Above is an article by our CD Tony D that appears in the D&AD Student Annual. This was picked up on the blog of digitalagency.com. They reckoned it was ‘a good perceptive piece that everyone in the industry should read.’

But Crackunit, the blog of Iain Tait of Poke, disagrees. (Here.) Iain says:

The first 1/2 of it (Tony’s article) I couldn’t agree with more… However, halfway through it starts to make me a bit angry. Maybe I’m just touchy and I’m not reading it right. But to suggest that it’s only now that ‘ideas’ people are getting involved with digital sounds really arrogant and is blatantly incorrect. If there was nothing good online why are there so many people there now. They’ve not been holding off for a bunch of ideas people to come and create good content.

The underlying (and slightly sinister) message is that because we all use computers now, we should all be able to create effective and interesting digital things. Which doesn’t work for me at all. It’s like saying that an agency like Poke should be able to come up with great TV ideas because we sometimes watch television. (We can’t and don’t by the way).

And yes, we are looking at a similar set of creative qualities. But there are more of these qualities than there were before. And I do sincerely believe that there are ‘digital people’, not people who speak in zeros and ones. But people who get it. People who live, play and create in this new world…

I’m excited by the notion of broad integrated teams working together to explore creativity across the board. Creativity in ideas, technology, craft, copy, interaction and experience (as well as stuff that we don’t even know about yet). If you look at where the real pockets of digital innovation are happening, they’re in the companies and organisations that are employing rapid development methodologies, with tight teams of extreme talent working towards common goals that they all passionately believe in.

These people aren’t just developing bits of communication, they’re developing new products, new businesses, new companies and new industries. They’re creating new ways for people to communicate and consume. They’re building software that can fundamentally change peoples’ lives. That’s the kind of creativity that makes me want to go to work in the morning.

Any more views on this debate?

Nice article in the Guardian yesterday about the fact that our Nike ad featuring Waye Rooney (‘blasphemous’ The Daily Mail) picked up the Newspaper Marketing Agency award for national press advertising in June. The judges said it was reminiscent of the kind of newspaper front pages that ‘seep into our culture’. Nice. Particularly because we often talk about aiming to achieve cultural influence for our clients’ brands.

The July winner refrred to above was also one of ours, though the article doesn’t credit wieden + kennedy. It was this one, for Yakult.

Two in a row.