When An Idea Captivates

There are things that stop you in your tracks.

A new product. A film. A book. A building. Sometimes even an ad.

Not because they shout the loudest, but because they draw you in.

They earn your attention instead of demanding it.

In advertising, work like that is disappearing.

There are two forces quietly hollowing out the industry.

The first is style over substance.

There’s no shortage of stunning craft: immaculate cinematography, flawless design, beautiful photography, whether created by people at the top of their game or by an AI trained on everything we’ve ever made.

But too often it’s beauty without substance. Work that looks exquisite yet leaves you hollow because there’s no real idea behind it.

We’ve become brilliant at execution and very average at imagination.

Craft should amplify an idea, not compensate for the absence of one.

The second problem is that we’ve started confusing visibility with value.

We optimise for engagement, not goosebumps.

We polish decks, not ideas.

We measure seconds watched, not hearts touched.

We chase metrics, not magic.

We call it optimisation. But mostly, it’s fear with good branding.

The numbers tell the story: advertising has become 4 per cent more efficient, yet 11 per cent less profitable.

We’re getting better at the wrong things.

Great creative ideas only work when people feel something, when they’re moved emotionally.

That requires judgement over algorithms, intuition over analytics.

That’s where taste comes in.

It’s how we create ideas people actually want to watch, not avoid.

Taste is the invisible advantage behind every piece of work that lasts, whether it’s a film, a brand, a product, or a business.

Taste isn’t luxury.

It’s strategy.