The spark of original thought often comes when least expected. Many swear by the inspirational properties of morning ablutions. Recent Archive creatives here share with us off-beat insights that have come to them in the shower and elsewhere.
JOHN BOONE
Freelance Art Director/CD Charlotte, North Carolina
What if someday we actually found “Bigfoot” and he really was blurry?
WIHAN MEERHOLZ
Digital Creative Director, DDB Aotearoa, Auckland, New Zealand
If something important happens today, is it already history?
MARÍA LUJÁN DONAIRE
Executive Creative Director, HOY by Havas, Buenos Aires
I would like somebody smarter than me who could use big data to create something to make people find their twin soul, crossing data such as interests, likes, past relationships, profession, cultural context, etc. The real question here is if falling in love with somebody could be the factual result of this crossing information or not. Is that enough or is love completely unpredictable? Who knows? The future will provide. Future love looks like … ?
JAMES CROSS
CCO & Founder, Meanwhile, Manchester
Why can you never remember the last thing you thought of before falling asleep?
IVAN LOOS
Regional Creative Director Publicis Groupe, Singapore
Assuming there’s life on Mars, would their movies show humans as aliens?
HANS-PETER SPORER
Managing Creative Director, thjnk, Munich
If an AI would be able to choose its own gender, would it prefer to be male or female?
MATTHIJS VAN RUMPT
Copywriter, KesselsKramer, Amsterdam
I can’t stop thinking about shower thoughts. Shower thoughts are good but too many thoughts are bad for the environment. Try keeping it under five thoughts per shower. Maybe there are more sustainable places for thoughts … Rain thoughts. Sweat thoughts. Tear thoughts?
ELISA KONTTINEN
Creative Lead, Reaktor Creative, Helsinki
Have you ever considered the possibility of being reborn as the most annoying character you once wrote into a random sausage advertisement?
ARIANNA MONTOYA
Copywriter, Garnier BBDO, San Jose
As a species we’ve existed for more than 300,000 years, with an average life expectancy of c. 72 years. A typical life accounts for only 0.00024% of our species’ entire existence. We are a mere speck in time. I think of that when I’m being too hard on myself.
MARTINA ODOLI CARAVAJAL
Illustrator & Junior Art Director Wunderman Thompson, Milan
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how fashion can promote such a throwaway culture. So my shower thought is: could fashion glamourize even the sewer?
SARA ARMENGOL ABAD
Art Director, Edelman, Madrid
Why do girls act like dealers when they’re just thoughtfully passing another girl a tampon?
RAFAEL MEREL
Vice President, Heads Propaganda, São Paulo
Why are traffic lights not synchronized, so drivers don’t have to stop every block for a red light? And with so many bad drivers on the ground, why would anyone want flying cars? To fly…isn’t it amazing how far humans have come? Creativity is just like that. You just have to connect the dots.
CATRIN ROTH
Senior Art Director, Hey David, Stuttgart, Germany
No one would run a marathon if they weren’t allowed to talk about it.
SYEDA AYESHA IKRAM
Executive Creative Director, BBDO Indonesia, Jakarta
What determines any form of intelligence to be stated as artificial? Just because I do not know where this thought came from doesn’t qualify it as natural.
CARMEN FENECH
Senior Art Director, Hill Holliday, Boston
There should be a clock that you use just for daylight savings. You can only use it once a year, and it goes straight from 1am to 3am.
MÉLISSA CHARLAND
Creative Director, Publicis, Montreal
Brain freeze is like a hangover for kids. Instant regret. Followed by wanting more ice cream.
PEDRO AMERICO
Executive Creative Director, McCann Germany, Berlin
We never turn our minds off. So we should keep up to it. Once I read about this famous singer from Brazil, Roberto Carlos, that he would walk around with a recorder to not forget ideas for songs on the go they would appear. And since then, I’ve been doing the same. Always have a place to register your ideas. Use your phone. Voice memo. Text notes. A notepad. A napkin. Doesn’t matter.
