Earlier in my careeer I did a lot of work for art directors whose sole goal in life was to win awards for creativity. If the ads for the clients also increased sales, so much the better.

Back in those days I would investigate the client’s situation and suggest a line of attack: “here’s the thing we should focus on,” and the art directors illuminated that focal point with their graphic genius.

So the ads not only looked great, they worked, and that’s why they won awards. Just being pretty was never enough. So art directors frequently called me in on projects.