21 Comments
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Kat Gordon's avatar

“Deliverables are making us miserables.” Amen!

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Liz Gumbinner's avatar

Right? I will never be able to see “deliverables” on a brief again without thinking about that!

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Mark Reddick's avatar

The basics. Done brilliantly. 👏👏👏

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Manuel's avatar

Conceptually I agree with you on basics and getting those foundational tenets right. In today’s “give it to me yesterday” world, we have lost patience.

I would add it’s sales that ultimately drive & fund our lofty or not-so-lofty ad budgets and industry. I’ve made plenty of commercials that would never win ad awards in a million years, but generated huge sales for clients which allowed agencies to be more “creative” in subsequent executions. There’s always a self-correcting balance between attention/sales/revenue/value.

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Rob Schwartz's avatar

Yes. And I’d simply like to see more “bread and butter” work conform to the basics.

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Jef Loeb's avatar

Damn straight. And why every ad creative should, at some point in the journey, find a way to visit the Picasso Museum in Paris. It's not just that the depth of his classical painting skills takes you by surprise (it does), but, after mastering those basics, just how many "what ifs" he was able to ask in how many different mediums that boggles.

Reading your post, it also occurs that part of knowing the basics involves learning the "rules" that supposedly govern the industry—everything from the rigidity of Ogilvy's dictates to how many words you're supposed to be able to use on a billboard. Simple reason: if you don't know that they are, and why they exist, you'll never know when and how to break them.

Thanks for this good one.

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Rob Schwartz's avatar

Thanks for this thoughtful reply, Jef!

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Johann Odermann's avatar

“Deliverables are making us miserables.”

Agreed. Furthermore this trend has been pushed by those who don't understand the value of marketing, or marketing in general, preferring instead to focus on finance.

The CEO of a top tier company I worked for once addressed a division I worked for by saying that "tactical execution is our new strategic strength and what differentiates us from our competitors"

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Rob Schwartz's avatar

It was cool when Herb Kelleher said, “We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.” But only when he said it for Southwest. Thanks for reading.

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🚀✨Glenn Sanders✨🚀's avatar

"Deliverables are making us miserables." - that's a t-shirt right there

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William Taylor's avatar

Learn the script, then improvise.

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Naveen Agarwal, Ph.D.'s avatar

Excellent post! Sometimes it takes years to “know the basics”. We don’t seem to have the patience for that anymore!

But to ask the “what if” question, you don’t have to wait. Knowing the basics is not a milestone to be achieved. It is not a static point in time. It is a continual journey, you simply learn that there is a lot more you don’t know. Keep moving, that is what matters.

Thanks for a beautiful reminder.

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Rob Schwartz's avatar

Great points. Forever learning...the basics! ;)

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Kevin Lynch's avatar

I particularly like the fact that, before co-founding DDB, Bernbach was a 38 year old CD at Grey.

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Russell C. Smith's avatar

Helpfully true. Truthfully helpful. Thanks, Rob.

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Angus Scott's avatar

Another great blog, Rob. Thanks!

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Rob Schwartz's avatar

Thank you! Here to serve.

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Tamer Kattan's avatar

Super inspiring and practical. Like peanut butter and jelly when those two meet. Thank you for this Rob! Loving your posts

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Rob Schwartz's avatar

Thank you for reading.

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Tito Melega's avatar

As I tell my son and daughter... "Do your homework, Kids." Gotta go through the paces.

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Karen Crane's avatar

Know the rules so you can break them! ❤️

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