How to Cook up a Creative Brainstorm

All creatives have differing and interesting ways in how they stimulate their creative juices to be able to come up with their ideas—including those that are weird, wacky and wild. 

The way I come up with an idea for a project or a campaign is a strange yet somewhat simple process.

State of Calm

When I am pondering an idea or brainstorming a strategy, I first try to clear my mind of all other thoughts. Distractions need to be minimized as best they can be. 

I recommend a sip of water or another cool beverage to symbolize this cleansing process.

Ideation Process

Once the mind is clear and focused, I can begin the ideation process—usually by starting a word tree or a list of related words on a blank sheet of paper or a white board. I'll jot down a few words that relate to the subject. 

Maybe I'll place some related words branching off in a different tangent on another side of the page or board. 

After a solid twenty or thirty minutes, I may have the entire page covered in words, phrases and idioms relating to the topic/s at hand. 

A second sip of water or cool beverage is usually taken at this time to keep the engine cool.

Idea Invention & Collection

At around this stage in the process, it is almost as if an imaginary, clear, upward-facing bowl begins to extend out from the back of my head. 

Above this virtual bowl is an imaginary, wide net that is coated with creative juices or slippery ooze. 

By looking up with my eyes to the left and right (which promotes left-brain right-brain cross communication), I begin to figuratively see ideas floating in the ether just above me. 

One by one, I am able to gently pluck these ideas right out of this ether (being careful not to harm or damage them) and toss them in to the lubricated netting affixed to the rear of my head.


Creative Gestation 

These ideas, once caught, then begin to slide down into the bowl and swirl around. 

Occasionally, when the gravity of reality begins to take hold, one or more of these ideas may connect or meld together, or conversely separate and branch off into separate ideas. 

Once these ideas migrate to the bottom of this imaginary bowl, they are promptly sucked inside my head. 

My brain then soaks these ideas up like a dry sponge. 

Overcoming Writer’s Block 

On the rare occasion, two or more ideas fall through at the same time and get stuck together in the point of entry. This can cause a period of writer’s block. 

This part of the process makes the body fairly thirsty and a further sip of cool fluid is taken.


This blockage can be temporary or it can last for hours, days or even weeks. If you find yourself stuck in a writer’s block, I suggest the following tactics for a release: 

• Take a break and come back to it at another time;
• Try approaching the problem from a different angle or viewpoint;
• Free writing can help to unleash subconscious thought;
• Limit any possible perfectionist tendencies where you may possess a desire for everything to be right before putting pen to paper;
• There may be an underlying fear of putting your ideas out there for the greater world to see and critique;
• Go for a walk or a jog and get the blood pumping through your veins;
• Distract your mind with some play or a creative art project;
• Listen to music. You’ll probably find what type of genre achieves the best results for you.
• Brew a cup of coffee or some other kind of stimulant to give you that required jolt.

Achieving Output

Once I get over any possible hurdles of writer’s block, the creative ideas in the mind are bubbling over. The best ideas bubble up towards the frontal lobes where they can be accessed and assessed. 

One by one, the best of these ideas ooze out of my brain and run fluidly through the body. They are pumped through the heart, infusing them with an emotion or two, before making their way down the inside of my right arm. 

Following along this pathway, the ideas find their way out of the pen I am holding and on to the page (or through the fingertips onto a keyboard). 

The key here is to keep the pen moving and not to let it dry. These precious ideas cannot be allowed to run out. Ideas also need to come out at a steady pace and not flood the page too quickly. 

Care needs to be taken not to self-censor, and to realize that there is no such thing as a bad idea in a brainstorm. 

It also may take five, ten or fifteen "crappy" ideas (or lines) before I strike on to something worth looking at again. 

When I feel like I am in a rhythm, I'll continue to sip a drink to keep the engine running.


Throughout this process, the levels of confidence and self-esteem vary depending on how far in I am, and how many ideas I have (as well as how many might be worth a second look).

Combining Forces With A Partner

This process is usually repeated again with a creative partner or team, where we share our ideas and toss them up in the air while seated around a table. 

When this happens, it’s as if our imaginary head bowls and nets are now intertwined. During this group mind meld, the best ideas fall into this collective netting and make their way to the bottom of the bowl. 

They blend together and plop down in a splattered mess onto the workspace. After a flash of light, there is usually a faint, light fluffy cloud just bursting with potential. 

It is up to the team to work and develop this new creation into a fully-formed, molded and sculpted concept. 

And it is from this concept, when nurtured (and given a little water) that a campaign family of executions or a fully-formed story can be bred.

Not All Pun & Games: Kenneth Cole - A Case Study In Bad Copywriting.

New Yorkers are becoming numbingly familiar with various Kenneth Cole billboards and outdoor advertising that feature around the city.

For the last decade, these ads - written by Kenneth Cole himself, attempt to convey the fashion brand as something beyond a mere clothing line. In an attempt to link the brand to current social issues and events, Cole may be doing more harm than good.

A well-known rule of thumb in the school of copywriting is - if you're going to use puns, make sure they are good ones - otherwise, they should be avoided at all costs. Cole's ads are becoming so poorly regarded in the advertising industry, one popular ad blogger has dubbed him "The Worst Copywriter in the History of Advertising™."


So where do we start?

Shortly after 9/11 - when New York (and the U.S.) was still in shock at the horror and devastation from the tragedy, Cole placed a billboard around the city with the line:

GOD DRESS AMERICA

A second billboard shortly following this read:

"On Sept. 12th, families returned to the dining room table.
TODAY IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL."

I couldn't find images of these billboards (if anyone can find an image, please let me know and I'll update this).

Post-Hurricane Katrina, Cole looks to find an upside.

Photo by Bucky Turko

By 2006, Cole attempted to address the issue of NYC's homeless with this little gem. Did the homeless people walking by this sign along with other New Yorkers find this re-pulsive?

In 2007, when the Iraq War and the search for Weapons of Mass Destruction had been dominating the airwaves, Cole had something to offer. The play on words - to "Weapons of Mass Distraction", by this stage, was older than the hills. This is one WMD that was better off staying hidden.

Riding the Obama wave of hope late in 2008, Cole makes a new precedent in stooping to low puns.

2009 would prove to be a bumper crop year for bad Cole punnage.

The American economy hit a severe slump and many became worried about keeping their jobs and paying bills.

But Cole still managed to find a way to appeal to those who are more concerned about their clothing than their country.

In winter of that year, Cole shoehorned his brand into the miraculous landing of a passenger flight on the Hudson.

Were people warming up to Cole's punnery or was it polluting the ad-mosphere?

In early 2011, riding the coat tails of the Arab Spring, Cole made a tweet that was less than appropriate about the uprising in Egypt.

After grabbing the desired headlines and free publicity, the predictable apology was summarily delivered.

Most recently, Cole has attempted to latch his brand on to the Gay Rights movement.

As well as war or American foreign military involvement. This wordplay borrows from one of Bertrand Russell's famous quotes, "War doesn't determine who's right, only who's left".


While a lot of these lines are hit and miss - in my opinion, the majority fall in the "miss" column. I believe many see it as a shameless attempt to attach a brand to social causes and while there's nothing wrong with doing that, the methods (or lines) Cole employs, lowers the bar.

I'm guessing Kenneth Cole never went to ad school or honed his skills in an ad agency. If he did, I suspect the initial feedback he'd receive from a junior copywriter would be to avoid the bad puns and that his strategy is showing and is a little too obvious in plain sight. Puns tend to be tacky and debase the product or service they are attempting to promote.

Here's a social cause other fashion advertisers might want to get behind - eliminating bad advertising and poor copywriting puns.

When Advertising Originality Goes Blind

Another interesting viral video recently flashed across my screen.

Take a look below at "The Power of Words."

This is a tightly edited piece, both filmed by and advertising for the services of Purple Feather Online Content Specialists.

The U.K. based company has promoted a touching video which tells a story that draws you in. The "power of words" is illustrated through the effective re-write of a blind man's "plea for help" sign. This plays directly to Purple Feather's perceived strengths in copywriting and content generation.

The clip is further enhanced by a slow piano musical accompaniment that effortlessly tugs the heart strings.

But after digging up a little research, my initial vision on this has become somewhat clouded. In fact, Purple Feather may have ruffled somebody else's feathers in creating this online piece.

Below is the Short Story Winner of the 2008 Cannes Festival.

Look familiar?

Running at almost six minutes, the film titled "Historia de un Letrero", 2007 (The Story of a Sign), bares an almost identical resemblance to Purple Feather's viral video.

This version was created several years earlier by Wama Films and produced by Alonzo Alvarez Barreda - without a budget, in Tampico, Mexico. Along with the Cannes award, the film has won a swag of other awards as well.

After seeing this, I have several criticisms to make about Purple Feather's effort.

• Clearly there has been a lack of any creative thinking (which is evident if you do a little research) and the story is virtually directly copied.
• There is no evidence anywhere in the viral video recognizing the original. This is poor form and bad ethics.
• After seeing the original, the rewritten sign in the story makes a lot more sense. The sights and sounds of a beautiful day in picturesque Tampico are a much more compelling motivation than the more-often-than-not drab, gloomy grey days which plague the U.K.
• On visiting the company's website, it becomes strikingly clear they are a company full of writers. I just think they would be able to make their site more visually appealing by employing the use of a single art director / web designer. This is poor production value and fails to integrate the message of their viral campaign.

They say "good advertisers borrow, great advertisers steal." But when they're trying to sell their creative abilities, Purple Feather really should have made an effort to at least alter the story with some sort of twist. I feel like I've been sold a cheap imitation of a service. 

It leaves Purple Feather looking like a blind bum on the street - begging others for any imagination and originality.

On Yer Bike! Pt.II: Rad to the Power of Sick

Here's another bike story I came across.

In 2009, two creatives from George Patterson Y&R in Melbourne, Australia conducted an experiment.

Watch the video clip below to see what they did.

Using effective copywriting skills, these two guys began a "fully sick" eBay ad auction of an ordinary BMX bike. As the video shows, they bought it for an ordinary price and turned it into a viral success which not only generated a handsome profit but effectively sold their own skills as copywriters.

Wicked Sick Project - "Rad to the Power of Sick"

In the process, they created a popular internet sensation and promoted the George Patterson Y&R brand with a strong statement about how creativity can take an object from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

The full copy of the ad (which ended up creating a sale price five times greater than the original purchase price) reads:

“This is a max wicked sick BMX. 

It’s a Reliance Boomerang and it’s done heaps of maximum extreme stunts.  I have mostly done stunts on this bike since forever. Once I did a boom gnarly stunt trick on it and a girl got pregnant just by watching my extremeness to the maxxxx. 

Some details about sickmax BMX: 

Comes with everything you see including: 

 - TOPS AS SUSPENSION REAR FORKS!!
 - 2 x wheels
 - 1 x seat

I will even throw in my sick BMXing name for FREE – Wicked Styx. 

Has minor surface rust on handlebars and front forks (easily removed). 

More rust on rear forks (as shown in pics). Tyres hold air but are pretty old. 

Basically, it’s an old BMX, but it’s radness is still 100% in tact. 

Tricks I have done on this BMX: 

 - Endos – 234. 

 - Sick Wheelies – 687. 

 - Skids – 143,000. 

 - Bunny Hops – 2 (my brother dared me to do them, which I did because I’m Rad to the power of Sick). 
 - Flipouts – 28. 

If you buy this bike you will instantly become a member to every club that was ever invented, worldwide, because you will be awesome. 

Pick up from Richmond in Melbourne. Throw your hands in the air like you just don’t mind.”