Why I Don’t Use The Word “Original”?

I don’t use the word “original” in creative business. There is no such thing as “absolute originality”  neither in advertising nor in culture. At least not in a commonly used sense of it: “think, do or create something never exist before”. How could a person create a completely original piece of work from nothing? World does not work that way, right?

Originality does not exist in our lives either; people, culture, language, literature or history. All are a result of connections, combinations and interactions of old ideas, previous evidences and proven facts. We as humankind rise on our shoulders and it is valid for marketing and advertising business.

If our ideas are not original then what it is? Creative industry people combine and connect existing things, ideas or thoughts in a novel and unusual ways. We find new angles and approaches to problems in an inspiring, independent and individual manner.  So the ideas we create at the end is different, novel, unusual and useful. And I refer it as “fresh” ideas. But not original. It is a mix, combination or connection of existing things in a different way. It is about linking known stuff in an unknown way. So we find surprising, interesting, out of box solutions to marketing problems in a fresh way which I believe is still the foundation of advertising.

Be fresh, create fresh.

Tayfun