attempts to motivate, agencies are still approaching sustainable issues in the same way, we've got to start questioning their sanity.

The only way to solve a radically new problem is a radically new approach. The old ways of thinking don't apply here. Brute force, guilt, and endless attempts to "convert" the non-believers have proven ineffective, so it's time for agencies to start looking toward more non-conventional means of persuasion, to abandon common sense altogether. They've got to do something crazy. Get noticed. Advertisements shouldn't be controversial just to stir shit up, but they shouldn't fear their audience either. Opposition should be the goal, not the enemy, because if no one's raising questions then the ad's not making them think hard enough (and trust me, it's going to take some long, hard thought to tear us away from our cheeseburgers and SUVs [and it's high-horse parentheticals like this one that only further entrench people in their apathy, so DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO]).

What I'm saying here is: Historically good ideas have a limited shelf life. Times are changing. Tastes and tolerances are evolving. The brilliance behind the Scientific Revolution was not the brilliance behind the Industrial Revolution was not the brilliance behind the Information Revolution will not be the brilliance behind the Sustainable Revolution, so we've got to kill this current idea of "common sense" and move forward. We've got to figure out a way to pave new ground without actually paving new ground.

Sorry: for only one instance of the word "shit." (x2 - my work here is done).

How Not To Be Interesting

There's something inherently boring in this push to "be interesting." Our ad program has been circulating Russell Davies' blog on "How to Be Interesting" since the day it was posted (due, in part, to the fact that the we prompted it), but relevance of instruction aside, I'm confused as to why anyone thought this was necessary.

Because if college has taught me anything, it's that everyone is interesting. Even objectively boring people are interesting in their intent to remain boring. I know we're students, I know we're here to learn, and that it's terrifying to accept that one of the most important aspects of our future careers is unteachable, but this is one lecture I feel we're better off doodling through. If you hate taking pictures, put the camera down. If your scrapbook sucks, scrap it. Maybe you hate collecting, are uncomfortable eavesdropping - who the fuck cares? Do something else. Be different. And not just for the sake of being different, but because different is your default and any attempt to reign that in or dilute it with "shoulds" is a shove in the wrong direction.

With that said, "Make something" is never going to be bad advice. I understand that Davies' instructions were purposefully broad, that the creativity is in customization, but why not take it a step further and make your own rules? Why not actually surprise someone?

Sorry: for typing out the text equivalent of my 4th grade classroom's "DARE TO BE DIFFERENT" poster. In retrospect, an image of a rainbow zebra probably would have been sufficient.