Pickles on Tacos

A creative director that will remain unnamed, recently died on a mountain from pickles. As tragic as this may sound, it happens a lot.

We had a job going through the shop that required some client revisions. One of these revisions was to retouch a photo that had become outdated since that last time it was used due to construction. Rather than reshoot the image to bring it up to date, the client requested that we Photoshop it. (a term that I loathe—but that’s another post.) The CD actually performed the retouch and routed it for approval.

Production intercepted the file and determined that it needed some additional work. (Inflate ego here.) CD says that they are being overcritical and that it was fine, and that nothing else would be done to it. Production says no, when it prints, its going to look like ass. CD says… well, you get the picture.

Ultimately, it winds up in front of the owner of the agency. He agrees with production and the CD holds her ground. CD gets fired. (This wasn’t her first climb on the mountain)

First of all, it never should have gotten to this mountain top. Second, when the owner of the taco stand says to put pickles on the tacos, you should put pickles on the tacos. Be weary of the mountains you choose to die on.

I’m not talking about sacrificing your integrity here. I’m talking about pickles. Things that matter about as much as hair in the shower drain. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Not just with creative directors. Production managers that think a forced return would look better in that paragraph at press check. AEs that think an extra $500 is too much to spend on a $12,000 ad. Writers that hate extra commas. The list goes on.

The bottom line—If you don’t like pickles, open your own taco stand.