Nice idea, badly done

I was flicking through a recent healthcare journal and came across a few ads that I hadn’t seen before… and it got me wondering ‘what happens to ideas between thinking them up and producing them?’   As it seems that through the execution process, they get executed!

Now we know a poor idea well crafted is still a poor idea, but a gem of an idea badly done is just a waste! Do people no longer value art direction and the crafting of an ad, or is it simply that people don’t know how to do it!

I wonder if this is yet another example of how the ‘Mac’ has become the master for average design: everything in no time and no time to do it. Or could it be that clients have been trained to become so literal that they can only see an idea if you use a stock shot image and that we don’t bother to try harder? When was the last time you took a client through a scamp? Would they even know what one was?

Go on try it…think of a good idea, draw it, sell it, develop it and make it come to life!  After all, isn’t that what us ‘Mad men’ do?

Exciting times at Grace HQ

Two weeks since we filmed the cinematic triumph that is our new promotional video, and the final edit is nearly ready.

The short film was written and directed by Grace Digi, the new digital arm of Grace Agency, and showcases the talents of our combined team through animation, ingenious twists and just a little CGI.

On Thursday this week (24th June) our "Queen of the Creatives" Tracey Henry will be heading to Brighton to review the end result and, if we were her, swing by the pier for fish & chips.  The video will be uploaded for your enjoyment soon afterwards, so as we wait patiently for the production whizzes to bring Chris (@clutterances) and Poppy's (@poppyhennig) vision to life, here are a few more tasters of things to come.

Chris wasn't convinced by his barber's new colour scheme.

Annoyed man attacks award winners with blunt object.

IT gremlins disturbed the start of the 6 o'clock news.

Give an inch and they take a mile…is NICE getting too big for its boots?

What is it about QUANGOs? The minute you start to give them some respect, they seem to think that they should be running the country, not just advising on matters for which they were set up to consider. 

NICE is not everyone’s cup of tea and I confess to feelings of great trepidation when it was first mooted back in the late ‘90s. Although it still causes immense frustration when some of its decisions seem simply arbitrary and prejudiced, especially when it comes to new cancer therapies, it must be said that it has brought some rigour to the prescribing process. The fact that many governments around the world are seeking to copy it is perhaps a testament to its prowess, but the cynic in me can’t help thinking that’s simply because said governments see it as a ‘legitimate’ way of restraining their drugs budgets.

But some of the latest pronouncements from NICE really take the biscuit (semi-intentional pun there). I couldn’t believe it this morning when I heard on the radio that NICE had proclaimed that sex education should start early in primary schools. I have no strong opinion either way on this topic, but I’m astonished that NICE have an opinion at all! This surely is nowhere near their remit? NICE does not stand for National Institute for Children’s Education, but for Health and Clinical Excellence. I admit that you could argue that having sex, especially unprotected sex, can have disastrous consequences for the health of teenagers, but surely there are more appropriate bodies to be involved in this, not least the Government itself. 

It doesn’t stop there. This month alone, in two separate announcements NICE is advising anyone who cares to listen that there should be a minimum price for alcohol and that the drink-drive limit should be reduced. Again, no matter what your view on these matters, should we really pay so much attention to unelected, albeit taxpayer-funded ‘experts’?

I’m more than happy for them to pronounce on the most appropriate use for inhaled steroids, for example, but please don’t start telling us how to live our lives.

PM Society Annual Lecture – Margot James MP

Margot James cuts an impressive figure. I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to have worked with her and known her for a number of years and when I first heard of her ambitions to become an MP, I had no doubt that she would make it.

She pitched her talk on Thursday night at just the right level: emphasizing the overall thrust of the new Government’s healthcare policies, especially greater patient empowerment and reduced layers of bureaucracy, without getting bogged down in detail.

Despite the stifling heat of the room, it was an enjoyable evening and very worthwhile attending. So why was the pharmaceutical industry so poorly represented? We now have someone able to champion our industry’s cause sitting at the top table - at the very heart of government - yet only nine pharmaceutical companies decided to attend. Honourable mentions go to Lundbeck, Amgen, Napp, GSK, Takeda, Sanofi Pasteur MSD, AstraZeneca, Wyeth and especially Sanofi Aventis who were well represented.

As usual, the service sector was well represented, but clients really shouldn’t leave it up to their agencies to keep their finger on the pulse of the healthcare climate.

I do think the pharmaceutical industry needs to show more leadership.

Written by Neil Dickinson (@neil_dickinson)

Grace and the City

Don’t get us wrong, we like to scrub up well for our clients (on a good day Neil has even been known to have a shave for a meeting) but Wednesday involved three wardrobe changes, hair and make up plus a manicure as we welcomed a film crew to Grace HQ to help us with our new promotional film.

We thought it was high time we spread the word about Grace Digi, our exciting new digital offering for the pharmaceutical industry, so our crack team of creatives set to work on developing a storyboard that showcases who we are and what we do, in a most unusual way.

With filming complete and wrap party champagne flutes all washed up, the footage has now gone into post-production and should be ready in a few weeks. In the meantime here are a few clues as to what to expect.

“Don't sneeze... don't sneeze”

"A novel way of getting to work!"

"The Marlow's Got Talent auditions were in full swing"