By Dave Damman, Chief Creative Officer

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Everywhere I turn these days, someone in our industry is complaining about the quality of creative work. They say: “Advertising isn’t what it used to be”; “the work is nowhere near what it should be”; “it’s average at best”; and “breakthrough work is a lost art of the past.”

Clients are to blame, right? At least some of the cynical-minded pundits would point the finger in that direction. We bring them 10s—and they shave them down to a 5, 6 at best.

If not clients, maybe we can blame the economy. The budgets just aren’t what they used to be. 

To make matters worse, the young crew coming in at the base level are pointing to the ones leaving the business as shoddy caretakers of the creative environments—not unlike what’s happening in our broader society. 

There’s so much finger-pointing and confusion that we’ve lost sight of what’s most important: the joy we experience making great work. When we make something as a team that brings a rush of joy, society returns those love letters with a heartfelt response of gratitude.

“Thank you advertising for not wasting my precious time. Thank you for dropping a pinch of joy into the mixing bowl of my hectic and overstimulated life.”

That’s society talking.

It’s a noble cause. But it’s also a business necessity; the folks at PETERMAYER—my new stomping grounds—found that 63% of purchase intent is related to the joy those consumers experience via a brand’s marketing communications. Meaning, joy is good for us, and it’s good for business.

What could possibly stop us?

Beware, lurking in the creative darkness there lays in wait a joy vampire—the dreaded Nothing Version. The version of our idea that lives in the land of good, born of compromises, laziness, conformity and fear of the unsafe, with suburbs named good enough, kind of good, not that awful, well-liked and my favorite—not bad. 

And I’m afraid to say that the Nothing Version is winning. Look at our current work product as a big bell curve. You know the bell curve, right? Looks like Napoleon’s hat. It’s a bell shape with two tiny ends at each side. At one end, there’s 2.5% of work that’s truly great. At the opposite end, there’s the dismal, brand-reputation-ruining work.

Then there’s the vast, bulbous middle. I’d estimate that the remaining 95% of advertising lives here. The joyless wasteland of the “skip ad” button.

And here’s the big problem: The Nothing Version ends up costing more. A recent whitepaper claims that brands are throwing away tens of billions of dollars on dull ads.

Dismal as it may seem, however, all is not lost. Let’s cast aside all the excuses and believe with our hearts that our creative futures are bright—and that with hard work and a little gray matter elbow grease, we can find our way out of our existential creative funk and revel in the joy of great.

Exactly how do we do this, you ask? Here’s a quick guide on steps that I take to avoid the Nothing Version, a road map to live in the top 2.5%. After all, that’s where all the hard-earned JOY is, and that stuff is worth its weight in solid gold. So, let’s go get some. 

1. THE MAGIC IS IN THE PRODUCT (THANKS, BILL.)

Bill Bernbach had it all figured out. We just forgot about him and his amazing cohorts. This is one of my favorite truisms of Bill B. Mine the magic—it’s your unfair advantage in making great ideas happen. When you find the ways (big and small) that your product brings joy to your audience, you’re starting with an unfair advantage. 

2. BELIEVE HARD IN OUR IDEAS. BUT REMEMBER, CONFIDENCE ATTRACTS, ARROGANCE REPELS.

You can probably do it on your own, or at least think that you can. ALERT! You’ve just wandered into the Arrogance Zone. Put the needs of the work first, and your ego second. 

3. STAY POSITIVE. STAY JEALOUS.

Where there’s a will there’s a way, and that attitude can be infectious and the elixir that fuels the drive in making something great. There are joy vampires out there, beware. They’ll use their superpowers of negative bias and narcissistic self-preservation to prove to everyone they were right all along. Avoid these people at all costs. Joy is a byproduct of doing what brings us happiness. Seeing great work from others, and wishing you’d done that ad—well, that’s a great self-motivator in actualizing great for ourselves and others.

4. LOVE IT OR HATE IT—MORE IMPORTANTLY, FIRST, DO YOU GET IT?

Sometimes, we get far enough down the road with ideas that we have talked ourselves and others into the crystal-clear logic that makes sense only to us—and no one else. Again, we’ve entered the Arrogance Zone. As one of my Pratt design professors preached—there is only one steadfast, inarguable rule in design—does it communicate? I think this applies to just about everything that is trying to persuade us of something.

5. BE THE FIRST TO DO SOMETHING, NOT THE SECOND.

A lot of the great work throughout advertising’s history is rooted in this calling. Humanity’s history as well. It also requires a cargo ship of bravery, confidence and positivity. As Sally Hogshead says, “different is better than better.”

6. SOMETIMES CLIENTS NEED TO FALL IN LIKE BEFORE THEY FALL IN LOVE.

The best clients are always the best partners in making great work. Rarely does it happen without them. We need two hands clapping. And as with most deep, rewarding emotional relationships, it takes time to trust and develop the deep connections needed to take the leap of faith to greatness.

7. KEEP IT SIMPLE. AND DEEP. (THANKS, FRED.)

Fred Rogers lived by those words. Average feeds off complex and shallow. Nuff said.

Great work is an alchemy of a breakthrough strategy and lightning-strike inspiration. The Nothing Version usually suffers from this imbalance. Look through the 95% and I guarantee that you will see this time and time again. Wow, that idea was so amazingly creative—but I have no idea what they were trying to say, or the common strategic dominant wardrobe malfunction—excuse me, but your strategy is showing.

The ultimate combination is the simplest, most joyful expression of a sharp strategic insight.

So, there it is. Meditations on what we show up for every day, a path for our ideas to follow to secure our seats in the top 2.5%. Are these rock-solid, surefire ways to avoid the Nothing Version? Maybe. But only if you believe hard in yourself, and those around you—and in making the work, we find the bravery, courage, desire and grit to leave good behind, once and for all.