Hello, hello, hello, what’s all this then?

Sting, Wallsend lad and global superstar, agreed to be in a TV ad I was directing on behalf of NE1. As the purpose was to promote business in Newcastle, he was happy to oblige.

The ad featuring him was one of a series we made, featuring a cross-section of the community: male, female, young, old, black, white, everyday ordinary folk… and a global superstar.

Now, for this tale to be at all amusing, you need to know that although I have had a forty-plus-year career as a Creative, my first job was a six-year stint as a Police Officer with Northumbria Police. 

So, on the day of the shoot, after establishing he preferred to be addressed as Sting rather than Gordon, I said to him, “You know, when you were in the Police walking on the moon, I was in the Police walking in Longbenton.”

He laughed, and we had a right good chat about people we both knew from that time and place. What a nice man Mr Sting is.

To the point of the story. During my service with the Police, I was with the CID. People always say to me, ‘What an odd career pivot,

Detective to Creative.’

My response is that they are very much the same, no oddity whatsoever.

As a Detective, you gather evidence to prove that each part of the law has been breached in relation to that particular crime.

As a Creative, you do much the same; you gather facts to prove each part of the creative brief in order to achieve an objective.

The Detective then prepares a case file to present in court to convince the judge and jury that the accused has, in fact, broken the law in question, thereby winning the case.

The Creative prepares a pitch to present to the client in order to persuade them that the case you are making answers the brief and wins 

the business.

Pretty much the same, except no one goes to jail when you win a pitch!