The Brief

An advertising agency can sometimes feel nothing less than a madho.






You can find humans rambling terms, you wouldn't have ever heard of. Designers with ruffled hair and tired eyes, looking for a shade of Black that the client had dreamt of at the last meeting. Brand Strategists promising campaigns that complement brands. Oh, and not just that, they disrupt, innovate, synthesize, build on, give legs, trend, create virality and generate organic recall - all at the same time. And if you had a Eminem-esque verbal flow of saying ‘Yes. Sure, we’ll get that done!’ without sparing an extra breath, the Servicing team would welcome you with open arms.





But this story is not about them. This is about that man in the corner. The one who is now feeling cornered between taking that creative leap or settling for a rational halt. The Copywriter.





He has a brain full of ideas, but a page without a word. It’s 10 PM on a Friday night, and his mind drifts to thoughts, of the friends he was supposed to go out drinking with tonight. They must be already a pitcher and a puke down by now. Lucky bastards!





But he knows that to thrive in advertising’s land of chaos, he needs to build his creative sanctum. He pulls his chair closer to the table and leans in towards his laptop. Heavy, slow and ugly - those words never help in selling technology, but that’s what his laptop exactly is. It’s owner i.e him, might have never escaped office before 8 PM, but the laptop’s Escape key already has.





The lone yellow bulb hanging from the concrete ceiling, shines bright over his head. He plugs-in his earphones, goes on YouTube and plays the Complete Hits collection of his favourite obscure rock band. It’s a long night ahead, and to focus he needs these tunes.


The guitar solo begins. Be it because of that electric noise on the track or his utter desperation to get done with work - but a thought crosses his mind. Could it be something that the client will love? Or will it end up as just another document down the creative drain. The solo screeches louder. Amidst the silence of the office, he types down his first two words on the doc.



The Brief.