Dave Trott experience

I never herd about Dave Trott before I came to this class. Firstly I heard about him from our tutor Alison. She was so passion talking about him and about his thoughts his attitude to problem solving and to world in whole. To tell you the truth at start I didn’t paid a proper attention to Dave Trotts person, but then I herd about him from my classmate L.A. She was also very passionate about his expressions and I became curious. She told about his blog and I visited it. Here is a link to it: www.cstadvertising.com/blog/ I was surprised by his manner to write and by his attitude to almost everything in this world. I wasn’t agree with everything that he said but still this person attracted my attention.

Then we went to London.

The main goal of our trip was to visit a couple of advertising agencies, to talk to art directors and copywriters of this agencies and to show them our ideas/works that we have prepared before according to the briefs we've got from them. But the main idea of that trip was to meet Dave Trott, to show him our ideas for a G-wizz( it is a small invironmentally-friendly electric powered car. We've got this brief before a trip and worked on it for a few weeks. As i understood this wa a favorite Dave Trotts brief, as he was givening it to all studenrs for a last 3-4 years). We met him at his office after a workday was over. It was 6 PM and was amazed that he spentalmost 6 hours with us talking and explaining the main points of advertisening process. I was a little nervous at start because secondyears guys told us a lot of scary stuff about him and how he went out the room when there were no questions to him. They told us that he is very agressive. But he was great! The most thing I loved about him – that firstly he saw us he told « so you should understand guys that you are in such business where there is no place for normal, common, ordinary people. You should be different» and he drew 7 circles and one cross between them «OOOXOOOO». He pointed on the cross and told and told us «you should be this cross!». Then looked again all over us and added «for example why do you think I'm wearing a suit?! I'm wearing it because in our business everybody so creative so different in their cool styles that they become ordinary grey mass and I'am different comparing to them because I'm almost the only one who is wearing the suit! For example you are also so stylish and different in your look but for me you all look the same and if anyone from you was in a suit i'would differ him from all other and this is the first step to employment and this is the main idea to be different, to be something else, to show other way of thinking. I'm looking for this guys, not for you.» After this speach i caught myself that my mouse was open,) I was so amazed by his words and most of all because he was wright and i didn't think about it before. I thought i was already different.) Cool, i was cool!

We disscussed a lot of concepts and ideas of how advertising busines works. Everything was very interesting and that were one of the best timespending in a ehole studying year. Then he showed some american ads he liked as examples. His main goal was to show that using celebrities not always heplps to make a good ad. It was shown on Coke and Pepsi ads examples. Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhKNCJ7u9Ac

In this ad famous boxer Sugar Ray Leonard offered to call him Sugar free Ray and to drink sugar free coke instead of Pepsi. So what? Why should I?! Only because he is famous and he has “sugar’ in his name. It is a stupid way to use a celebrity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqrooMVjOXc

In this ad Ray Charles was used. I think this is a smart way. The used a blind famous person to show that you don’t need eyes to see the difference between Pepsi and Coke. Even blind can say. They made it in a way of joke. The ad is very funny and attractive.

Also there is a structure of how a good ad should be made. Three main points:

Impact

Communication

Persuasion

That is how in a book. But Dave Trott suggested and showed us on examples the most of the successful ads made on the invert model of these points. That main point is to persuade a client why he or she needs this product. Than to speak to them in an understandable way. Only than we should think about how to catch client’s attention.

He criticized my works. Told me that they are too realistic. That this is an advertising business and they should be simple and clear. I think he was write but my tutor keeps telling me that my works are great and this skill will help me in my advertising future. This is also a reason why I’d like to meet an Art director of the same importance as Dave Trott.

By the way Dave Trott is a pure copywriter. He I’m consider myself as a art director and I’ve noticed that he is very far of emotional, art side of advertising. He is very dry and made his points on facts but not on feelings. His idea was in structure but not in the client’s perception. Next person I’d like to meet and to talk with is for example Graham Fink because he is more similar to me I think. He is more arty.