Are We Having Fun Yet?

Many advertising moons ago, when I was a wee copywriter, I had this CD whose go-to piece of feedback was, ‘Have fun with it.” And at times the even more unconstructive, “You’re not having fun (with it).”

These phrases were usually uttered after several rounds of not liking my copy. Rarely was it ever elaborated on. In fairness, my copy was most likely bad (as in not ‘fun’). But if I was ever going to ‘have fun with it’ (write well), it wasn’t going to be after hearing that old comment to the chestnuts.

At the time I remember thinking, did someone once tell this guy to ‘have fun with it’ and he just immediately start to ‘have fun’ after being instructed to do so? If you don’t have fun, will ‘it’ always be shit? He must live in a kind of stress-free advertising alternate universe where you’re able to turn off and on ‘having fun’ with a serotonin-releasing switch or something.

It all seemed a bit far-fetched, but he was the boss, so I kept a-thinking-and-a-drinking. I remember scanning the faces of fellow creatives around the office for signs of fun. Most of what I saw was furrowed brows and frowns. Maybe the fun they were having was on the inside?

My imposter syndrome flares up just thinking about it. But looking back there was some wisdom in those words. They just needed to be reframed in a less dickish way. I think staying loose is a healthier way to look at it; trying to dodge the brain freeze that comes with bad briefs, shitty feedback, and the stresses of everyday life.

‘Fun’ will not always be had. But if you try to stay loose and not take thing too seriously, the greater your chances of creating something interesting. And that, dare I say, can be pretty fun.*

*I had fun with this.