The all-important approval-to-completion process

Yeah. So. When I was rudely interrupted by the millennium and stuff, I had been planning to write a whole series of columns on the crucial period between client concept approval and finished production.

I wrote exactly one. Though even I can’t remember what it said, let alone you, I hereby try to pick up where I left off.

One reason why the approval-to-completion phase is so delicate is that the concept has just come out of hiding. The creative process, which actually generates the idea, is generally very quiet and clandestine, with closed doors, rottweiler guard dogs, frustrated pacing suits on the outside, the occasional sigh or shout, and maybe an illicit substance or two. But when the idea emerges, it become everybody’s plaything.

The account folk get involved, the clients get involved, the government approval boards get involved, the shortlist of directors or photographers gets involved, and so forth. (Let’s forget about the focus groups for now; that’s a whole nother matter.)

Each of these people, except for the governmenters, is genuinely trying to help. But they usually don’t. They have other motives beyond the integrity of the idea – job security, client happiness, the look of their reel, etc. – and though it sounds pretentious, the integrity of the idea is what counts here. Let me offer just one real-life illustration.

When I was introducing the Midland Walwyn identity program, Blue Chip Thinking, there were the to-be-expected discussions about the appearance of the icon itself. What does the long-metaphorical ‘blue chip’ really look like? Does it appear to be plastic, or bronze, or perhaps patterned marble? Does it have a border, like a poker chip, or would that heighten the illusion that the stock market resembles gambling? These questions created their share of angst, but they got answered and the idea survived.

However, at one point, somebody observed that the lobby of the Midland Walwyn head office had a central décor of hunter’s green. And hey, if this blue chip thing really took off, wouldn’t that kind of clash? Hoo boy, the client would be facing bigtime decorator’s fees. And the agency would be responsible.

That was when a senior account person said, with a completely straight face, ‘Hey, what’s the problem? We could make a green chip work!’

No. No, that’s not a positive, helpful contribution. No. No, we do not put a small disclaimer in every execution saying ‘the colour selection in this ad reflects agency concern for the client’s lobby.’ We do not oh-just-slightly, who’ll notice, modify the headline to say ‘Green Chip Thinking’. No. That does a certain violence to the integrity of the idea.

Years before that, I was working on a packaged goods product which was decades behind its time, but still managed to contribute major profit to the client’s bottom line. It was called Resdan, and you dumped it on your head and left it there for weeks until your dandruff surrendered. Head and Shoulders was a much more contemporary product, but Resdan had its loyal audience. We continued to try to reach that audience.

Since Resdan’s formula had remained untouched since the days when John A. Macdonald drank it, we decided to glorify that lack of change in our advertising. We developed a cute little satirical commercial in which a sweet, idealized family kept asking each other for ‘the new improved orange juice’ and the ‘new improved napkins’.

Freeze. Cut to Resdan bottle. Announcer quietly intones: ‘For 30 years, this product has been un-new. Un-improved. (DRAMATIC PAUSE) Resdan. We got it right the first time.’

We sent it off to Ottawa, to the Board of Great Protectors of the Hapless Canadian Consumer from the Predatory Advertising Brutes, and it sat there for weeks. Finally, it came back. The directive was, you can’t say you got it right the first time.

Why not, pray tell? we asked with slight undertones of anger. More silence. The answer finally came back, ‘We think you’re trying to imply your product is perfect.’ We replied, ‘That is correct. That is what we are doing. That is what ad guys do.’ Ottawa replied, ‘Well, you’re not doin’ it on my watch.’ End of discussion.

I went back, and I must have rewritten that punch line 50 times. They all sucked, and I can’t remember one of them. We finally got one approved – something like ‘Resdan, it’s been pretty swell for pretty long’ – and we made the commercial. It didn’t work. It was a long buildup for a weak punchline, sort of like the giant cake being wheeled in at the bachelor party and Roseanne pops out. (What we should have done was dump the whole commercial. Ottawa hadn’t just rewritten a copy line, they’d gutted the idea.)

The time between approval and completion is a lot like cutting a diamond. If you do it right, you polish and shape and improve something raw into something beautiful. But if anybody’s hand slips at any point, you wind up with a pile of dust.

John Burghardt’s checkered resumé includes the presidency of a national agency, several films for the Shah’s government in Iran, collaboration with Jim Henson to create the Cookie Monster, and a Cannes Gold Lion. The letterhead of his thriving business now reads ‘strategic planning – creative thinking’. He can be reached by phone at (416) 693-5072, by fax at (416) 693-5100 or by e-mail at burgwarp@aol.com

Cannes Lions 2025: Canadians nab more medals on final festival day

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Friday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the oldest category at the Cannes festival, Film, as well as Sustainable Development Goals, Dan Wieden Titanium, Glass: The Lion for Change and Grand Prix for Good. Canadians were recognized with four Lions today: two Silver and a Bronze in Film, as well as a Bronze in Sustainable Development Goals.

FCB Toronto was given yet another nod for its work, “The Count,” for SickKids, bringing the medal count for that campaign to four, including a Gold for Health & Wellness. Another Canadian agency recognized on the final day of the festival was Klick Health Toronto, which earned a Silver in Film for its work “Love Captured” for Human Trafficking Awareness and a Bronze for “18 Months” for Second Nurture. And over in Sustainable Development Goals, the Bronze went to Publicis Canada and its “Wildfire Watchtowers” work for Rogers.

Another massive win for Canada included not one, but two Young Lions (pictured above) taking home medals in the annual competition. In Design, the Gold Young Lion was awarded to Rethink’s senior motion designer Jesse Shaw and ACD Zoë Boudreau. The second, a Bronze in Media, went to Cossette Media’s business intelligence analyst Samuel David-Durocher and product development supervisor Tristan Bonnot-Parent.

Film (2 Silver, 1 Bronze)

1 SILVER: “The  Count” by FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation

“The Count,” a striking campaign from FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation, has earned 1 Gold, 2 Bronze and now 1 Silver for Film at Cannes. If you watch it, it’s easy to see why. The collaboration between brand and agency honoured the hospital’s “VS” platform, while steering it in a new direction from its initial development by previous AOR Cossette. The creative celebrates childhood cancer patients who have to fight for every birthday, while honouring the hospital’s own milestone – 150 years and counting.

 

1 Silver: “Love Captured” by Klick Health Toronto for The Exodus Road

Klick Health Toronto added to its medal tally with a Silver in Film for it’s work “Love Captured” for The Exodus Road. The creative features a romantic getaway that isn’t what it seems in an experiential short film for the global anti-trafficking organization. The experience takes viewers through a tragic and twisting experience of exploitation.

 

1 BRONZE: “18 Months” by Klick Health Toronto for Second Nurture

Klick Health Toronto also won a Bronze in the Film category for its work, “18 Months,” done for the charity organization Second Nurture. The animated film is based on a real-life story in which a same-sex couple adopts a baby found in a subway station, and the 18-month journey into a story of hope.

Sustainable Development Goals (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Wildfire Watchtowers” by Publicis Canada for Rogers

Publicis Canada landed on the winners board for its work, “Wildfire Watchtowers,” for Rogers. The Canadian-developed wildfire-detection tech – which has been billed as “a fire alarm in the forest” – uses AI-powered sensors installed on 5G towers to monitor vast remote areas in real time. By scanning, identifying and reporting early signs of wildfires (up to 16 minutes faster than other systems), the technology helped prevent 54 fires in 2024 alone.

Catch the Gold winners later today when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.