Something from the opposite sex.

Don't you just love those sunny days that visit the Autumn months. Working in a classic loft conversion decked out in stripped floorboards, skylights and foliage everywhere you look I could well be in Manhattan let alone on Clerkenwell Road. Ok, so only being on the third instead of the thirty third floor and listening to a heavy brummie accent from across the wooden floor as opposed to one from Brooklyn doesn't quite have the same ring to it, I'll grant you that. But there's no denying an uncanny similarity when I hear the word coffee. Try it for yourself in your best brummie accent and you'll see where I'm coming from.

On a separate note it's amazing where inspiration comes from when looking for something to hang a piece of copy off. You copywriters have it easy, I should do this copywriting lark more often. Ok, may be not. Right where was I, oh yes Clerkenwell.

Working for Agency K on a food brand aimed at the female market I found myself being told to think like a women with plenty of female food insights at my disposal, plus the added benefit of having a man on the inside, so to speak. Working with a dear friend and copywriter extraordinaire who goes by the name of Jayne.

I've never been convinced that it necessarily takes a woman to write an ad for women anymore than I have, only a man can write for men. It's not like we don't happen to find ourselves spending a great deal of our time living with the opposite sex now is it. As I learned nothing new about the desire for guilt free indulgence or the things that occupy women's minds. I've watched desperate housewives too you know.

Ok, joking aside there really are very few insights a good creative shouldn't already have about the people around them. People we live, work and play with regardless of age, sex or subject. You, me, us. It's probably the one thing we've learned more about in our lives than anything else. I have an elderly mother and father before he passed away. A younger brother with a wife and young children of his own. A teenage son and daughter that's still just a child. An older half sister and brother both with children of their own, either teenagers or young adults now over the age of 18. And a newly married ex with a husband that has teenagers of his own. Let alone the friendships and relationships I've had with the opposite sex. When you add it all up you're pretty hard pressed not to of learned anything along the way.

Yes there are some poorly written ads written by men aimed at women out there. But that's more a case of poor creative than anything else.

So if you're looking for an insightful, beautifully observed, powerful ad that strikes a cord with its target audience, find a talented creative to write it. That's all the criteria you need.