Tell Me Why This Is Bound To Fail...

[Jerloma]

So, I'm always amazed by how much advertising I'm exposed to that's complete crap. It's primitive or it's patronizing or it's not funny as intended or it just lacks anything that might resemble creativity (e.g. Without Griggs & Brown, The Whole Town Would Fall Down). As a result, I'm always trying to come up with something better and I think in many cases, I do. The problem of course is that I'm a Quality Control Analyst and not a Copywriter. My idea is essentially worthless. So it occurred to me that there being 7 billion on the planet, I'm probably not even close to the only person that does this.

Now whether it be a small business or a huge corporation, there's just loads of money being spent on the creative process for promoting a company, mostly via some form of advertising. Some places have in-house agencies and other hire out-house agencies for which they pay ridiculous hourly rates or they just pay for a project. Now, the thing with the creative process is that there are an extremely large majority of ideas that these people/teams come up with are simply useless. They're just by-products of brainstorming. The problem is that when you hire an agency, all of this stuff that get's left on the cutting room floor (for lack of a better phrase), you're still paying for. Every second wasted in the creative process is just an inefficient cost to the client.

So my idea is to make "ideas" a free-market product so to speak. What if there were a website where a company could go to solicit ideas from unlimited resources at no extra cost to them? Let's say some new sneaker company needs an idea for brand recognition and to create awareness. They could simply go on here and define the project and put a price on it. Let's say $5000. Now anyone can register and come up with an idea, a campaign, a slogan...whatever it may be and submit it to them. Think about how many out of work copywriters there are. Actually, it doesn't have to be a copywriter. College kids, construction workers, hell, a brilliant idea could hit an 8 year old. So there's two huge advantages to these companies:

1. You're not paying for unused ideas, you're simply buying the one you're going to run with and saving lots of money.
2. You're not limiting the amount of brain cells that are going into this. You're multiplying them greatly at no cost.

As for the people proposing the ideas, well they have a chance to make a decent amount of money just sitting in their living room chair. Either way, it seems like there is not any risk to either party.

As for the website, I'm thinking there are two ways to make money.

1. Charge a finder's fee for the earnings on the project (say 8%).
2. People who are are serious about an idea and really want it seen can prioritize it by paying a certain fee. The more you pay to submit it, the more likely it gets read by the client.

It doesn't even have to be large companies. It could be as simple as some independent plumber willing to give someone a couple hundred bucks to design a business card.

Possible implications:

1. Legal disputes over intellectual property.
2. Sifting through 10,000 submissions, most of them being crap.

So I have no web-programming skills and limited web design skills I wouldn't even know where to begin here, but I was just hoping that you cats could provide me any feedback, positive or negative, on the vision itself.

[testuser2]

If only there was a website where you could suggest such an idea.

Culling a good idea out of the 10,000 would be the hard part. Isn't that really what you are paying for with an agency?

[howard test2]

good idea.

it is being done. it is called crowdsourcing.

[Shirley]

There are sites kind of like that for various design work. Folks can bid/offer ideas for web design and logo design. There are probably others by now. I haven't heard of one for advertising or general slogan work. It seems like a pretty good idea for small-to-medium businesses. There's no way many large companies would put themselves out there like that, but there are a lot of small companies out there who have no good way to get good advertising ideas.

[Shirley]

J Lo, if you're serious about this, you should start poking around local universities and your alma mater. Most schools these days have or are building entrepreneurial programs. You can get help from faculty on refining your plan and you can find students and young alumni who might be willing to join.

[Gunpowder]

There are sites kind of like that for various design work. Folks can bid/offer ideas for web design and logo design. There are probably others by now. I haven't heard of one for advertising or general slogan work. It seems like a pretty good idea for small-to-medium businesses. There's no way many large companies would put themselves out there like that, but there are a lot of small companies out there who have no good way to get good advertising ideas.

Yeah, we just had our Powerpoint Presentation designed on pretty much that exact website JLo described.

[Jerloma]

J Lo, if you're serious about this, you should start poking around local universities and your alma mater. Most schools these days have or are building entrepreneurial programs. You can get help from faculty on refining your plan and you can find students and young alumni who might be willing to join.

Well, I'm less serious than I was 10 minutes ago as it appears that it's already a thing.

[Shirley]

J Lo, if you're serious about this, you should start poking around local universities and your alma mater. Most schools these days have or are building entrepreneurial programs. You can get help from faculty on refining your plan and you can find students and young alumni who might be willing to join.

Well, I'm less serious than I was 10 minutes ago as it appears that it's already a thing.

A good rule of thumb is that if it's not already a thing, it's most likely a bad idea.

[Gunpowder]

I had an idea but found out it was already a thing. Fuckin' things. Not like I would have been able to implement it.

[Test Ride the Sybian]

One thing, ads are essentially supposed to be creating the identity of a brand. If it was common knowledge that the brand identity was essentially crowd sourced from a website were any shmo could submit a generic idea and sell it for $5,000, it would ruin the illusion. Sure, we all know that Nike pays an ad agency to formulate an ad campaign for them, but at least it is a team of high paid professionals tailoring it the company.

Plus, I'm sure the some Schmo would steal the idea from his friend, post it on the site, then when the commercial was made, the originator of the idea will come out and sue.

[Jerloma]

J Lo, if you're serious about this, you should start poking around local universities and your alma mater. Most schools these days have or are building entrepreneurial programs. You can get help from faculty on refining your plan and you can find students and young alumni who might be willing to join.

Well, I'm less serious than I was 10 minutes ago as it appears that it's already a thing.

A good rule of thumb is that if it's not already a thing, it's most likely a bad idea.

So you're telling me that as a society, we're just out of new things?

[Shirley]

So you're telling me that as a society, we're just out of new things?

Not at all, but the free market is very efficient. If nobody is doing something, 99% of the time, it's because there isn't a market for it. Very few successful companies or products were the first into their market.

[wlu_lax6]

Bull Durham the Movie
No, the Musical
It was the Part I was meant to play

http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/b ... a-musical/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rass]

Best, Most Original Idea Man’s Ever Had Returns 114,000 Google Search Results

[P.D.X.]

Now, the thing with the creative process is that there are an extremely large majority of ideas that these people/teams come up with are simply useless. They're just by-products of brainstorming. The problem is that when you hire an agency, all of this stuff that get's left on the cutting room floor (for lack of a better phrase), you're still paying for. Every second wasted in the creative process is just an inefficient cost to the client.

Where do you get this from? What you've seen on Mad Men?

[rass]

So I just heard this song on the radio and tell me this isn’t a million+ views idea:

An epic slowed down version of We Didn’t Start the Fire performed by a bunch of celebs like the Imagine thing. It can nominally be to raise money for Ukraine or whatever but I just want to prove I’m right.

[rass]

And Billy is going to be open to adapting and modernizing the lyrics, I’m sure of it.

[pruitt2]

I would send money to the Ukraine if it would stop this from happening.

[sancarlos]

And Billy is going to be open to adapting and modernizing the lyrics, I’m sure of it.

I would really hope they would modernize the lyrics.

[mister d]

Matching whatever Pruitt is putting up.

[tennbengal]

I would send money to the Ukraine if it would stop this from happening.

In for this.

[Ryan]

Well we’re living here in Mariupol

[degenerasian]

The number of Youtube channels doing all sorts of things is pretty crazy. Only need 1,000 subscribers to start monetizing.

What if I made a channel of "Dad Raising Twins". Of course I'm just spitballing here. In reality, once the twins come out I'll be in zombie mode, won't even have time to breathe let alone filming and editing.

[The Sybian]

The number of Youtube channels doing all sorts of things is pretty crazy. Only need 1,000 subscribers to start monetizing.

What if I made a channel of "Dad Raising Twins". Of course I'm just spitballing here. In reality, once the twins come out I'll be in zombie mode, won't even have time to breathe let alone filming and editing.

JLo and Sancarlos are retired, maybe one of them will move in and film for you.

[degenerasian]

The number of Youtube channels doing all sorts of things is pretty crazy. Only need 1,000 subscribers to start monetizing.

What if I made a channel of "Dad Raising Twins". Of course I'm just spitballing here. In reality, once the twins come out I'll be in zombie mode, won't even have time to breathe let alone filming and editing.

JLo and Sancarlos are retired, maybe one of them will move in and film for you.

They can babysit and pass on their fandom!

[sancarlos]

I’m a dual citizen, so I’m probably in.

[tennbengal]

Well we’re living here in Mariupol

oh no