Back in art school our instructors continually stressed the need for originality when developing creative ideas. The point the teachers made was that original creative ideas cut through the clutter and achieve the clients’ objectives in order to identify their unique selling proposition (USP). Original creative enshrines a brand(s) in a memorable and distinctive manner creating an identity they can own.

Obviously this creative thinking has a cost. In the 1980's clients were more than willing to pay the cost and agencies had no compunction in spending their money to do their bidding. People often wondered if the agency spent it all on the creative or on really great lunches in exotic locations. The ‘90s came and went and proved once and for all there is no free lunch. A different wind was blowing through the halls of agency land.

Technology has continued to mature in the new millennium. Concepts that had previously taken months to develop now take weeks or days. Budgets have become tighter; however, there are some very helpful resources available to the creative industry that helps agencies to hold on to profit. The real question is: “will creativity suffer as a result?”

We say, “The right answer is no!’ The creative spirit within us all compels us to find ways to use the available tools to their maximum potential, in order to maximize profit and creativity. No matter what the obstacle, or the challenge, a true creative person will find an innovative solution, no matter what.

Well that may work for television characters like MacGyver, who can pick a lock with a broken light bulb, but the reality is, clients have shorter timelines and shrinking budgets.

We need a reality check. The creative spirit may be intact, but something has been compromised. Is it originality or effectiveness? From our perspective some of the creative solutions being implemented are not original, effective or creative. Many advertising images and concepts have begun to look cloned.

More and more, creative thinkers have been turning to stock templates, royalty free images and illustrations in order to meet the increasing time demands and more limited budgets. These makeshift “get me out of a jam” ideas may be solutions that stretch budgets, but they are not original.

Stock photography and clip art have been around since the ‘50s, but most of those images were managed, directed and controlled by the distributors so there was minimal duplicity. With the advent of royalty free images, there has been no control or accountability.

We all see the same image used in a financial ad, mobile technology ad and a stress relief ad. Clients have been known to even blame the agency when they see the same royalty free image on another ad. One could say it is not the agency’s fault we have a difference of opinion.

Agencies need to properly educate their clients on the pros and cons of inexpensive, royalty free images. The cost is not just measured in dollars. The cost to the brand due to a loss of originality needs to be communicated to the client as well. Originality will make sense to many clients if they want to protect their brand identity market share.

We as agencies need to make an extra effort to help our clients make sense of the creative process. All clients need to know is that royalty free images, although cost-effective, may result in diminishing a brand’s identity, which is a hidden cost if making that choice. All clients need to better understand that to be truly effective in communication; agencies need the freedom and the budget to be truly original.

There are still many clients out there who have counted the cost and are fully supportive of the creating original ideas. These clients know true creative thinking has a cost, yet they are willing to invest in the future of their brand. These brand stewards are not tempted by short-term gain, but know that building a truly original brand will take time and money.

This level of investment will ultimately result in increasing the effectiveness and longevity of a brand, as well as an improvement in market share and future growth.

When we see original thought we applaud it, but we would like to applaud those clients that are willing to risk the wrath of the CFO and invest in the future of original thinking.