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It started off with, well first off for some reason there are two ECDs, executive creative directors, working on that account and then on the web site, because we have a web department where there are more CDs, and then us and the account people and there were too many cooks in the kitchen. So we had these ideas that it was horrible, because you would present it to one ECD who would approve it and then the other one would kill the idea, and then we would work on it and the account people would say that, and then the account people also had the same problem. They would like, couldn't get everyone in the room so they, some account people could kind of like approve something but then when we would show it to the other boss, he would kill the idea or what not. So it was chaos. [1214],[1216],[1213],[1215]
o we had these ideas that it was horrible, because you would present it to one ECD who would approve it and then the other one would kill the idea, and then we would work on it and the account people would say that, and then the account people also had the same problem. [1235],[1236]
there were too many cooks in the kitchen. [1237]
They would like, couldn't get everyone in the room so they, some account people could kind of like approve something but then when we would show it to the other boss, he would kill the idea or what not. So it was chaos. [1234]
So really, everything was great and then the producers saying we don't have time, then we sat in a room. One of the ECDs was saying something, the web people were saying other things, and we ended up killing the idea of shooting a woman because we don't have time, we don't have money, we don't have this or that. [1238],[1239]
So really, everything was great and then the producers saying we don't have time, then we sat in a room. One of the ECDs was saying something, the web people were saying other things, and we ended up killing the idea of shooting a woman because we don't have time, we don't have money, we don't have this or that. And then we end up being like click here and it says like when she says this it means this. And it's basically what it came down to. [1218],[1217],[1219],[1221],[1220]
So I basically, I was so disappointed I kind of got asked to pull out of the project as I got put on something different. [1240]
So I basically, I was so disappointed I kind of got asked to pull out of the project as I got put on something different. But I know if I had a passion for this I would have said to the new assignment like look, I can't, I'm working on this. But I was like yes. I want something new because this is not. Not that I wanted to run away from it but it was really annoying, so. [1222],[1223],[1224]
No one had time to do research. Barely had time to approve it on time. [1226],[1225]
No, I was just gonna say, obviously mention the whole line they have. The journey one, which is the stones go from the smallest to the biggest and the three stone ring that represents the past, present and future. They have their different lines that you have to mention. [1227]
Budget wasn't that much, but within the, what we wanted to do was feasible within the budget. [1228]
Definitely a huge problem. If we had time, we would have solved the internal issues. Because it wasn't even the client, it was internally we screwed ourselves up. [1229],[1231],[1230]
Because of their hierarchy within their department, they can't get everyone in the same room, so the same problem we were having here of, you need too many approvals to like have a final say of you're good to go. [1241],[1242],[1233]
[1232]
Corporation, company. And it was for the Christmas spot. No, actually, sorry. Yeah, that was just frustrating, just because, it was not a disaster. Far from that. But, it was frustrating because of the limitations of the project itself. I mean, one spot for Christmas, for diamonds. It just screamed cheesiness from a distance. And you knew that already, so from even before starting to work on the brief, on the project, and so it's a bit frustrating when your idea, like your goal, you know already that since the beginning that your goal is to, the best thing you can achieve is to make a spot that is not cheesy [1738]
Corporation, company. And it was for the Christmas spot. No, actually, sorry. Yeah, that was just frustrating, just because, it was not a disaster. Far from that. But, it was frustrating because of the limitations of the project itself. I mean, one spot for Christmas, for diamonds. It just screamed cheesiness from a distance. And you knew that already, so from even before starting to work on the brief, on the project, and so it's a bit frustrating when your idea, like your goal, you know already that since the beginning that your goal is to, the best thing you can achieve is to make a spot that is not cheesy. [1737],[1739]
So, not a great spot. Not something you're proud of. Just something that it doesn't embarrass you. And that's never a good place to be. When you get a new brief, you're supposed to be excited. But, when you get a new brief, and you know that the best you can do is not to do something embarrassing, it's not a great place to be [1794]
So, not a great spot. Not something you're proud of. Just something that it doesn't embarrass you. And that's never a good place to be. When you get a new brief, you're supposed to be excited. But, when you get a new brief, and you know that the best you can do is not to do something embarrassing, it's not a great place to be. And the process was a bit tiring too, because we, you know, even if we knew that we could never do anything like amazing, we still tried to do something a bit different than what they usually do. [1741],[1740],[1742]
And to get hit on the head every single time with feedback that was more and more conservative. And say, "No, that's too far." When we went only like this much too far. Like two percent too far. And they said, "No, that's way too far." [1744],[1795],[1743],[1796]
Say, "Oh my god, that's even worse than what I thought." So, in that sense it was painful. [1746],[1745]
And in the end we got something produced. [1747]
Decision makers in-house ... well, one frustrating thing is that in theory I, my role in the team was creative director. And when you're director of anything, you're supposed to make some decisions, but I had no decision input, whatsoever. So, that was frustrating too. That's always, when you feel that you're not, you cannot exercise your ... you cannot work fully, and express yourself fully as the role you're supposed to have in a team, then it's always frustrating, also from a creative point of view. [1749],[1748]
That's always, when you feel that you're not, you cannot exercise your ... you cannot work fully, and express yourself fully as the role you're supposed to have in a team, then it's always frustrating, also from a creative point of view. [1797]
well, one frustrating thing is that in theory I, my role in the team was creative director. And when you're director of anything, you're supposed to make some decisions, but I had no decision input, whatsoever. So, that was frustrating too. [1798]
"Oh, we want to take risks." Sorry, "We don't want to take risks." They will always tell you, "Yeah, we want to take risks." But, then you show something and they freak out. [1799]
Completely different from anything else. No other client will tell you, "Oh, we want to take risks." Sorry, "We don't want to take risks." They will always tell you, "Yeah, we want to take risks." But, then you show something and they freak out. [1750],[1751],[1752]
So, zero tolerance. [1753]
Money was not an issue, because they have all the money. [1755]
Time was an issues, because yeah, it had to be very tight. [1800],[1754]
Well, you know, we were not rushing, so it was an issues, just because we knew that we had to deliver before Christmas. I mean, it's a Christmas project. You cannot postpone Christmas. [1756]
Postpone Christmas. [crosstalk 00:43:51]. But, we had enough time to work in a kind of relaxed, not too stressed way. So, it was not a huge issue. [1757]
Yeah. And it was okay, but you know, because we shared this frustration of knowing since the beginning, that okay, we're in a journey that was not going to be very exciting. You know, there was a lot of frustration. So, when you shared the frustration, the relationship with them was fine. But, when you share the frustration, you tend to sometimes, you know, complain about things, and influence, and effect the mood of the other person. Then gets depressed, because you're depressed, and then it's like a negative mood. [1758],[1759]
You know, there was a lot of frustration. So, when you shared the frustration, the relationship with them was fine. But, when you share the frustration, you tend to sometimes, you know, complain about things, and influence, and effect the mood of the other person. Then gets depressed, because you're depressed, and then it's like a negative mood. [1801]
I don't know, I don't think it affects the project in this case. It's hard to tell. It's hard to tell, because you know, you don't have anything to compare with. [1760]
well maybe if we were more excited, we couldn't done something better. I don't know. It's hard. You're not, it's very theoretical, so it's hard to tell. [1802]
You cannot say, well maybe if we were more excited, we couldn't done something better. I don't know. It's hard. You're not, it's very theoretical, so it's hard to tell. There was not a lot of excitement, yeah. It's never good. I mean, you know that you're working with an autopilot on. [1762],[1763],[1761]
Where did it come from? I don't know where it came from. We both focused on, again, we couldn't focus on what's the most creative thing to do for this brand, because there was no way to do something, because the limitations were so, you know, it had to be about love, about a couple, about a couple giving a diamond, a man giving a diamond to a woman. Showing the diamond, showing the reaction. Those are all elements that we couldn't get rid of. [1765],[1764]
So, you almost knew what the spot would look like before even the brief. So, we really concentrated only on how to avoid the cheesiness. [1767],[1766]
So, that it's at least acceptable, and when people watch it, they say, "Okay, that's nice." It's not super creative, it's not revolutionary, but it makes me feel good. It's nice. They're not trying to sell me something too hard, or it's not cheesy. And actually, there was an article in USA Today that I received like last week, when they talk about the best commercials in 2007. And I was surprised, because that commercial was chosen in the 10 they chose for the exact same reasons. Like because it was not trying to sell anything too hard, because it was honest, and not cheesy, and not overselling. [1768]
Painful. Painful, because it's a client that is very ... I don't know, a bit of a ... diva and likes to torture the agency, and make people feel his power. And to make people feel that he's the client, and we're not good enough, and he knows everything. So, before we got to that point of having a script approved, we presented, there were different teams working on the project. Five or six teams, maybe. So, a lot of teams. And we presented, I don't know, maybe 20 different scripts. [1773],[1769],[1772],[1770],[1771],[1803]
And there was always something that he didn't like. [1774],[1775],[1776]
At the end, he picked this script. [1777]
I think it was just the way they manage relationships. I think it was mainly ... the client wanting to show the agency, wanting to give a bad time to the agency. [1780],[1778],[1779],[1781]
"What is this? It's horrible." I said, "But, it's exactly the same." It's horrible, so it's really like a power demonstration, a demonstration of power. Like it's one meeting, I will be painful and torture you. The second meeting, I will approve everything. The next meeting, I will torture again. And after that, I will approve everything. It's really like a weird kind of relationship. [1804],[1805],[1806]
In the first meeting. Then the second meeting they chose a script, and they were very happy with the script. And then after that we shot the commercial, then we did the edits, then we presented the commercial that was exactly like the script, and the client was furious. Saying, "What is this? It's horrible." I said, "But, it's exactly the same." It's horrible, so it's really like a power demonstration, a demonstration of power. Like it's one meeting, I will be painful and torture you. The second meeting, I will approve everything. The next meeting, I will torture again. And after that, I will approve everything. It's really like a weird kind of relationship. [1783],[1785],[1782],[1784]
We had to rework on the edit again. [1786],[1787]
But, usually when you shoot something, you make sure that you shoot enough for different, for anything that can happen. Okay, if the client doesn't like this scene, is there a backup scene? So, you always shoot different options. [1788]
So, they were never really bad. I mean, usually, especially in big agencies, clients, account people usually look like they work for the client, instead of working for the agency. They're literally the mouth and ears of the client. So, sometimes it looks like they're working against you. [1807]
Well, we have, you know, I tend to have really good personal relationship with everybody. So, you know, I treat them like friends. So, they were never really bad. I mean, usually, especially in big agencies, clients, account people usually look like they work for the client, instead of working for the agency. They're literally the mouth and ears of the client. So, sometimes it looks like they're working against you. [1789],[1790]
And it was a bit of the case here too. But, because there was mutual respect and trust, and friendship, it went smoothly. [1791]
But, because there was mutual respect and trust, and friendship, it went smoothly. [1808]
Yes. And then there was, Ty, he ... we had to present all the scripts, and then he decided which scripts to present. He picked, I think, four or five to present. [1792]
Reference Tags
[1214] Dismissive,[1216] Forceful conflict about ideas,[1213] Indecisive leadership,[1215] Micromanaging,[1235] Indecisive leadership,[1236] Internal changes/challenges,[1237] Vague roles,[1234] Communication issues,[1238] Indecisive leadership,[1239] Internal changes/challenges,[1218] Indecisive leadership,[1217] Insufficient Feedback,[1219] Lack of resources,[1221] Lack of resources,[1220] Unbalanced workload pressure,[1240] Reactance,[1222] Halo effect,[1223] Lack of challenging work,[1224] Reactive devaluation,[1226] Planning fallacy,[1225] Unbalanced workload pressure,[1227] Micromanaging,[1228] Appropriate resources,[1229] Planning fallacy,[1231] Unbalanced workload pressure,[1230] Unresolved relationship conflict,[1241] Indecisive leadership,[1242] Internal changes/challenges,[1233] Micromanaging,[1232] Micromanaging,[1738] Lack of challenging work,[1737] Micromanaging,[1739] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1794] Reactance,[1741] Believes one has a hopeful path,[1740] Lack of challenging work,[1742] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1744] Insufficient Feedback,[1795] Premature idea evaluation,[1743] Premature idea evaluation,[1796] Zero-risk bias,[1746] Insufficient Feedback,[1745] Premature idea evaluation,[1747] Believes one has a hopeful path,[1749] Lack of trust,[1748] Micromanaging,[1797] Lack of organizational encouragement,[1798] Reactance,[1799] Risk compensation,[1750] Communication issues,[1751] Premature idea evaluation,[1752] Risk compensation,[1753] Risk compensation,[1755] Appropriate resources,[1800] Planning fallacy,[1754] Planning fallacy,[1756] Planning fallacy,[1757] Planning fallacy,[1758] Halo effect,[1759] Lack of challenging work,[1801] Empathetic disposition,[1760] Inexperience,[1802] Reactance,[1762] Halo effect,[1763] Lack of challenging work,[1761] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1765] Lack of challenging work,[1764] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1767] Lack of challenging work,[1766] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1768] Lack of challenging work,[1773] Better than average,[1769] Dismissive,[1772] Forceful conflict about ideas,[1770] Insufficient Feedback,[1771] Man blaming man,[1803] Reactance,[1774] Dismissive,[1775] Insufficient Feedback,[1776] Man blaming man,[1777] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1780] Better than average,[1778] Forceful conflict about ideas,[1779] Forceful conflict about relationships,[1781] Insufficient Feedback,[1804] Alignment,[1805] Indecisive leadership,[1806] Reactance,[1783] Dismissive,[1785] Insufficient Feedback,[1782] Premature idea evaluation,[1784] Vague goals,[1786] Insufficient Feedback,[1787] Yielding conflict about ideas,[1788] Great example - JWT Methods,[1807] Alignment,[1789] Empathetic disposition,[1790] Trust,[1791] Trust,[1808] Trust,[1792] Organizational encouragement