Creative Ways for Creatives to Persevere

I just read that Tina Fey pitched this amazing commercial spoof many times over a number of years before it finally was produced.

In her case, she believes it gathered dust because men dominated Saturday Night Live’s writer’s room. And the reason it saw the light of day was because more and more women who got the joke slowly found they’re way into the sketch pitch meetings.

Reflecting on this story, it’s easy to think the lesson here is that creatives should never give up. But advertising creative is different. This type of perseverance doesn’t often pay off. The expiration date on great ideas can change at any moment. Maybe the strategy changes, maybe you switch accounts, maybe a different agency executes a similar concept. But certainly, your creative director, account director and client don’t want to hear the same idea twice.

So what’s an advertising creative supposed to do when their best ideas don’t make it beyond the internal pitch meeting? How can we persevere?

Some go the spec route, which I only recommend for your absolute best ideas that have to be unleashed on the rest of the world. For the rest of your good ideas, my philosophy is to move on, but never forget.

I have a folder for all of my favorite broadcast scripts and headlines. When I hit a creative roadblock while concepting, I’ll dig out those old scripts for inspiration. Maybe I just need the ego-stroking reminder that I’m funny, insightful, and quick-witted (and gosh darn it, people like me). Or maybe the creative formula that just fell short for one product is a perfect fit for a different one.

So my dream of producing a radio spot involving a pool boy and a stay at home mom will never happen. But who knows, one day it might just inspire me to develop a completely different idea for one of your clients.