Copywriter

I was racking my brain to come up with interesting posts for the blog, and it occurred to me to explore my fascination with creative fields and those who are successful in them.  So I’ve decided to enlist help from some of my friends, and they have graciously agreed to let me interview them. 

First up is my friend, the ever-elusive Smivey (not his real name).  He is a copywriter and currently writes ads for Lexus.  He has an affinity for British spelling and an endearingly self-deprecating sense of humour.  Here is a very entertaining interview on being a copywriter.

1. What does a copywriter do?

Smivey: First of all, it has nothing to do with the law. That would be a copyrighter. Basically, we’re in charge of coming up with the words you read (or hear). However, we also work with art directors to come with the ideas for TV and digital. We may be copywriters, but we’re also visual thinkers.

2.     Is your job fun?

Smivey: Define “fun.”  If by “fun” you mean there are parties all the time and we get to drink beer in the middle of the afternoon, then, yes, it’s fun.

3.  What is your favorite part about being a copywriter?

Smivey: Aside for the parties and beer? I suppose I like being paid to come up with original thoughts. I also like the fact that I never have to wear a suit to work.

4.    Speaking of being paid, do copywriters make a lot of money?

Smivey: They can, if they're good. You make more than a cashier. Actually, even ifyou're not good, you can make more than a supervisor at Whole Foods. Iknow this, because I was once a supervisor at Whole Foods. 

Too cryptic? OK. A senior copywriter at a big agency can easily make a low six-figure salary—and a lot more if you've won some awards and know how to negotiate. Unfortunately, I'm not good at negotiating.

5.     Least favorite part about your job?

     Smivey: Remember what I said about original ideas? Well, the problem is, every year, that gets harder and harder to do. Back in the early days of advertising, everything was an original idea. It went something like this:

“Hey, I have an idea. Let’s have the ad say, ‘Coke tastes good.”

“Great, add an exclamation mark, and you’ve got yourself an award-winner!”

In other words, we’re under a lot of pressure.

6.     Can you tell me what your typical day is like?

Smivey: OK, I lied about the parties every day (the beer part is true). Most Creatives (yes, we call ourselves that and we capitalise it) don’t even bother showing up to work until 9:30 or 10 AM. It’s not because we’re lazy. It’s because we usually don’t end up leaving the office until 9 or 10 PM.

I suppose you’re only interested in my workday and not what I have for breakfast, so I’ll just skip to 10 AM. Depending on the day, I might check my email and find the client still doesn’t like some copy I’ve rewritten three times. They want it to say more, but with the character count I was given, that’s impossible. So, then I spend about an hour or two questioning my talent until a solution comes to me or I’m fired.

Then I might work on a TV or radio script. Sounds like fun, right ? It can be—until you find out how many versions of one spot you have to make.  Then it becomes a puzzle, a puzzle no one has the solution to.

7.     How long have you been a copywriter?

Smivey: Roughly 15 or so years.

8.     What kind of jobs have you held before becoming a copywriter?

Smivey: Before becoming a copywriter, I was in the challenging field of retail, where I worked my way up from lowly cashier to slightly-less-lowly supervisor. But that title was quickly stripped away—after I accidentally went home with a $500 cash drop still in my smock.

9.     How did you get started?

Smivey: How did I get started as a cashier or a copywriter? I’m going to assume you want to know how I got started as a copywriter, because that’s slightly more interesting than the cashier thing.

In college, I heard about an advertising internship, so I gathered up my work, created a portfolio and went for the interview. Somehow, I was selected to intern at Ogilvy & Mather in Los Angeles. I think it must have been out of pity, because the work I showed them was horrible.

Nevertheless, I quickly figured out how to create advertising that was actually good, so they kept me on as a “permanent freelancer,” which meant I worked there full-time but received $300 a week for my trouble.

Eventually, I hit the freelance circuit, bouncing around from agency to agency until I ended up where I am now, an undisclosed agency.

10. When did your interest in writing begin?

Smivey: As a kid, I always seemed to get higher scores on essays and other writing assignments. With all the positive reinforcement, I guess I just naturally fell into a writing career.

11. When did you realize that you could make a living at writing?

Smivey: When I got my first paycheck. Before that, I only hoped I could make a living as a writer.

12. If someone was interested in becoming a copywriter, what advice would you give them?

   
Smivey: 

1) Learn how to write. It’s not necessary, but it helps.

2) Buy the book “Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This.” Read it. Memorise it. Read it again.

3) Don’t be a jackass and use British spellings because you think they look cooler. You’re not British (unless you’re actually British).

4) Consider going to a specialised ad school (like Miami Ad School). They teach you all the stuff you need, so you can hit the ground running. Note: hitting the ground running is only a figure of speech. You will not be required to do any running.

5) This is a highly competitive field and the competition only gets stronger every year. So, if you want to make a living copywriting, you better be damn good at it.

13. What is your creative process like?

Smivey: Usually, I’ll try to free-associate. I’ll make a list of things that have to do with the product and see if any of them spark an idea. But actually, sometimes it’s best to just set it aside and do something completely unrelated. Also, the fear of losing your job as the deadline grows near helps a lot.

14. Do you ever run out of ideas?  And if so, what do you do to get your creativity back?

Smivey: Yes, I run out of ideas all the time. Usually, I just worry for most of the day. But oddly, I find the best way to come up with a quick line is by standing in front of the urinal at work. I don’t know why, but sometimes that’s the key. Maybe it’s because I’m too busy being self-conscious about doing my business. Not sure. TMI?

15. Everyone pays his or her dues to be successful in a career, what have been yours?

Smivey: When I was an intern at Ogilvy & Mather, they made do all kinds of menial tasks, like go to Kinko’s to make colour copies (this was before colour copiers were affordable, and also before Kinko’s became FedEx Office). These days, we treat interns with more respect, but they still get the crap assignments.

16. You’ve been working on Lexus ads for a while, but what other projects have you worked on?

Smivey: I’ve done work for Korean Air, American Express, Microsoft, Air New Zealand, Ritz-Carlton and more, but not much more.

17.  Of all the ads that you’ve written, what is your favorite?

Smivey: Hmmm that’s a tough one to answer. I’m pretty critical of my work, so I’m not sure I could name one specific ad. Also, advertising is about more than ads. It could be a new mobile app or a social-media campaign. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the business, most of the ads that I’m truly proud of end up getting killed by the client and are never produced.

18. What was your college major?

Smivey: I majored in Communications, with an emphasis in Journalism. I also minored in Advertising.

19. Do you work alone on projects or with others?

Smivey: I’ve done both. Traditionally, you’re teamed up with an Art Director who, despite the fancy title, is at the same status level as a copywriter. But I’ve also worked alone on smaller projects, especially when it comes to radio.

20. In your opinion, what is the best ad of all time?

Smivey: Not sure about “of all time,” but the first thing that comes to mind is an ad that showed a Porsche police car. The line simply read: “In Germany, There Are No Getaway Cars.” Classic.

21. Do you have a hobby?  If so what is it?

Smivey: I go through phases when it comes to hobbies. For a while, I was into music production, creating song loops and just having fun. I played guitar for a bit. Then there’s my blog. That used to be a thing, but I kind of don’t have time for it now. Is spending money a hobby? I’ve stuck to that pretty well

22. If you weren’t a copywriter, what would you be doing?

Smivey: I would still be working behind the register at Whole Foods or a place like that. If I couldn’t write for a living, I’d really be screwed.

23. What makes good writing? What makes a good writer?  A good copywriter?

Smivey: A good writer knows how to make words flow like music. There’s a rhythm to it. Short sentences, then slightly longer ones. Surprisingly, there are a lot of professional writers who aren’t actually good writers. A good copywriter just knows how to grab your attention and get to the point.

If you would like to be entertained more by Smivey, please follow him on: https://twitter.com/smivey