Many times people ask me what is the process that goes into creating of Ford or Lincoln advertisement pieces, that get produced with high budget for millions of people to see. Well, I will tell you something about that. Usually we hear about something new coming down the pipe from our Project Managers, ideally way ahead of the scheduled launch – but in most cases, the timing is just enough for some quick turnarounds, fast internal approvals (brand, product, legal teams), quick changes, client approvals and production. No one here is brainstorming for weeks, then making sketches, wireframes and prototypes for another few weeks. I’m still to see an agency with such a slow rhythm. Everything is done so fast, it’s almost hectic here. Sometimes we get a look/feel already established by a brand team, or by some of our vendor companies, who’s print-oriented files are of little help to us, digital mob. It’s tragic that many creatives still don’t know the difference between dpi, sizing, CMYK & RGB, and their files are a complex mess – with no layer comps used in the process, and huge assets scaled to 150pixel (smart objects don’t really have to be THAT smart. Resize that bitch, kid). But since this article is NOT about them, let’s move on. I haven’t told you that we never deal with ONE of those project at a time – there are always few of them going on simultaneously, involving their project managers, account teams, clients, etc. Sometimes my brain is so fried that I show in a Ford Mustang HPTO meeting armed with Lincoln Continental comps, ready to defend them with my life, before realizing that I’m in the wrong meeting. So…long story shorter, from time to time we DO have the opportunity to do some internal brainstorming, sketching and comping with simple purpose of showcasing all the creative ideas. Then all that gets presented to the people high above, who point their fingers toward few designs that were to get fixed in some way, and the rest is trashed as if it never existed. That takes us to this artwork here. These are few of my conceptual ideas (very rough), that I’ve first explained to my boss(es), who assigned me a writer and let me do the best job in comping few basic compositions that should appeal to the guys on top (already mentioned before). And all that is happening in one day tops (usually I have few hours for such task). One of my ideas showed here is having Dr. Dre virtually “mix” and produce the sound of the new 2017 Mustang. (Boy, everyone loved it!, including the guys above the rest of us). Another one they also liked is the “Mustang SFX Generator” – an app that, plays Mustang’s driving sounds based on your speed, movement, turning, stopping, etc. Basically, your phone will make your bicycle sound like a 450Hpw Mustang. There are few more ideas, but these were the strongest ones.
