For people who work with words, copywriters have such a crappy name. The term copy implies we imitate and pinch the work of others, which we kinda do, but that’s besides the point! Even art directors, who are grammarless doodlers, have a better name. Tell the general population your title, they think you’re a copyright lawyer. Don’t try telling your nan what you do. I did. The lovely old Ukrainian lady just smiled politely and handed me a bowl of Borscht. So what should us copywriters call ourselves? Should we care? Should I just shut up and work? Probably.

M'Nan.

'Creative' is the new title given to those who work in the creative department of ad agencies. Art director and copywriter has dissolved into this framework, as naturally, both meld together in the conceptual process. Ideas shouldn’t be pigeonholed from the get go. Freedom, baby. However, creative still doesn’t encapsulate the specialisation of each role. On top of that, the title is a bit self-righteous and pompous, as every person in an agency, from the receptionist to account service, is creative and should have a creative approach to their work. It infuriates me when people say they’re not creative. We all are.

As a copywriter, you can get by in agencies just by being able to spell and use correct grammar, but where does that get you? Not very far. The meat is in pulling the strings. When I was a freshie, I was told that creative directors were looking for was the spark; being able to spot good ideas, and having the drive to see them through. The craft of shaping words and art came with experience.

After working in the industry for five years, I feel I’ve picked up a level of craft with my writing, (although you may disagree while reading this), and am not ready to let go of the copywriter title and just be labelled creative. And you can’t call yourself a creative/copywriter, it goes against the advertising rulebook, clarity. Others have tried to come up with new wankier names like wordsmith, persuasion engineer, word wrangler, word director, and I’ve even heard word painter. When I type copywriter into a thesaurus, no results are found. Go figure. Maybe just professional dick will suffice.

Where I’ve landed after many sleepless mornings is the title 'writer'. Being a writer is aspirational and implies creativity within the nature of the term. You can’t write something without having an idea. Some writers outside the bounds of advertising may take offense to this, and fair enough, does it ruin the integrity of the name? Eh, whatever. Build a bridge. As I’m writing this, it makes sense, in a week’s time, it probably won’t. At least it’s clear, and people get it. When you tell your nan, she’ll think you're George Orwell or James Joyce.

If you have any suggestions, arguments, or slander, let’s shoot the breeze.

Lee Spencer @The_Fluffer