Creativity Squared: Stirring Emotion with Jeff Vinick

Jeff Vinick has led creative efforts on a wide variety of brands, including BMW Motorcycles, JetBlue, ABInBev’s Busch Beer, the NFL, and Kodak, but has an odd passion for the finance category. During his career he has crafted work on Smith Barney, Forbes, and E*Trade, where he enjoyed getting in touch with his alter ego to write much of the (snarky) E-Trade Baby work. As an EVP, ECD at Deutsch New York, he has helped to create and guide the work across all lines of business for PNC Bank, since joining in 2008. His work has been recognized by the industry with multiple awards, including Cannes Lions, Webby + Shorty Awards, among others.  

Person

I’m passionate and optimistic. I feel so fortunate to be able to spend a career doing something I love doing, whether that’s creating, mentoring, or even figuring out a solution to a business problem. I think that passion shows through. The optimism kicks in when things get in the way of a great idea. It happens. You persist and win or you lose and move on to the next great opportunity. I guess you could add that I’m also pragmatic. 

I think creativity is innate. I’ve seen people I know try really hard to write or paint or pursue some creative endeavor, and they just can’t. The outcome is objectively bad, no matter how hard they try. There’s a reason there are always opportunities for good creatives. That said, if you are creative, there’s plenty of room to hone your skills and become really good at what you do. Sometimes an abundance of natural talent isn’t enough. 

I’m an extremely outgoing introvert. I really like being around people and even speaking to groups, but making small talk is about the worst thing I can think of. I’m glad to be at a party where people are having a great time as long as I’m sitting off to the side having an interesting conversation with a person or two. At the end of the day, I need and cherish alone time to think and recharge. 

Product

Is it unique? Does it elicit a strong visceral reaction? Work that stands out involves an approach that I haven’t seen before or a totally new way at looking at something, even when that involves a unique variation on an existing theme. That will help get creative noticed, but getting noticed is half the battle. The other half is whether it elicits a reaction. Does it move me to tears, laughter, anger or any other feeling that will get me to physically respond in some way. Maybe that’s a purchase, maybe it’s a donation, maybe that’s slamming my phone down. 

I actually don’t think the criteria for great work has changed, just the opportunities, and that’s a good thing. All the platforms that are at creatives’ fingertips along with the constantly evolving technology within them allows creatives to get their work out to more people at lightning speed. As platforms offer more and more ways to utilise technology the opportunity to make unique creative increases. That said, it must stir emotion, no matter where or how it lives. 

Process

I will always work closely with a strategist to boil down a brief to a simple, executable idea. It sounds obvious but briefs can be cumbersome and confusing things. That has been true ever since I was a junior. I always believed that once you had the seed, the true insight, you were off to the races, exploring all the interesting ways to articulate that very simple idea. A smart simple insight is the key to amazing creative. It’s often the most challenging and rewarding part of the process. 

This is heretical, but I’m not good at brainstorming. I always find it distracting, and whoever said there are no bad ideas hasn’t been to a brainstorm. I do acknowledge sifting out the weak ideas is part of the point. When I have an assignment I need to let it sink in. I spend literally the first day and night (or more) thinking about the problem and the insight. Once I have some thoughts I like, I’m all for collaborating. I love sharing ideas and hearing what people think, but I find brainstorming from the start very detrimental to that process. If it works for you, though, have at it!

Press

I grew up in a town north of Boston called Swampscott. It was a small town on the ocean with lots of fishing boats and I love it to this day. It was an amazing hodgepodge of people from very different economic backgrounds who all seemed to love this little town. Being exposed to so many different types of people and having teachers who really fostered creativity seemed to stir something in me for as long as I can remember. Being able to go down to a tiny beach alone and ponder didn’t hurt either. 

I was (am) obsessed with advertising. When I love something I am all in. After spending a year as a lawyer, which I didn’t love at all, I found advertising. A very nice person gave me a book on how to put a portfolio together and here I am today. After finishing that book, I read every award annual I could find to see how great creatives thought. Something I still do. I also wrote down advertising ideas for everything I saw. Tens of thousands of ideas, on napkins, in a notebook, on food wrappers. I immersed myself in advertising. Today, I write things down on my phone, but I’m still constantly thinking of ideas for all sorts of random things. It doesn’t shut off and I don’t want to shut it off.