The copywriters creative paradox

Over 20 years ago now, I was in a round table discussion debating the colleges restraints on creativity in regard to skits. There were tight “moral” guidelines and each skit had to be performed and “checked” by a member of the faculty.

One member of the panel was describing what a terrible constraint this was to the student’s creative development. At the beginning of the discussion this was my position as well. I wasn’t into creative handcuffs.

But, as this panel member was speaking, something struck me as wrong with the position. It was just a spark of an idea that quickly grew into a passionate conviction within 10 seconds.

What I had suddenly realized was restraint and discipline were actually an important excellerant to creativity. In the case of skits – trying to be funny within tight moral guidelines didn’t kill creativity – it actually made one have to be more funny.

I’ve mentioned in this blog before that Frank Irving Fletcher felt the 10 years he had to write 3 ads a week for a client using only one column inch in the paper was the best training in copywriting he ever recieved. He attributed it as being the forge upon which his $200,000 a year (in 1930′s) skills were tempered.

The small space constraints didn’t make him less persuasive – but more persuasive. He had to compress and distill ideas down to their nuclear essence.

Yet another famous ad writer of the last century believed that copywriters should take up poetry. The forced discipline of writing to meter and ryhme forced one to become better at expressing ideas, using metaphor and creating emotional reactions in the reader.

How common it is to here an ad agency creative mocking rules for ad writing. What those creatives don’t understand is that by following tested guidelines, their creativity would go to another level.

Over a 4 year period I crafted a good 500+ 30 second messages for a client. I was continually amazed at new discoveries I made about communicating persuasive ideas within those constraints: The importance of idea sequence, the craft of picking the most important selling point from a list of 6. The use of metaphor to make ideas hit like a jack-hammer, how a single idea could be expressed 5 or 6 different ways, the imperative for a single-purpose focus and more…

I prefer longer copy – but I have to admit the discipline did wonders for my ability to sell in print.

Two thoughts…

1. Find a writing hobby like poetry or a space limit and practice writing to constraints.

2. The next time an unreasonable client gives you an unreasonable objective for the space/time required, smile. You’re about to kick your ability to persuade in print up a few notches.