Clients adore the idea of hiring the most creative agencies – only to end up approving the safest, most uninspiring work. They invite agencies to pitch bold, groundbreaking ideas and then, with remarkable ingenuity, find ways to kill them. It’s not that they don’t want creativity; it’s that they can’t get past their own psychological barriers. Yes, your clients are not OK. But before we get into that, let’s take a moment to enjoy some of the greatest hits of excuse-making.
“The idea is amazing, but we’re not quite ready for it.”
“The product isn’t 100 per cent there yet, and this idea is too big.”
“This will attract too much attention.” (Because that’s obviously the worst thing that could happen
in advertising.)
“Personally, I love it, but I’m not sure the rest of the team will go for it.”
And my personal favourite: After a 15-minute monologue about how today’s generation is tech-savvy and highly intelligent, the idea gets rejected because “people won’t get it”. Boom.
Now, I’m not saying agencies and creatives are infallible. Bad ideas exist. But today, let’s put the blame where it belongs. Because after all these excuses, the final nail in the coffin is often, “We love it, but let’s save it for another time. For now, let’s play it safe.” And that’s where the real problem starts.
The psychological barriers to creativity
The issue with creative ideas is uncertainty. Business decisions are all about reducing uncertainty, ensuring a predictable path from A to B. But originality, by its very nature, is hard to evaluate – it hasn’t been done before, at least not in volume. It feels like a high-risk, high-reward investment. Except, it’s not. There’s plenty of evidence that creativity works. Yet, marketers still treat creative risk like a country investigating itself – doomed to be inconclusive. It’s tough to judge results for something that hasn’t been tried in your specific market. There’s also the comfort factor: having a creative agency on board gives the illusion of innovation, even if bold ideas rarely see the light of day.
The culture of playing it safe
With more than 90 per cent of advertising being dull and ordinary, a culture of mediocrity has taken root. Work that barely catches attention – unless backed by massive media spend – is considered ‘safe’. Meanwhile, companies love to talk about ‘failing forward’ and ‘innovation’, yet cower in fear when faced with a genuinely creative idea.
Yes, there’s a financial risk in creativity. But isn’t investing in forgettable, ineffective work even scarier? Maybe that’s why most award-winning work is ghost ads – there’s nothing to lose, no real investment, no risk. This mindset – of saving creativity for pro bono projects while treating real campaigns as exercises in risk aversion – shortchanges clients and forces agencies to focus their best thinking elsewhere.
Breaking the cycle
This problem doesn’t start with agencies. It starts with clients being willing to overcome their own psychological barriers and embrace creativity. How do they do that? Well, I’m not a psychologist, but professional help might be in order.
Short of therapy, the pitching process could be a good place to start. Too many clients hold pitches simply because they can – without knowing what they actually want. If they had to pay for pitches, they’d probably think harder about what they’re looking for. And if they’re unsure? Some window-shopping – through credentials presentations – might help them figure out what kind of agency they really need. After all, if creativity is what you’re after, you need to be ready to let it in the door.
By Ashraf Mansour, Founding Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Interesting Times
