Every really good creative person in advertising has always had two noticeable characteristics. First, there was no subject he could not easily get interested in...Second, he was an extensive browser in all sorts of fields of information. For it is with the advertising man as with the cow: no browsing, no milk.
Interpretation
Creative individuals in advertising are curious and diversified in their knowledge, analogous to cows needing to graze to produce milk.
James Webb Young emphasizes the importance of curiosity and breadth of knowledge for creative professionals in advertising. He draws a parallel between the need for an advertising person to explore various subjects and a cow needing to browse for grass to produce milk, highlighting that a lack of curiosity and information limits creativity and output.
In practice
During a workshop on advertising strategies, this quote could be used to inspire participants to explore diverse fields.
We think about the world in all ways we experience it ; we think visually, we think in sign, we think kinesthetically, we think in abstract term, we think in movement. Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.
The principle of Creative Limitations calls for freedom within a circle of obstacles and restricted boundaries. Talent is like a muscle: without something to push against, it atrophies. So we deliberately put obstacles in our path - barriers that will inspire us. We disciple ourselves as to what to do, while we're boundless as to how to do it.
Creativity needs a bit of untidiness. Make everything too neat and there is no room for experiment.
A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas, opinions, and criticisms. Our decision-making is better when we draw on the collective knowledge and unvarnished opinions of the group.
It's how creativity works. Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded. A mind that's afraid to toy with the ridiculous will never come up with the brilliantly original.
You can't write a script in your mind and then force yourself to follow it. You have to let yourself be.
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