Geniuses Masquerading As Interactive Creative Directors, There’s A Place For You

Digital talent. There’s a growing need, and the need is not being met. Even by the best agencies in the land.

Ergo, Iain Tait, partner at W+K, has taken to searching for the elusive creatures (sometimes known as Interactive Creative Directors) via his newly reconfigured blog, Crackunit2.

We’re looking for Digital Revolutionaries with Traditional Sympathies, people who are first and foremost digital agitators. People who get frustrated by most of the work that they see. People that think we’re not trying hard enough. That we’re too slow, too backwards, too analogue, too static, too broadcasty – that we need to push harder and push more.

But at the same time they must have a respect for, and understanding of, the heritage of the agency. Of the un-process that has been creating great provocative communications for almost 30 years. An interest and passion for the craft that makes the most wonderful, soulful, effective, advertising in the world. But then be prepared to pick the right moments to say: “fuck it old timers, that was yesterday”.

“Fuck it old timers, that was yesterday” is an interesting sentiment, and one I can readily relate to. Nor am I alone in that. My friend Bob Hoffman, president of Hoffman/Lewis in San Francisco and author of 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising argues that many of the best young people today want nothing to do with “serving the man.” Not when they can go off and make things like games, apps, soc nets, blogs and the like.

Tait says he wants people who are frustrated by what they see. Again, that’s very interesting, because what if I happen to be highly frustrated by the idea of growing market share for Coca-Cola or P&G, two of Wieden’s top clients?

What if digital thinking isn’t the problem at all? What if the problem is much more fundamental? What if the geniuses masquerading as interactive creative directors begin to care about more than their annual trip to Cannes to collect more hardware? What if the changes they seek are systemic and the solutions they bring to the table are far outside the communications box?