A little while ago I found a really amazing speech called The Brief for the Sistine Chapel on the English brand planning site www.accountplanning.net.

Written by Damian O’Malley, who is now the Executive Planning Director for McCann Europe, the speech illustrated just how important a brief is to the creative process.

 

In it, Damian imagines the various briefs that Pope Julius II, or the Pope’s account man, Cardinal Alidosi may have given Michelangelo. Each is analyzed for its effectiveness and potential outcome, and the article ends with the kind of brief that has the power to inspire a Michelangelo — or a creative team — to great heights.

 

I was so taken with this that I put it into a PowerPoint presentation, tweaked a couple of words, because, well, I’m a copywriter, and added some pictures to illustrate the results.

 

When I was done I sent it off to my bosses at my agency, where it was roundly ignored! No one said making a great brief, or great advertising, was easy.

 

You can download a copy of The Brief for the Sistine Chapel PowerPoint at www.slideshare.net/stevenstark/the-brief-for-the-sistine-chapel, and may God be with you.

 

 

Steven Stark is a writer and creative director who lives for the thrill of the big idea. You can see his work and read some of his other musings at http://web.mac.com/sdstark/iWeb/Steven%20Stark/home.html

Article Tags: account planning | advertising briefs | copywriter | creative director | damian o'malley | great briefs | inspiration | Michaelangelo | Sistine Chapel | slideshare | Steven Stark
Filed under: Advertising, Marketing Religion, Marketing Resources, New Discoveries, Strategy