Don’t let bad situations go to waste.

Don’t let bad situations go to waste.

Posted on: May 29, 2007

Developing the newest attention-grabbing campaign for your business doesn’t have to be as daunting of a task as it seems. Ever make a fool of yourself in front of someone you were trying to impress? Become humiliated in front of a large crowd? If not, you’re probably the only one. As creative professionals, we have to draw upon real-life experiences to make things funny. After all, the reason most things bring about a chuckle is because they are in some part true. Coming up with something creative isn’t necessarily all that hard, you just have to ‘find the funny’ in every situation. It’s not so easy when you’re living a tense or frustrating moment, but some simple reflection and a good heaping of exaggeration tend to do the trick.

Just take a look around your office. Odds are you’ve got a major crop of potential characters just sitting there. I know we do! Is one person in particular driving you crazy? They’re probably the best one! Exaggerating people’s quirks and making them seem larger than life really makes something more memorable. A good mix is 5% real, 95% fluff. Developing characters like that makes it funny and usually has people remember someone they knew who was similar. Just make sure they don’t find out they were your inspiration!

As you try to develop a new campaign for your business, think about the things you go through every day. Try to carry around a notepad and jot down ideas as they come to you. You’ll be amazed at how many situations you live in one week that can be turned into your newest hit advertising campaign.