Making Stuff, Not Ads is The Antidote to Our Creative Anxiety

It’s March 2012 and Chelsea Striker Fernando Torres has just found the back of the net, which should be nothing new for someone of his calibre – except this one ended his goal drought of five months and 14 games. That’s 730 minutes of pure frustration.

 

Today, agencies are facing a drought of their own. Retainers have been clamped. Budgets have shrunk, and subsequently creative departments have too. This extends beyond agencies. Directors. Producers. Photographers. Actors. Gaffers. Illustrators. Voice Over Artists. There’s a collective creative anxiety among everyone. When will we all start ‘making’ again? 

 

Ad droughts can come in different shapes and sizes. Before I moved to Innocean, I was in one of my own, having not made anything for more than 12 months. This time it wasn’t the economy. Just a bad run.

Try as I might, I just couldn’t find the back of the creative net. One big brand campaign tragically passed away in research after nine months. Another went through all the ‘stakeholders’ only to be axed by a CEO who hadn’t been taken through the brief. There was a ‘semi award worthy’ radio campaign that was cut the night before going to air - after the ECD made me rewrite the bloody thing 57 times (true story). It was a long 12 months, and about as enjoyable as doing my timesheets. 

 

So, how can we ease our creative anxiety… when its causes are often out of our control? If you’re employed, the obvious answer is to leave your agency for one that is making work. But with more creatives competing for fewer jobs, it’s not always easy. 

Having recently completed a mental health first aid course at work, I believe there’s a step you should try before setting sail for the warm waters of new agency paradise. It’s about shifting your mindset. 

Find other creative pursuits where you make stuff purely for the fun of making it. Make jewellery. Sketch. Take photos. Create weird sh*t. It doesn’t have to make sense. Make. Post. Repeat.

 

Learn to separate your work self from your home self. Remember when it’s time to be Batman and when it’s time to be Bruce Wayne.

Our natural instinct is to try harder when we’re in a creative drought. But doing the opposite can reap rewards. Remember, as my old ECD repeatedly told me, it’s only advertising.

 

Take this time to feed your brain. Hit up exhibitions. Concerts. Theatre. Cooking shows. Manga Comics. Feed your mind new experiences and break the algorithm of your life.

Especially important for creatives looking for work. Talk. Text. Messenger. Pigeon Carrier. The last thing you want to be right now is isolated.

Creativity is cyclical. Stay resilient. Know this time will pass, and you’ll be back making work before you know it.