THING ABOUT O'GARA (HERE WE GO AGAIN)

I'm obviously delighted that 'Sexy' Sexton is starting. He's earned it by flawless ERC performances and a temperament that belies his age. Like I said, he's there because he's the best at what he does. And in my mind, he's the best we have.

Which brings me to my ol'pal Ronan O'Gara. Cue deep intake on breath.

I believe his time has come to step off the stage. ROG has always been a mixed bag in my mind, one moment sublimely cool, focussed (like in Cardiff, 2009) and delivering the goods, that next choking (like in Rome, 2007 or the entire last World Cup) and costing us dearly. Then there's the Lions, which whilst not my bag, showed up his flaws again.

Certainly, there's been more highs than lows, and we're indebted to his boot, but he's always bothered me.

The above pic must be the first example of a tit actually feeling a tit.

He's always seemed more committed to the 'Adams Family' than the green jersey, his public utterances (or mumblings) on the subject have always underscored my impression that he cared more, much much more, about Munster, which to be fair a lot of 'them' do (Irish by birth... yada, yada, fucking yada)

Watching Leinster recently fuck 'them' over in the RDS, some Cork Ex-Pat ambled up to me when I had the gall to laugh - out loud - when ROG skewed a what should have been a simple penalty massively, brilliantly, hugely, gloriously, wide.

"Sure, you cheered for him in the green shirt" gripping his Beamish with patriotic fervor his eyes welling up aggressively as his beloved ROG has 'one' of those games (or maybe it was memories of the Famine).

"Yeah, I did. But he was playing for Ireland when I cheered for him. If you examine your statement, forensically, the green shirt he was wearing when i cheered for him is a dead give away. It's the context for the cheering, indeed the raison d'etre. You see, right now, he's playing for Munster, your team, against Leinster, my team, and if you can't join the dots you shouldn't be allowed watch competitive sport around other human beings"  I replied.

Actually I didn't.

I ignored him, I'd just had a facial. He was bigger than me and had memories of the Black and Tans engraved on his 'Wind that Shakes the Barley' face. That said he had the good grace to congratulate us before he left to cry into his ROG Newbridge Silver bed spread.

I know him and 'Wurzel' O'Connell have achieved demi-god status down there in the 'real' Ireland but he's always been one of those players I've respected but never really loved. And before you ask there's plenty of 'Republic of Munster 'players I've thought were/are totally aces.

Admittedly none spring to mind just now, but I'll have a cappuccino, then a spa treatment and get back to you.

Compulsion & Passion

I was speaking to a London creative director at Click2009 last week - let's call him Pablo. Pablo was a typical 'creative' type, had started of studying something completely removed from the marketing communications industry but ended up making some of the most stellar work, both online and offline, that I'd clapped eyes on in this game.

He has worked as a wielder, a furniture maker, a waiter in a weird experimental eatery, a music journalist, a DJ, a stylist and an art lecturer before joining his agency as a junior copywriter at the ripe old age of 28. 10 years later, he's CCO with one of the hottest creative shops in the ad game in London, indeed maybe the world. When I asked him how he got to where he is, his answer was simple, direct and hard wired with action: 'Compulsion'.

Pablo had to create. It was in his DNA. A genetic compulsion to get stuck in and do something. If he didn't, he wouldn't be fulfilled. If he stood still, he'd stop and the rot would set in.

Got me thinking: there's a real correlation between mindset and what you do with talent.

Pablo is naturally creative, passionate about being creative, he can't help thinking in a different way to the rest of us. Sure, advertising is his job but creation is his passion. He isn't just a silo'd individual - as in he's just defined as advertising creative director, he's 'creative' in the sense that creativity and curiosity permeates his life.

His outlook is wholly optimistic without being naive - work works. He believes in the power of thinking and doing. His talent isn't defined by his output but rather his ability to move forward, to do, to put ideas in motion.

He's an inspiring guy.

I left his company with this thought/these thoughts ringing in my ears: if you're not doing, if you don't start each day with the mentality that it's a blank canvas to be changed by your creativity then it's a waste. Talent, we all have it, in some field, in some form be it painting a canvass or painting a sitting room. We trade on our 'talent', but talent under-applied is talent unrealised. Creativity is key. Without it talent lies dormant, a waste.

In this time of national bitching, of whining and introspective ambivalence masquerading as thoughful leadership, perhaps we need a new national motto: Do something. Get out there. Make it, through force of will, happen and it will happen.

Click2009 The Ten+One Insights:

From my Facebook feed on the day:


One. It's easie for a digital agency to become digital than a traditional agency to go digital.


Two: It's the end of advertising - it's last decade - 20th century agencies need to go away now.


Three: Creative teams & the line - digital is redefining and erasing both models. More democratic and competitive context. Think Helsinki not London.


Four: Advertising is the new socialism! Begs the question: what is advertising now?


Five: It's partly 'productizing' the brand. Make it: Useful, usable, delightful.


Six: Brand apps build community, the experience is the message.


Seven: Nokia eVine. www.nseries.com/vine creating journeys creates equity.


Eight: Often it's tactics ... not strategy


Nine: Channeling the passion of a few can unleash the power of the crowd which can elevate your brand above others.


Ten: You don't own the conversation they do.


Ten+one: You don't need a social media strategy you need a business plan that has socialability hardwired into it. 


The best bit of work, this from the in-house team (yes, no agency involved) at Sony Music. Made for less than 15K and viewed and discussed into the millions... no media spend.
  

DUBLIN - LONDON - WARSAW - DUBLIN - THE NEXT 5 DAYS.

I'll be sporadically live blogging from Click09 from LBi offices in Londinium town tomorrow for those who like marketing stuff, before heading off to a very and wet chilly Warsaw for some 34th birthday celebrations with Mrs. Fakey and Polish friends plus their kids this weekend, sampling some premium vodka and introducing Radek to the nerve shredding, bum tightening joys of watching Ireland in a play-off situation. Guinness in a can. Brains undoubtedly scrambled. 


Click - I can't wait. 


Think of it as the Electric Picnic of digital marketing. The marketing nerd in me is giddy. Really looking forward to hearing from Gustav Martner, who is Creative Director with Crispin Porter + Boguski - to my mind one of the most forward thinking shops out there.


Spending my birthday tomorrow night with Mrs. Fakey's best friend/bridesmaid in London thanks to flight scheduling fuck ups - hoping to hit St. John's Bread & Wine in Spittalfields, but knowing herself we'll get stuck in the local, at ramming speed.


Plan to visit Albam (on Indigo's recommendations) before hoping on the Heathrow Express to T5 . This is a big deal as I haven't passed through T5 yet, looking forward to see if it's a temple to travel along the lines of Changi or just another chrome and moan UK airport experience. I think I've enough One World points for a BA upgrade... so hopefully.


Looking forward to spending time in Warsaw, it remains a ugly-beautiful beast of a city. Soundtrack with be provided by Joy Division and The Knife. I've just bought Beginners by Raymond Carver so I'll be dipping in and out if that. I'll be hanging here and chilling here  on the elegant Nowy Siat - simply one of the finest coffee shops in the world with a history that'll make you well up. Last time we were over in Warsaw, Dominika and Radek brough us to AleGloria as wonderfully eclectic a dining room as I've seen, with particularly great Vodka cocktail list.


Busy. Expect a T5 post some time Friday.

Spaceship Ireland.

I like Pat. He's worth every cent.

HARD HAUS

Last night, while doing the Sneaky Monday shuffle in F&B with herself I downloaded the myhome.ie iPhone app much to her pleasure and my frustration.


You see, the missus and myself have been engaged in the hunt for a house for the last two months. We've been concentrating on the Portbello, SCR environ that seems to be the natural spiritual habitat for people like us (working in or close to town, pretentions coming out our ears).


We've seen some belters and some howlers. The previous Saturday, we saw a total of four houses before 11am. Did I mention a it was a Saturday, then came the female need to disect each property by location, light, toliets and a host of other criteria that I failed to respond to. I either like it or I don't. It's very simple.


Now, the thing about the property crash is that it's restricted to places where people had no fucking sense in buying - the nebulous term the 'commuter belt' being estate agent/developer speak 'for you might as well live in Letrim' for the complete lack of local amenities and the only expression of life is the local GAA-Thug Hole.  


The 'Outer Rim Territories' is how I've started to describe utilizing my - admittedly nerdy - knowledge of Star War terminology to describe just how far from the center of things places like Salins, Co. Kildare actually are.


Prices are down about 10% where we want to buy but we've been told to expect another drop in the new year. We're not ready to compromise on our South City dream just yet.


This quest for Lebensraum has got her very excited, and me planning my den/home office/fortress of solitude. I've insane desires on something like Ingmar Bergman's space:

Complete with Eames chair, swelled by the early morning light streaming in and surrounded by calming, natural Swedish spruce. A place where I could work, relax, read, watch, think, create and drink coffee without being in contant physical proximity to my humming fridge as the case is now.

It is only in our dreams we find our limitations. (I just made that up. I like it!)

The other extreme we are currently contemplating is to find a plot and drop a out of this world, instant Huf Haus on it. Thing about that is they're stupefyingly pricey and the only place we could find a plot to fit the Huf would be in the 'Outer Rim'.

Typical.

NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL SOMETHING GETS SOLD.

Over the last month or so, there's been a least two new business pitches per week. It's been hectic, weekends and late nights. All over the country. It's also been a brilliantly creative time, the energy released by pitches within an agency is like a crack whore freebasing with an endless supply of rock.  Just replace crack cocaine with Starbucks and you're getting closer.

The come down will be bad this week, around Thursday.

Pitching is the life blood of our and my business, it's the lifeblood on any business really, the ability to 'sell' yourself, your ideas - it's the rosetta stone of life really. Don't sell, don't succeed. It's that simple. Rarely does it fall into your lap.

Years ago, my Dad asked me what I did, I gave this long winded academically charged, 3 minute answer about helping client's brand realize their creative potential by devising strategies... something so hysterically up it's own hoop it was practically living in my throat.

"Bullshit!", the auld man retorted, "you're in sales, remember nothing happens 'til something gets sold, you're a salesman".

My strategic-creative ego bruised and battered, I tried to argue my point. But he was right.

If you're not selling, you're not living.

I recommend this book.

I love this pitch.

This will be a big week.