Friday 14 November 2008

Creative strength

I've wanted to be a advertising copywriter for a long time. I was hooked after my first taste of the industry at London agency DMB&B. Okay, it was work experience, and the meatiest job I had was getting the tea/sugar ratio right for a dozen people at a time, but still – it planted a seed. Every day I would walk into its offices on Buckingham Palace Road, through the smooth sliding doors and enter into a polished glass palace of creativity. I felt like Michael J. Fox in The Secret of My Success. But it wasn't the flashy interiors that sold it. Nope. It was the artworker and copywriter I met, furiously brainstorming in a cluttered little office, that really got me going. I learned quickly that old fashioned creativity doesn't need a palace to make it feel at home. Just a pen, some paper and, in their case, a kilo of Mars bars courtesy of their biggest client would suffice. So when Adam (at Spinach Design – an independent graphic design agency) contacted me about copywriting a few ads for his drinks industry clients and a complete rewrite of his website, I couldn't wait for the feet up, pens out, bouncing of ideas to start. Sadly, no Mars bars were thrown across the room this time as I'm based a few miles away in Spain. Skype, however, ensured that all the convincing gesticulations, head shakes and lengthy 'mmmm, would that really work?' pauses weren't missed out. Let me know what you think of the results. (spinachdesign.com)

Monday 10 November 2008

The little apple

Just like a method actor lives and breathes a role, I like to go that little bit further for an article. To the right, I am on the way to an upset tummy in the apple orchards of Villaviciosa. Researching a piece on Asturian sidra (cider), I spent a day tasting the full spectrum of near-ripe apples – from eyewateringly bitter to melt-in-the-mouth sweet – and a night in Oviedo knocking it back with the locals. Like the Valencians have their paddy fields and paella as symbols of regional pride, the Asturians have the lush orchards of the Cormarca de la Sidra (literally, Cidershire) and an abundance of sidra to be proud of. The article was a discovery of Las Rutas de las Manzanas y La Sidra (The Cider and Apple Routes) for the easyJet magazine, and an introduction to the wonderfully interactive (read: free drinks and pub games) Museo de la Sidra in Nava. (museodelasidra.com)