Remembering Paul Silburn
Paul Silburn, renowned copywriter and veteran of agencies including BBH, Leo Burnett, TBWA, and Saatchi & Saatchi, passed away last week. Here, colleague and friend Ben Kay reflects on his life and his work
Is democracy always good for creativity?
It has become fashionable for agencies and studios to offer everyone a chance to share their views on projects – but does this make for better creative work? Our advertising correspondent Ben Kay is skeptical
Why it pays to give your all to all you do
Our advertising correspondent Ben Kay reflects on the unexpected opportunities that can come your way in a career, and why it’s important to always bring your A-game to all you do
Why words are vital to advertising
Copy can often be overlooked in advertising in favour of the seduction of images. But in fact they are a creative’s most powerful weapon, argues Ben Kay
What’s the big idea?
Our advertising correspondent Ben Kay examines what it takes to generate great ad ideas, and the value (or not) of going into the office at 2am
What do we mean when we talk about the craft of copywriting?
CR’s advertising correspondent Ben Kay muses on the crafting of copy for ads and the role this has in the wider creation of a campaign
Did Apple kill creativity in advertising?
Our advertising columnist Ben Kay blames Apple for the decline in standards of creativity in ad land. He’s not giving up his iPhone just yet though
On getting your advertising noticed
Creating advertising that gets noticed is vital, yet this central point is all too often forgotten, says CR’s ad columnist Ben Kay
Ben Kay on the price of creativity
Ben Kay traces the combination of recessions, booms, busts, overconfidence, fragmentation and “a million decisions, big and small, with unforeseen consequences” that have resulted in the plummeting price of creativity in adland
Why creating good work requires both logic and emotion
Here our advertising correspondent Ben Kay discusses the role of the left-brain and the right-brain in creating advertising. There’s a place for both romanticism and classicism in ad land, he says
When diversity doesn’t work
While a diversity of voices in the advertising industry is a necessity, a diversity of talent in other ways may be a hindrance to making great work, argues our ad correspondent Ben Kay
What does ‘the big idea’ really mean?
In his latest column, our advertising correspondent Ben Kay discovers that ‘the big idea’ means many different things to many different people, and proposes that a bit of definition may in fact be helpful to creatives