COPY & PASTE!

I remember having a Lager one evening with a man known to many as Kenya’s hall of fame advertising guru. We were having a chat about all matters advertising when I posed a question to this respected Aussie about how creatives always wail about so and so stealing an idea that was done by so and so. In his wisdom he said that there is nothing wrong with gaining inspiration from an ad campaign, what is wrong is copying and pasting the whole damn thing. This brings me to my point. What stunts are some guys in advertising agency studios trying to pull? Sheesh!

I really laughed a few weeks ago when there was a lot of hullabaloo on a Facebook group which busted an ad agency hands down for clearly cutting and pasting a Red Bull creative idea which they shamelessly placed onto a Stanbic bank piece of creative. I mean guys honestly, how long are we going to sit down and watch creatives earning a whole load of cheddar and agencies over-charging creative time for what I call absolute creative laziness. It was funny at first but when you think of it, this is becoming bloody annoying. Have we run out of ideas? Are we under too much deadline pressure? Are we too stupid to realize that everyone is on the www and plagiarism will easily be spotted?

If you think this nonsense started recently, let me take you down memory lane. Sometime back when the APA awards were all that Kenyan creatives lived for, a certain Asian copywriter raised hell when an agency renowned for scooping all awards got gold for a local Firestone ad. The copywriter did not let this thing go and even went as far as writing to the client and showing him an international Bridgestone ad which was a spitting image of what the agency was awarded for.

Of course the client could care less and did not give three skid marks about the creative war that was erupting. So the client decides to complain about the issue to the Creative Director at his agency. Whoa! The Creative Director was infuriated and went as far as having the CID boys pick up the copywriter at his residence for a little shake down and so ended all the talk and accusations. Fact still remains that the similarity was a bit obvious let alone the ads belonging to the same category.

Then there was the famous Qantascom issue where our green mobile service provider’s creatives were accused of letting the Qantas Commercial kids grow up, giving them a tan and flying them to Kenya to pull the same moves under the close eye of Ridley Scott Associates. Well, turns out that the Creative Director for this project was honest enough to say that he did share the Qantas idea with Mr. Lewa Joseph and the man approved it. Was this an example of plagiarism, well I tend to differ with the critics. Maybe the bigger issue was that guys were trying to connect Australian Creative Director with Australian National carrier.

Talking about airlines, there was a Kenya Airways campaign that received local accolades back in the day. Some of you might remember something to do with red tails. Well another case that caused some anxiety amongst creative folk as something similar had been spotted in an international awards publication.

Oh! And don’t even get me started on the recent Barclays Spice commercial. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

My take is that there is nothing wrong with checking out adsoftheworld and other sites for different directions that one could take in a category. In fact I am an advocate of checking out loads of campaigns but only when you feel your creative juices need a bit of spiking. But for John the Baptists sake, don’t just copy the whole damn thing. Its creative sacrilege and will earn you a big middle finger in the creative hall of shame. How will you gain respect in an industry that is heavily populated with dudes and lasses who take respect as seriously as Bloods and Crips.

To all those who have carved a living out of these creative crimes, shame on you. And no don’t give me that nonsense that there are no original ideas left in the world. If you have the time to research and source a great idea then copy it, I am sure you can find some time to sit with your team and brainstorm something original. Or should I say origanalish?

I will leave you with this quote from that same creative guru I had mentioned in the beginning who after more Lagers admitted this.“The difference between our agency and other agencies is that we copy the good ideas while the others copy the ones that suck.”

Hey, that’s just my opinion.

PATIENCE PAYS.......LIKE IT REALLY REALLY PAYS

Kenya's advertising guru nominated for business leader award

By: Carole Kimutai

 

18 Oct 2011

 

Bharat Thakrar, CEO of Scangroup Limited, has been nominated for the 2011 All Africa Business Leader Awards in the Africa Entrepreneur of the Year award category. Thakrar has been recognised for his entrepreneurial skills in building Scangroup into a powerful pan African business. The awards aims at recognising business leaders and companies that have excelled in Africa over the last year.

Bharat Thakrar, CEO of Scangroup Limited

Scangroup is a marketing services group of companies that offers an integrated range of advertising and communication services and controls more than 50% of Kenya's market share. The company is behind some of Kenya's advertising campaigns like Dura Coats Peter Marangi and Equity Bank's Member campaign.

"I am greatly honoured and humbled to share this platform with Africa's best business people. I take this nomination not only a personal recognition to me but also to the employees of Scangroup who have stood by me and helped me build this company over the past 30 odd years. This is also recognition of Kenya as a country, its ability to export some of its best organisations to the rest of the continent and an affirmation that any local business can make an impact on the African business landscape," said Thakrar on his nomination.

Thakrar's career

Thakrar holds a diploma in advertising and marketing from the Communications and Marketing Foundation - UK. His father, a commercial manager of an advertising agency, contributed to his choice of career and admits he expected to find himself in advertising.

"I was good at Biology at school and I was planning to become a doctor," Thakrar said in an earlier interview. During exams, his father would take him to his office and give him a quiet corner where he could read with minimum distractions. However, during his study breaks, Thakrar would sneak and go to the studio where he would watch and marvel at the creatives working.

After his A Level, Thakrar took a gap year and did his internship at the advertising firm as he waited to join medical school. He loved the job so much that he decided to get into advertising. That marked the beginning of his career in advertising - which has seen him become the founding shareholder of Kenya's first listed advertising and marketing communications company.

Thakrar setup Lowe Scanad (now Scanad) in December 1982. His big break came when he got a contract from the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) to work on the banks 'closer to the people' campaign. He worked closely with Prof. Benjamin Kipkorir, who was then the executive chairman of KCB on the historical campaign that aimed at taking banking services to rural areas.

"For a long time, KCB was the only bank that had branches in rural areas," he says. Lowe Scanad worked on the Kenya Airways Premier World class, Tusker Milele, 2002 Electoral Commission of Kenya's voter awareness campaign and the Fanta Feel Free campaigns.

In 1996, he started Media Initiative, a media independent company in Kenya providing specialist media solutions. Then, specialist media planning and buying outfit was novel and the first company to adopt the idea was Unilever.

Other nominees

Also nominated in the Africa Entrepreneur of the Year award category are Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Group; and Leo-Stan Nnamdi, chairman and CEO, Zinox Technologies, both from Nigeria.

Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony to held on Thursday, 20th October 2011 at the Sandton Sun, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Criteria

According to a statement from the organisers, the winners would have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the continent, the economic aspirations of its citizens and the transformation of Africa's image in international markets, while displaying high standards of good corporate citizenship and social and environmental responsibility.

"The awards have become a benchmark for institutions across Africa and a reminder of the amazing achievements which are currently unfolding throughout the continent," reads the statement in part.

African Business Awards brings together prominent business leaders, entrepreneurs, heads of state and other high-ranking government officials from across the world to celebrate the achievements and successes of those who have played a pivotal role in driving Africa's economic development forward.

MR INCOMPETENT BRAND MANAGER

Here's to all Brand Managers who are so incompetent and scared of being busted that they just end up harassing ad agencies and media houses.

You know the type of Brand Manager I am talking about.

The one who loves the sound of his own voice. The one who realizes on Decemeber 12th that Christmas is coming and he needs a Christmas Campaign. The wannabe creative who never got a chance to make it in an ad agency. The one who thinks that anything presented by a research house should never be debated or contested. The one who pressurizes you to start a campaign even when he knows that all elements needed are nowhere near ready. The one who is more concerned about securing his job from the new hire rather than just building his brand. The one who likes shouting...."Do it because I am the client and I have said so!"


Script inspired by Budweiser Real men of Genius Radio commercials.

Anncr:                   The Muthusi Opinion presents Real Men of Thickness.

Singer:                  Real men of thickness.

Anncr:                   Today we salute you, Mr. Incompetent Brand Manager.

Singer:                  Mr. Incompetent Brand Manager.

Anncr:                   Any campus graduate can make a presentation but it takes real talent to make a power point presentation 3 hours long

Singer:                  Pins and needles.

Anncr:                   Perched in the boardroom in your company polo shirt, you tirelessly set impossible deadlines for your ad agency

Singer:                  Yesterday! Yesterday!

Anncr:                   Creative Opinions? You don’t need no stinking creative opinions.

Singer:                  No!

Anncr:                   And even though you’ve never had ad agency groupies, you have bagged the  occasional in-store activation girl.

Singer:                  Put it on the shelf!

Anncr:                   So there’s an opinion for you, incompetent brand manager guy, because every brand you handle will surely tumble.

Singer:                  Rock and Roll!

Anncr:                   Mr. Incompetent brand manager.

KENYA, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!!!!

Let me not cheat you, if something is not done about the state of client service and Account Management in this country, creative advertising is going to die and any idiot with a mac will be able to fill the shoes of creatives. Every week I am convinced that the good old days when people with brains were hired to be the liasion between the agency and the client are over and out.

I for one will keep on talking about this until the cows come home because of one reason, I have worked with the best so I am qualified to tell you the difference between a good suit and a bad suit.
Let me tell you how this cool breed used to operate.

These guys studied brands so intensely that they were able to even teach their clients a thing or two about whatever category they were working on. In return clients took them as valueable partners who could be called upon any time for solutions. These guys defeated the notion that the client is always right. In return clients became so dependent on them that they would hardly have a reason to move their account elsewhere.

These guys used to write a damn good brief. I am not just talking about filling in a brief template but rather giving creatives so much information that they would get the client scope and requirements easily. These guys had time to meet up with clients and discuss the problem at hand rather than just e-mail them a brief template to fill in. They would even share the brief with the clients before sharing it with creatives just to make sure everyone was on the same page.

These guys had balls. The reason they had unbelievable confidence is because they were so knowledgeable about their work and the brands they dealt with that they had no fear when advising clients against taking certain directions or defending creative work. These guys were not afraid of engaging clients in constructive arguments about their work. Hell, they would even refuse to take certain directions that some clients would insist on. At the end of it they gained mad client respect.

These guys understood the creative process. They would never accept mediocre work from their creative teams, they would contribute good ideas to creatives, they would inspire creatives to take their work to the next level. They knew how to positively criticize creatives and always listened to creative opinions. In return creatives were more than willing to share thoughts with them and seek their opinions. The result? Spot on creative executions.

These guys never panicked. The client service world nowadays is driven by a bunch of people who suffer anxiety attacks every fifteen minutes shouting THE CLIENT SAID, THE CLIENT SAID. You see these guys would access the situation and if there was a need to extend the deadline, they would simple pick up the phone and tell client the truth. No one likes a whiner OH MY GOD WE ARE GOING TO LOSE REVENUE BECAUSE OF YOU, OH MY GOD THE CLIENT IS GOING TO TAKE THE BUSINESS SOMEWHERE ELSE,......Cool, Calm, Composed. These guys had client service swag.

It has been said before. There are two types of suits the postman and the business developer. The unfortunate thing is that right now in Kenya, the former is in the majority and low IQ seems to have become a hiring pre-requisite. God help us all.

Hey, thats just my opinion.

HI I AM A CREATIVE AND I GOT ISSUES

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has egged me on to start writing again. It has indeed been a long long time and to tell you the truth I am extremely nervous as to where I will start.

Hmmmmm...lets start this like a group therapy session. Hi I am a creative and I have issues.

What am I talking about? I am talking about the fact that if you converse with any HR professional in any organisation that deals with creative types, more often than not the most weirdest issues come from the creative department.

Lets admit it. We've all been there. You work your ass off for a few months then something just happens and you start losing it. Check in hours start getting later and later, lunch hour gets longer and longer, check out time gets earlier and ealier. The F it attitude becomes part of you.

Here are a few scenarios that will paint a picture of the truth in our madness.

Scenario 1
You get a great job at a great ad agency handling a great account. Suddenly you start seeing the possibilities of what could be elswhere and become bored with what actually is. You start getting fidegty and start looking at how cool it would be working for the competing brand at a competing agency so you decide to jump ship and within a few months again the cycle resumes.

Scenario 2
You dream of working with a certain creative director because he is the coolest thing that ever happened to advertising. Then you start getting frustrated by the fact that Mr Guru just seems to hand over to you mundane tasks. You start getting angry, you start resenting your boss and then all other bosses in other agencies seem to appear like the perfect boss, so you decide to jump ship and within a few months again the cycle resumes.

Scenario 3
You are working on a project and really giving it your all, then a big fat juicy brief lands on your desk and you immeadiately drop the project at hand and  become excited about this new possibility, and thus you never achieve the great accomplishment which you are capable of achieving with the task at hand. Then another brief checks in and again the cycle resumes.

Scenario 4
Now here is the complete mind bogger. You know that you have contractual obligations and your organisation has rules to be followed then you become bitter when reprimanded by your boss or HR for your newly found attitude or seeming lack of caring. You start hating the organisation you are in and think the grass looks greener on the other side so you decide to jump ship and again the cycle resumes.

Go on, admit it. If you are truly creative you must have gone through at least one of these scenarios. I think this is living proof that creatives indeed have issues and the day Dr.Frank Njenga capitalizes on this corporate landmine he will close up shop and live happily ever after on Advertising Agency medical insurance in the name of Wellness therapy.

Here's the catch 22. Despite all these issues most of us are warm, enthusiastic people, typically very bright and full of potential. We live in the world of possibilities, and can become very passionate and excited about things. Our enthusiasm lends us the ability to inspire and motivate others. We love life, seeing it as a special gift, and strive to make the most out of it.

We do indeed have many gifts which we can use to fulfill ourselvess but why  is it that the majority of us cannot remain centered and master the ability of following through.

I salute all you Mad Ad Men and Women who make no apologies for being who you are.

Hey that's just my opinion (I think)!

WILL THE CREATIVE WOMEN PLEASE STAND UP!!!

So I was reading a post on some website where this young creative was complaining about a significant lack of female creatives in the industry in her country. Especially in the top positions. I immediately started thinking about our local ad industry and hey......there are no female Creative Directors that come to mind today.

Lets take a trip down memory lane.

One of the most celebrated creatives and indeed a mentor to many was Judy Kibinge who is now following her passion in the film industry...she's doing quite well might I ad. Judy climbed the ranks at a time when no indigenous Kenyans were holding top positions back in the day. Judy was Deputy Creative Director at McCann. I thought she would be intimidating as I was completely new at the time and most creative directors I met were intimidating. She is the sweetest person in the world.

Another name that comes to mind was Samira Matthews. Last time I heard of Samira, she was Creative Director at MCL Saatchi & Saatchi. Is she still there? Mimi pana jua. What I remember about Samira was the fact that she was a creative as seen on TV. Extremely passionate, sexy, extrovert, chain smoking and highly vocal. I actually had the pleasure of working with her when I was a cast member for a Pepsi ad which was shot for Uganda some time back. Pretty cool individual.

Then there was Mona Mugambi. Mona grew through the ranks at the Original O i.e the great old school Ogilvy & Mather. Mona was revered for her art direction talent which saw her rise to become one of Kenya's first indigenous female art directors. She went on to McCann then hopped over to Scanad both in Kenya and Uganda. Mona has now moved on to establish her own successful creative business called Ruff Designs which has a sister office in Atlanta...but does she say? Ruff Designs deals with a lot of projects that give back to the community and design work for some of Kenya's biggest corporates.

If we look at the extended industry which stretches into production houses, there are great success stories in the name of Isabel Munyua and  Josephine Gathithi who started in rather humble grounds as ad agency producers and leaped to initiate their own production companies, mojo and dreamcatchers respectfully. Josie actually stands out. She started out as P.A to the Ogilvy creative director - talk about strength of a woman. Wow! There's also Alison Ngibuini and Sheila Peevers who are respected go getter's.

Carol Kipsanai and Shiro Kanyua are two divas whose names pop into my mind as the only cohesive creative unit that I knew. They started out in McCann, moved to Scanad together and jumped ship together to AY&R. Blood sisters so to speak. Shiro moved on to ZK, while Carol is now head of client service at Y&R.

More recently, Nuturn had a female creative director, but from what I hear it was a short stint due to ideological differences with the boss man. Now a cool dude who was in Redsky called Jesse is heading the creative team.

Last Friday, I met two very vibrant, intelligent creatives from TAC who introduced themselves as a
creative team, so I gather the process of regeneration has began.

Creative departments from my standpoint are not about gender, but all about ideas.At the same time I have no idea why there are not that many women heading ad agency creative departments.

What I would like to know though, is who are the creative women who are making strides out there. Please share.

Hey that's just my opinion.

THE LOST CREATIVE GENERATION

Hello folks. A cold and wet morning in Nairobi. Speaking of which, I will probably sound a bit cold when I say that I have noticed a complete lack of basic work ethic especially with the new emerging generation of local creatives.

I am young at heart, but do confess that I have been in this industry for a while. During this time I have seen changes from old school photography techniques to the emergence of the Internet in agencies. So what's my bother? Well, my bother is how creative studios nowadays have lost the breed of creative which used to concentrate on nothing but ideas and what has emerged is a lesser breed that concentrates more on adding friends on facebook and chatting on g-mail.

Do not get me wrong and think that I have personal beef, but the net is becoming more of a burden than an asset when it comes to producing work. If you think I am alone, check out the IT policies in Kenyas most successful ad agencies. Guys can only log onto social sites before 8.30am, between 1and 2pm and after 5.30pm, the result? Well it speaks for itself doesn't it? Creatives are left with exposure to sites that will add value to their concentration and work harder rather than developing a new addiction that takes away crucial work time.

Being a good creative is not just about throwing the first idea that comes into your mind and feeling like you own the world, being a good creative is not just about looking the part with torn jeans or having great social skills. Creativity is not just a laid back 9-5. A good creative takes time to craft his work, a good creative takes time to research the brand she works on, a good creative challenges his or herself to be better, a good creative tries to find out what her competition is doing and tries to get the better of them. The secret to those dudes we all see winning Cannes lions is the mad hours they put in and igniting all they can from a little spark. IT'S TAKES HARD WORK!

Is facebook, twitter and gmail a good thing? Well of course it is. Its just that there is a right time for everything. Now, you may argue that one needs social media at work to ease off and take a break, but I hardly see a living example of that in my experience. So do I support the Creative Directors who have banned certain sites during working hours? 100% yes.

The other argument of course is that its all a matter of planning time well. Show me a young Kenyan creative who can do this.

Hey, that's just my opinion.