08/06/2025

ON SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2025 theSunday Special XII Everyone is creative. Yes, even you, Mr Finance

Unleash your hidden creativity • Stay curious: Creativity starts with observation. Pay attention to life’s tiny details – the odd way someone phrases something, the design of your grandmother’s curtain or how street vendors market themselves. Every strange or funny moment could be the seed of a big idea. Ask questions. Be nosy (within reason). Creative people are often just regular people who notice what others overlook. • Embrace “what if”: The world runs on logic, but creative sparks often ignite from illogical places. “What if our soap could talk?” might sound absurd – until it becomes a campaign that charms millions. “What if our annual report looked like a comic book?” could move it from the drawer to the boardroom coffee table. Play with scenarios, no matter how wild. That’s where the magic starts. • Mix it up: Routines are creativity killers. Shake things up. If you’re in marketing, spend lunch with the finance team or talk to a delivery driver. These different viewpoints can break the echo chamber and introduce fresh angles. Diversity of thought isn’t a buzzword – it’s fuel. When people from unrelated fields collaborate, the results can be remarkably original. • Don’t fear the cringe: Creativity is a volume game. You have to generate 50 ideas to find five decent ones and maybe one gem. Embrace the “bad” ideas. Jot them down. Share them. They could spark a better idea in someone else. In Ham’s world, even a ludicrous pitch with trained parrots or juggling acts had some nugget worth exploring. • Create safe zones for bad ideas: This isn’t about bubble wrap for egos – it’s about cultivating an environment where creativity isn’t strangled by fear. Make it okay to say, “This might sound mad, but …” and see where it leads. Often, the craziest ideas start conversations that lead to genius.

BY HARMANDAR SINGH

We need both the imaginative leap and the practical ground wire to make an idea work in the real world.”

O NE of the biggest myths in the marketing world is that creativity belongs to a special breed – the artsy folks with IXQN\ JODVVHV DQG LURQLF FR̆ HH mugs. Rubbish! Everyone has a creative spark, even the buttoned-up accountant who insists on colour-coding the budget spreadsheets. (I mean, that’s a kind of creativity, right?) After decades in adver WLVLQJ , ¿UPO\ EHOLHYH WKDW FUHDWLYLW\ LVQ¶W a job title – it’s a human trait. If you’ve ever told a white lie with a straight face or found a clever way to avoid rush-hour WUḊ F FRQJUDWXODWLRQV \RX¶UH FUHDWLYH Beyond paint and poetry We tend to equate “creative” with artistic skills, such as writing, drawing and com posing music. Sure, those are creative outlets, but creativity is much broader than that. It’s the creative spirit that lets a person whip up a gourmet meal from OHIWRYHUV RU ¿QG D ORRSKROH LQ D WHGLRXV rule. Some people sing, some dance, some come up with cringeworthy puns in the of- ¿FH SDQWU\ ORRNLQJ DW \RX SXQQ\ ,7 JX\ In an advertising agency, I’ve seen creativity shine in every department. 7KH DFFRXQW H[HFXWLYH ZKR ¿QGV D JHQLXV compromise to make a difficult client KDSS\ LV EHLQJ ZLOGO\ FUHDWLYH 7KH PHGLD planner who juggles a tiny budget and still achieves significant impact is creative. (YHQ RXU ¿QDQFH PDQDJHU RQFH GHYLVHG an ingenious (and perfectly legal, I swear) way to stretch our production funds; we now call that “spreadsheet sorcery.” Ideas can come from anywhere 7 he smartest agencies know that a great idea can come from anyone, not just the folks with “creative” in their title. I once witnessed a brilliant tagline emerge from DQ XQOLNHO\ VRXUFH RXU UHFHSWLRQLVW 'XU ing a casual chat, she quipped a one-liner about a client’s product that left the whole room in stunned silence (the good kind).

We shamelessly built a campaign around KHU R̆ WKH FX̆ UHPDUN DQG LW ZDV D KLW /HVVRQ OHDUQHG NHHS \RXU HDUV RSHQ DQG your ego at the door. In brainstorming, I ORYH PL[LQJ XS WHDP PHPEHUV ± YHWHUDQV and newbies, artists and analysts – be FDXVH GLYHUVLW\ VSDUNV FUHDWLYLW\ ,I ¿YH people think alike, you only need four of them, as the saying goes. O I FRXUVH RSHQLQJ WKH ÀRRU WR HYHU\ - one means you’ll get some outlandish ideas. I’ve heard proposals so wild they involved trained parrots and hot-air balloons (don’t ask). Not every crazy idea ZLOO À\ RU VKRXOG %XW UDWKHU WKDQ VKXW down the wild thinking, I’ve found it useful WR DVN ³:KDW¶V LQWHUHVWLQJ DERXW WKLV R̆ WKH ZDOO LGHD" ,V WKHUH D WLQ\ QXJJHW we can use?” Creativity with purpose In advertising, creativity isn’t just about EHLQJ ZKLPVLFDO RU GL̆ HUHQW IRU IXQ ± LW¶V about solving a problem. Coming up with random ideas is easy; the real challenge is DSSO\LQJ \RXU FUHDWLYH PLQG WR D VSHFL¿F marketing challenge. You might have a dozen hilarious skit ideas, but can you FKDQQHO RQH LQWR D VHFRQG 79 VSRW WKDW VHOOV VRDS" 7KDW¶V WKH FUDIW 7KLV LV ZKHUH our logical friends (yes, even Mr. Finance) can join forces with the free spirits. We need both the imaginative leap and the practical ground wire to make an idea work in the real world. An idea has to con nect with people – change their thinking or behaviour – to be truly valuable. So, how do you cultivate this purposeful FUHDWLYLW\" %\ HQFRXUDJLQJ FXULRVLW\ DQG allowing room for mistakes. I’ve observed that the most creative teams are those where no one is afraid of looking silly. 7KH ¿UVW EUDLQVWRUPLQJ UXOH LQ P\ ERRN no idea is immediately a bad idea. (Okay, illegal or immoral ideas are bad – we GR GUDZ D OLQH WKHUH %XW JLYH HYHQ WKH oddball notions a chance; they can inspire something better.

• Use constraints as creative fuel: Some of the best ideas come from tight deadlines, tiny budgets or impossible client requests. Instead of seeing limits as blockers to creativity, flip them into challenges. “How do we make a widely shared video with zero budget?” or “How do we sell a luxury brand without showing the product?” You’ll be surprised how resourceful your brain can be when it has something to push against.

This series is based on Harmandar Singh’s book, “Rainmaker.” A seasoned advertising veteran and marketing expert, he has spent decades making brands and people famous (and sometimes furious).