23. Can’t Sell Won’t Sell, creative processes, and commercial purpose with Steve Harrison.
Has the advertising industry been so busy trying to save the world, that it has lost sight of its commercial purpose?
I’m kicking the year off with what many believe is one of the major problems plaguing the advertising industry, a creative effectiveness crisis. And I had the great pleasure of discussing the issue with one of my favourite advertising thought leaders, Mr Steve Harrison.
Steve Harrison is a copywriter, creative director and author regarded by Campaign Magazine as the greatest Direct Marketing Creatives of his generation. He was European Creative Director at OgilvyOne and Global Creative Director at Wunderman. He started his own agency, HTW, where he won more Cannes Lions in his discipline than any creative director in the world.
He is the author of highly respected books like ‘Changing the world is the only fit work for a grown man’; ‘How to write better copy’; and ‘How to do better creative work’. And his latest book ‘Can’t Sell, Won’t Sell: Advertising, Politics and Culture Wars’ has been described by the IPA as the most provocative advertising book we’ve seen in years.
Steve and I tackle many of the topics covered in ‘Can’t Sell Won’t Sell’, debate what’s gone wrong with advertising, the cultural and political impacts on it, and what we need to do to fix it. And he shares his refreshingly inspiring and straightforward processes, that simplify everything from defining the marketing problem, developing the proposition, writing a good brief, and answering it with a creative and 'relevant abruption'.
This was one of the most enjoyable, refreshing and somewhat confronting chats I’ve had on the podcast. If you want to hear diverse opinions from some of the world’s most innovative thinkers, then this is it. But brace yourself, Steve pulls no punches.
And I absolutely love it. And I know you will too. Cheers.
You can connect with Steve here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-harrison-b660b912
Buy 'Can't Sell Won't Sell' here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Cant-Sell-Wont-Advertising-politics/dp/0957151519
And find out more about the version of ‘How to do better creative work’ produced for those with dyslexia at: https://leoreader.com/
Read the IPA's 'Crisis in Creative Effectiveness' report here: https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/publications-reports/the-crisis-in-creative-effectiveness