The Art of Client Service

Chapter 38Ideas Are the Currency We Trade in

Look at any great agency—in emerging or traditional forms of communication—and what you will find in common is the ability to formulate enduring ideas that appeal to countless people striving for whatever it is they aspire to.

I think of agencies like Wieden + Kennedy and its Just Do It work for Nike. Or TBWA\Chiat\Day and its 1984 commercial and its Think Different campaign for Apple. Or Goodby Silverstein and Got Milk. Even my own former shop, Ammirati & Puris, gained well-deserved praise for its famous Ultimate Driving Machine advertising for BMW.

These shops and many, many others—of all sizes, in varied specialties, here in the United States and around the world—will gladly show you a select number of ads that garner respect and admiration. Every reasonably decent shop has at least a few of these.

But peel away the layers of self-promotion and hyperbole, and what you will find are ads and campaigns that are truly great in alarmingly short supply. That's because generating great ideas is hard, really, really hard.

Ideas are the currency we trade in. They distinguish subpar agencies from average ones, average ones from good ones, and good ones from the few truly great ones. Ideas are prized by clients, celebrated by writers and art directors, feared by competitors. Everyone wants to work at an agency known for creating great ideas. ...