Covid: A Case of Creativity

In the spring of 2020, as countries around the world went into lockdown, we all had to change the way we lived our lives. That first lockdown can now seem like a distant memory, but the way we went about our lives was fundamentally changed.  The barriers and road blocks were appearing in every direction in all walks of our lives. But wrapped up in amongst the challenging circumstances was a catalyst for creativity and innovation, we just had to see beyond the limitations. Easier said than done!

Often when presented with a huge change (a global pandemic for example), our initial reaction is one of ‘no can do’… If we can’t do something the way we do usually, we stop doing it all together. This is quite a natural reaction; change is hard in any circumstance. But when it affects the very fabric of your life or work it can sometimes be challenging to see beyond the barriers forming in front of you. I can certainly empathise with that feeling.

But what if we step back for a second and look at change as an opportunity, something positive? In even in the hardest of circumstances like a global pandemic, can we see the positive? Without change we can quickly become stagnant and complacent, replicating the same process and output time and time again. As a creative agency this is not the type of environment we want to curate. Change however can foster an environment of innovation and creativity and even a global pandemic can become a positive.

When we found ourselves unable to produce and create content due to Covid restrictions, our first reaction was to see a barrier to our work that could not be overcome. I don’t think we would be alone here? Many people, us included, saw this change as a complete roadblock and stopped us in our tracks. For us however this was short lived, with an open mind we saw the change in our circumstance as a catalyst to get creative and innovate. With an open mind we took a fresh look at the situation and rather than starting with what was not possible we looked at what was possible and used this a canvas to get creative.

This approach was embodied in our latest campaign ‘Endless Possibilities’. The message behind the campaign was inspired by our approach to the concept and the way in which the athletes embraced the project.

With a little creativity there are endless possibilities right on your doorstep.

When we started by looking at what we couldn’t do:

·      No travel to other countries

·      Multiple households not allowed to meet indoors or out

Very quickly the way we produce content seemed impossible. We had to work with 8 athletes in 6 countries and needed to film and photograph them with a team of people. We couldn’t do our job. 

However, when we looked at what we could do:

·      Athletes can ride their bikes locally

·      Athletes can mix within their own households or ‘bubbles’ 

·      We can send files online and product by post

Suddenly we had the parameters for a new way of working and the foundations for a creative concept. By looking at what we could do with an open mind we were able to see our circumstances as an opportunity to innovate. The alternative, starting from a position ‘no can do’, was only a limiting mindset.

Endless Possibilities put the creative in the hands of 8 global adidas Five Ten athletes. We could not travel to film with them, so we sent the athletes handheld cameras to film themselves. We could not shoot still photography, so we sent the athlete kodak stills cameras to shoot themselves.

When we stepped back and asked ourselves ‘how did we create at home as kids’ we realised, we did it ourselves with whatever we could get our hands on. This inspired every aspect of the creative from the process used to capture the content to the aesthetic we used to present the final campaign. 

Everything that was once seen has a limiting factor quickly became an enabling factor for doing things a little differently, thinking outside the box and getting creative.

So next time you find yourself stuck and not able to do something, consider for a minute what you can do and use this as your catalyst. Alternatively, give WorkWith a call and we can do it with you.