Interview: We're Crushing The Myth That Creativity Is Something You're Born With

(MENAFN- PRovoke) Adam Ritchie, who has run his Boston-based firm Adam Ritchie Brand Direction since 2007, has been a longtime champion of advancing PR's promise of being organizations' leading creative engine. In keeping with that, Ritchie is launching a new training program, Mission Control ,
aimed at teaching participants the tricks of creating Stellar campaigns, while dispelling the myth that you have to be born with a genetic propensity toward creativity to be good at it. He spoke with PRovoke media about his belief in the discipline, the fundamentals of top-tier PR and unlocking people's creative potential. An edited transcript:

You're launching a new training service called Mission Control, which sounds intriguing. Could you tell me more about the service and what it aims to achieve?

Mission Control is a training program we've developed to teach people what makes a truly great campaign. Our mission is to change the way professionals work by breaking down and demystifying the process behind idea creation. One of the most pervasive myths in creative industries is that creativity is some kind of natural-born gift-a talent that only a few people possess. We're tearing down that myth. Creativity isn't an enigma or a rare trait. It's a skill that can be learned and applied systematically. With this training, we aim to show people what's possible by teaching them how to crack the code behind the world's most successful campaigns.

What is this training based on? Where did the concept come from?

It's built on over two decades of my personal experience in the industry. About 20 years ago, I started compiling a database of the best campaigns I'd ever come across. I also included many of my own ideas and campaigns. I organized these into an alphabetized system based on the core“move” or strategy that drove each campaign's success. The idea is that a great campaign hinges on a singular move-a concept so powerful it transcends media types. If it works for earned media, chances are it will also work for paid, shared, or owned media. We know how pivotal earned media is in the PR industry, so this approach is especially relevant. Over the years, as I continued to analyze these campaigns, I noticed a pattern: the same moves were being applied across different industries, products, and categories. Even though the brands were wildly different, the strategic moves were consistent-and those moves worked every single time.

What exactly is a“move” in this context?

A“move" is a repeatable, strategic action that drives a campaign's success. For instance, one of my favorite moves is under the letter D, which stands for destroy. Take Burger King's“Moldy Whopper” campaign as an example. They destroyed their own product visually to make a bold statement about their switch to preservative-free food. Or look at JetBlue's campaign where they blasted leaf piles with jet engines-that's another creative example of using destruction as the key campaign move. Then there's the time Motley Crue blew up their cessation-of-touring contract-destruction in a totally off-brand yet on-brand way. It's not always about physical destruction, though. Another example from Penguin Random House involved creating an indestructible copy of "The Handmaid's Tale," which they gave to author Margaret Atwood, complete with a flamethrower to try to destroy it. So destroy as a move has a lot of variations, but it always grabs attention.

For contrast, under the letter Y, we have youth, which can also take on many forms. For example, there was the Hearts on Fire jewelry line made in collaboration with Girls, Inc., using skilled young girls to design the pieces. Or consider Fruit of the Loom's campaign where they embroidered hilarious things kids said onto pillows. You also have Staples'
"Invention Quest,” a contest for smart kids to create new office supplies. These campaigns might look totally different on the surface, but the core move-focusing on youth-is the same.

What's fascinating is that for every move, there's usually an equal and opposite move that works just as well. For example, the opposite of destroy is protect, and if you think about campaigns that revolve around protecting something vital to the brand or its audience, they're just as effective. The same applies to youth, where you can flip the concept to focus on the wisdom of the elderly, and you'll get equally compelling results. Once you understand that there are these universal moves-and that they often work in reverse-you realize just how much creative potential you have at your disposal.

Can you give examples of campaigns that are truly timeless based on this concept?

Absolutely. One of the most classic examples is Edward Bernays' Ivory Soap campaign, which is a transformation type of PR. This is where you transform the product into something else-in that case, Bernays literally had kids carve the soap into sculptures. The same principle applies to campaigns being run today, where brands use their products to create something new and unique. That move-using the product itself as a tool to create or transform-has stood the test of time. It worked in the 1920s, it's working today, and it'll probably work 100 years from now. Why? Because human beings don't fundamentally change. What we find fascinating or emotionally compelling has been the same for thousands of years.

Look at today's Cannes Lions entries, and you'll see campaigns following similar principles. For instance, Weber Shandwick's "World's First Edible Mascot" taps into the same move as Mike Tyson's cannabis edibles, shaped like ears referencing his infamous Evander Holyfield incident. Both of these campaigns use humor and shock value-the move here is categorized under violence, but it's done in a light, funny way that plays into cultural memory.

Tell us about invention in PR, another concept you've promoted within the industry.

Invention in PR refers to PR professionals coming up with a product, service, or experience rather than merely promoting something that already exists. There are three types of invention in PR: invention, creation, and transformation. Sometimes, PR agencies create something entirely new, but when that's not possible, you transform an existing element into something extraordinary. Some of the most groundbreaking campaigns we see follow this playbook.

So, you've spent 20 years compiling this database. Was that just for personal education?

In part, yes, but it's also been a valuable thought starter for many of the campaigns I've worked on. It reminds me of all the creative possibilities out there. It's like having a giant palette of colors to work with. Sometimes, when you're too close to a project, you forget that certain options are available to you-like forgetting that blue exists on the color wheel. This database has been a way to keep all the moves in my mind, ready to apply to any situation. It's like what Rivers Cuomo of the band Weezer once said about keeping a database of the most interesting parts of his favorite songs. That's essentially what I've done with PR campaigns.

I also think there's a myth in our industry that creativity and organization are mutually exclusive. There's this idea that you're either a chaotic creative genius or you're an organized worker bee. But that's not true. You can be both creative and methodically organized-and, in fact, the most effective professionals are. One of the things we teach in Mission Control is that being organized isn't a detriment to creativity. In fact, it's a powerful tool. When you've organized all these strategic moves in your brain, you can approach any challenge with the confidence that you've got a playbook to pull from.

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