EDITOR’S NOTE:

I asked Nikhil Narayanan, Creative Director at Ogilvy, which book helped him most over his career. 

He couldn’t pinpoint one: 

“Everything I have read,” he said. “Fiction. Non-fiction. A4 sheets nailed to helpless trees. Everything has helped me in one way or another.”

Another fantastic copywriter, Vikki Ross, gave me a similar answer when I asked her the same question: 

“Every book has helped me over my career because each one is full of words and if I don’t have words readily available in my mind, I can’t write,” Vikki said. “So I tell everyone to read anything and everything — gossip magazines, pizza menus, trashy books, doctor’s surgery posters — it all helps to get the words going.” 

Great minds, I guess. 

Nikhil (who, by the way, was awarded “Creative Person of the Year” by Ogilvy India) did, however, share specifics in his excellent 440-word Micro-Interview with VeryGoodCopy, including: 

• The most dangerous “place” to be in as a creative person… 

• What to do when your great idea gets shot down…

• How to properly research a campaign…

And much more… 

Enjoy!

Thank you, Nikhil.

Let’s get started. 

1) “What’s your work routine?”

I make a mental note of the jobs for the day, wait for my lethargy to put its guard down and go at it. Once I get the reluctant machinery rolling, I make sure it stays in motion ‘till I knock off every piece of work that is on my plate. If deadlines permit, I come to a screeching halt and repeat the exercise the following day. 

I am not sure if the practice above can be termed ‘routine’, but I have been doing it for a decade and a half with alarming consistency. So, yeah, I guess it qualifies. 

2) “What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

The comfort zone is the most dangerous place to be in as a creative person. 

It is much like rum. It gets you happy quickly and lets you stay that way for a short period of time. In the long run, it drains you, leads you to stagnation and takes a bit of your life with it. 

I stayed in mine for around 4 years without a single soul telling me to get out of it. I wish someone had. I'd like to be that someone to somebody.

3) “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

Not every battle needs to be fought. Watching some of them from the sidelines is just fine. 

At the end of the day, advertising isn’t worth losing your peace of mind over. If a great idea gets shot down by people who don’t care about it as much as you do, so be it. Don’t kill yourself. If you work hard enough and if you are good enough, another one will come along. And if you are lucky enough, they will come to you even if you are not looking for them. 

4) “What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

Research. 

And by research, I don’t mean the widely accepted 'cut+copy+paste' of today. Just gobble up everything on the subject you want to write/ideate on. Read. Watch. Listen. Consume in all ways possible. Words will come knocking, with or without your consent. And pretty fast too. 

5) “What book has helped you the most over your career?”

Everything I have read. 

Fiction. Non-fiction. A4 sheets nailed to helpless trees. Everything has helped me in one way or the other. 

6) “And your parting piece of advice?”

It’s okay to be selfish and choose your happiness over everyone else’s. 

If it were up to them, they would do the same and you’d end up looking like an idiot.