What if... Instead of pitching for clients we asked them to pitch for us?

What would we ask? Is it really too arrogant? After all they do it all the time...even the most pathetic excuse for a client will dare ask 15 agencies to compete??? sometimes I wonder.

It’s not a joke, we are actually seriously considering asking clients to pitch for Tonic. Especially property clients who out number agencies 4 to 1 in this town. It could go like this:

• Send us the CV of the people who will judge and approve our work? We want a full organisation chart. Referrals would be much appreciated.
• What is your agency background? List the last three agencies you have worked with and the reasons the relationship ended?
• Why do you contact us and the other agencies on your short (hopefully)-list?
• What is the favourite campaign you have seen from us? The one you hate the most? Why? Please no less than 150 words per campaign, and no less than 3 per category.
• Do you think you can buy the work we will send your way?
• If you could work with any agency around the world, who would it be? Why do you think they would work with you?
• How much do you think you will have to throw at us to make us swallow our creative integrity?
• How much do you intend to spend in media, production, agency fees? What research model do you use to justify the breakdown?
• What are the criteria you will use to judge / evaluate / consider / dismiss our work?
• What remuneration principle do you recommend?

You might be laughing but wait until we start implementing this. In a town where every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks he can call an agency and have it begging to entertain him, it’s not so far-fetched a possibility.

Maybe it is time, we either introduce a pitch fee, like in any other developed market... or we introduce a client pitch concept.

What do you think?

A good dose of inspiration from Crispin Porter and Bogusky

There’s nothing like starting the new year with a little inspiration. And for me at least there’s no better inspiration than visiting what I think is the best agency on the planet: Crispin Porter + Bogusky. If you don’t know them, they are the guys who reinvented Burger King, launched the Mini and VA in the US, made millions stop smoking with the Truth and all this out of Miami.

So while I was on holidays in El Salvador, I decided to hop onto a plane and accept Chuck Porter’s invitation to drop by. I first circled around their office feeling the vibe. The kitsch pink flamingo fountain on one end and the giraffe trying to French kiss a horse on the other where good signs. Yet they did not prepare me for the gentle and humble attitude I found in CP+B. I guess these guys are so good they just don’t care about false airs of grandeur anymore, they are just chilled, polite and fun to be with. Mr. Porter was a pleasure to talk to and I almost wet myself when he said he liked our work. I only spent 90 minutes with him but this is going to stay with me until I am 90. Although he kept saying that they were only a small agency, I could not help thinking that I was in one of the biggest creative centres of the world. If they call themselves small...who the hell are we...

A few lessons for all of you aspiring to greatness out there: when you get there, don’t forget where you came from. This way I guess you can continue growing with the things that got you there in the first place.

Enjoy the pics from a humbled planner.

Posted by Arnaud Verchere

New Bafco Campaign for 2008

Finally a new campaign for 2008 worth posting. We've been so busy working on property clients that we're going a little crazy (ok, maybe alot crazy). Anyway, Bafco have always given us creative leeway and this year was no exception. This was a campaign that we wrote and rewrote because we never knew where to draw the line. Here are the first three ads, there might be more depending on how well they are received. All pics were shot by Peter Walker and the styling, props and locations were provided by Nadia Marto from Production Planning Solutions in Dubai.

This is Elliot. He still lives with his mother. This is his car. This is his best friend. His idea of fun. How he spends most of his evenings. And this is his job. The only thing that stops Elliot from putting a bullet through his middle-aged balding head is coming to work everyday where he can be more productive in his ergonomically designed office chair and feel like a real player.

Copywriters Wanted

Tonic's first ad of 2008 is a follow up to our much-loved or much-hated but much-responded "Apple core logo Art Director Wanted” ad. This time we’re looking for copywriters. Borrowed from a clever wordplay, we thought this simple sign would make a great recruitment ad for writers.

If you’re scratching your head thinking WTF, read each word carefully :) If you got the ad immediately, send us your book.

The UAE is one of the most awarded countries in the world

I just arrived back to work fresher than ever, thanks to a solid holiday and after opening up all the mail stacked on my desk and taking care of all those unanswered e-mails I took a brake to read the 2007 Gunn Report.

Although we narrowly missed being listed as one of the top 45 advertising agencies worldwide for our wins on Nando’s, Sony and Wonderbra, I did notice that the UAE made its début in the top 20 award winning countries – Only three below South Africa. Who would have thought.

The Gunn Report is the only independent report on creativity for the advertising world. It is based on a very simple idea. It combines the winners' lists from all of the major advertising award contests in the world - national, regional and global.

For more info, visit gunnreport.com