Creative Consultants Inc.

If you have anything to do with ANY nonprofit organization, you must see this video. It's a real eye opener.

We just watched the final episode of the first season of "Rectify" on The Sundance Channel. Stellar, amazing, unpredictable, beautifully acted, written, directed, and produced, one of the best shows ever on TV - and it was made in Georgia! If you've got On Demand or iTunes, please see it, and please let me know what you think of it.

I've had some people ask me to re-post this, so for those of you that asked, here it is. Enjoy:) When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 2...4 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed.. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand. One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend. -- author unknown

GREAT PRINT ADVERTISING IS SIMPLE... AND DIFFICULT. A significant influence on my career was the amazing creative work done in the early 1980s by a small Minneapolis agency called Fallon McElligott Rice. Formed in 1981 by Art Director Nancy Rice, Copywriter Tim McElligott, and Account Executive Pat Fallon, the agency ran away with a mountain of advertising awards during their four-year partnership.... As you can see from the samples I’ve included in this blog, their advertising was so simple, it hardly needed any body copy. It was so clever, it gave all of their clients a halo of supreme intelligence even a beauty parlor. Even people who were sold by their ads, who bought or used the products and services they advertised, felt more intelligent for being persuaded. One look at their ads and you’ll understand why. One reason for their success was Nancy Rice’s stubborn refusal to accept anything less than brilliant ideas from her writers. People who were partnered with Ms. Rice, including Mr. McElligott, would become extremely frustrated. They’d come up with what they thought was a great idea and she would just lean back in her chair and wait without saying a word. It was this refusal to produce anything but brilliance that helped FMR steal clients like Rolling Stone Magazine and Porsche from their Madison Avenue agencies. My partner is the same way with me, and I’m the same way with her. We never hesitate to let each other know when we’ve come up with a lousy idea (which we often do). It helps that we’ve been married for a while. We’re used to saying no and bringing out the best in each other. Coming up with a great idea can be exhausting and frustrating, but, for some reason, its usually right after hitting bottom that our ideas hit the top.

Such an amazing story. Such amazing photographs!