A creative director and copywriter I’ve become mildly obsessed with as of late is a gent by the name of Tom McElligott.

Years ago, Ad Age interviewed McElligott and asked the adman if there are any rules for producing advertising that breaks through the noise.

Here was McElligott’s answer…

“

The rule, pretty much, is to break the rules. If you break the rules, you're going to stand a better chance of breaking through the clutter than if you don't. If you try to live with the rules, in all likelihood the work will be derivative, it won't be fresh…

“

In addition to running The Process, I’m a copywriter.

No, I wouldn’t label myself a “great” copywriter. That word is reserved for giants like Mary Wells and David Abbott and, of course, Tom McElligott

But, the reason I've been a somewhat successful copywriter over the past 8 years or so is because I've been a pain-in-the-ass to work with.

I’ve challenged clients to break the rules, to say what they mean, to take a stance, to have a point of view, to display a bit of chutzpah, to not be everything to everyone but to be something special to someone.

Whether I was hired to write advertising for gourmet cookies or flavored lubricants or software (lots of fucking software), I've approached each and every piece of work with a rather ludicrous question in an era obsessed with metrics and KPIs...

"

How can I make this art or something close to it?

"

All that to say, I recently partnered up with art director Luke Powell to design a landing page for my one-man copywriting agency, that embodies this question I've been asking myself throughout the entirety of my career.

Today, it’s officially live and I couldn’t be prouder of it.

If you know of anyone looking for drop dead gorgeous copy that reads like poetry and sells like Ogilvy, send them to Honey Copy or tell them to write me at cole@honeycopy.com.

But, more importantly, whether you’re a writer or an artist or a musician or a designer or a potter or a painter or a creative of any kind… do as Mr. McElligott once advised: seek to break the rules.

It’s harder than ever to stand out and most of what we create won’t (even if it deserves all the attention in the world).

And so if we are all fucked anyway, we might as well go 90 in a 50 with the top down, blaring Wind of Change, trying our damndest to make good art or something close to it, laughing ourselves silly towards a finish line we cannot see, buried somewhere behind the horizon.

By Cole Schafer.

P.S. If this newsletter left you feeling inspired, do me a huge favor and tell one person to subscribe.