"Candy-floss positivity is not enough to make it in advertising, says Colenso BBDO's chief creative officer, Simon Vicars. You need deranged optimism."

Februar 2024

From endless edits to suicidal doves: why you need 'psychotic optimism' to succeed in advertising | Contagious

We have a poster on the wall at Colenso (due to renovations it’s actually on the floor. Like me). It’s something I saw when I first worked at the agency in 2011, and I’ve carried the slogan with me for the last 13 years. In big bold type, the poster says, ‘Success is going from one disaster to the next with no loss of enthusiasm.’ When one person possesses that trait, it’s powerful. But when a collective of people subscribe to that mindset, it’s unstoppable.

As an industry, we’ve found ourselves back in the middle of ‘uncertain times’. I don’t know what AI’s impact will be or if the value of brand building will reclaim its importance in the eyes of CEOs, but I do know that candy-floss optimism won’t be enough. Victory will go to the psychotic optimists — the people who know they’ll find a way, even if that way isn’t clear.

Because in those moments when everyone else has their head in their hands, I’ll always love the people who are laughing.