Dionne Warwick: The Self Appointed CD of Hip Hop.
John Hegarty believes that the best creative departments are like musicians: unruly, rebellious, egocentric, insecure and fractious but most importantly capable of genius.
That those within them are unmanageable, and the best to hope for is keeping things shy of mayhem. That even though the department may be chaotic the Creative Director mustn't be.
The Creative Director must be able to occupy two worlds, they must straddle the world of the mad and feckless whilst also occupying the sensible, concerned world of corporate.
Navigating these two extremes is the key to making things work. Being able to speak the language of the creators whilst simultaneously supporting and coaching them to success without careering off road and into a creative fireball is the mark of a great creative director.
This tightrope act is perfectly illustrated by the ultimate creative director power move, not from the advertising world, but from the heart of 90s Hip Hop.
In the 1990's Dionne Warwick, the six time Grammy winning music legend called a creative review with the most notorious creative department in Los Angeles, a gang of rappers.
Warwick summoned the likes of Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, Tupac Shakur and many more to be at her home no later than 7am.
According to Snoop the rappers were all there by 6:52am.
Eight minutes later, Dionne, unimpressed with their misogynistic lyrics, asked them to read their words aloud to her and call her a "bitch" to her face.
No one dared.
“We were the most gangsta as you could be, but that day at Dionne Warwick’s house, we got well and truly out-gangstered." - Snoop Dogg.
Warwick didn’t just chastise them; she reasoned with them. She painted future scenarios with daughters of their own, asking if they’d still think this language was cool.
Snoop credits this creative direction with inspiring a shift in his music, vowing to produce tracks filled with joy and life.
Dionne Warwick, the self-appointed Creative Director of Hip Hop, managed the wildest, most rebellious crew and nudged them towards brilliance. As she put it, she was "giving them a spanking, but only because she cared."
As you navigate the chaos of your own creative department, Be More Dionne. Speak their language and support their journey towards success. In doing so, you'll not only manage the mayhem but harness it, driving your team to heights of creative excellence. Though the jury is still out on the 7am meetings.