In
the preface of his book Sam the Sudden, legendary writer PG Wodehouse makes
an interesting point in his usual satirical style when he says, "Ideally
of course, an author ought to be like the male codfish, who after his union has
been blessed and has become the father of three million little codfish, conscientiously
resolves to love them all equally and have no favorites." He then goes on
to confess the improbability of this by admitting to a sneaking partiality for
this particular book.
The
truth is that playing favorites is something that comes naturally to the human
mind. Right from school, one finds teachers having favorite students. Maestros
have favored protégés, bosses have "blue-eyed" boys, even
parents sometimes play favorites among their children. But nowhere is this tendency
more pronounced than in creative professions, where there is a tacit creative
license for favoritism. So painters flaunt rather than hide their muse, while
many film directors openly admit their preference for some starsor even for certain
favorite subjects.
Advertising
is no exception to this. Even as more and more businesses open up to advertising,
some categories tend to get earmarked as creatively more inspiring than the rest.
These become the prize accounts, and the bulk of individual and collective hopes
of winning awards and building reputations get pinned on them. Best available
talent gets roped in, vigilant research is put in, and standards are pegged at
the highest. Not surprisingly, this coordinated effort often pays off and these
accounts end up scoring at award tables, further consolidating the position of
these creatively `hot' categories.
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