HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A GREAT AD?

Ad Age has an article this week about how many people it took to make Adidas Originals’ “Original is Never Finished” commercial, winner of Cannes Lion Entertainment for Music Grand Prix. We congratulate everyone involved for their creativity and execution.

Yet we fundamentally believe truly great advertising/content can be created far more efficiently.

Ad Age identifies 43 people engaged in the making of this ad. Great advertising doesn’t take 43 people.

Granted, our clients are midsize organizations, not global behemoths, but we produce our video content with 2–4 people exclusively. This includes everything: writing, shooting, directing, producing, editing, music selection, client service, etc. This process eliminates countless unnecessary meetings, briefs, reviews, approvals — and enables us to deliver work in a matter of hours or days when it takes others weeks or months, all at a fraction of the cost, with a process that’s far more enjoyable for everyone involved.

As a boutique agency, with midsize clients, it’s unlikely that we will win a Cannes Lion anytime soon, but with a better process, we/you can be the mouse that roared.

Lawrence M. Kimmel is CEO of Rung-UP, the first agency custom built for C-Level executives at mid-sized organizations. He can be reached at Hi@Rung-UP.com.