A few months ago I said that creativity was more like an old fashioned water pump than a faucet and that metaphor still holds very true. You can’t just become creative on demand, you have to practice (which is basically the whole point of this class). And like an old fashioned spigot, ill-use makes it harder to get the creative flow going again. Likewise, regular use oils the gears and makes things flow much more smoothly. I’ve been struggling with what I can only describe as rust in this metaphor. I put off and put off posts and I now have looming mass of work I have to catch up on by the deadline. It’s not a fun feeling. Procrastination only adds to the overwhelming feeling of having too much to do. So how should one who has neglected things for too long go about being creative on a regular basis again? Easy: start. The hardest part is really the easiest thing. Just starting somewhere, anywhere really, reorganizes that big scary impossible task into manageable steps. Losing weight is as easy as going to the gym that first morning because if you can do it, if you can get out of bed that first day, every day after that becomes possible. So anyway, here is me ‘working out’:
Premise: What if no one drove cars any more? How would VW convince people to?
Possiblities:
- Create/recall the emotional attachment between people and their cars. (“Your car misses you.” *sad love song* As the car stares forlornly at closed garage door.)
- Nostalgia: “remember the good old days when the journey was the best part of the trip? When free time on a long car ride meant a chance to catch up or just relax. Uninhibited because no one can fault you for not being productive while you’re driving. Time to just sit and think, listen to music, or read a book (so long as you aren’t the one driving, that is.).
- Economy. “Going somewhere in a group? Well you can carpool! This way you’ll all arrive at the same time, together!”
- Luxury. Sit back, relax, let the world wiz by at a charming 65 mph as you sip chardonnay and listen to old classics like “All About That Bass” and “Anaconda”. VW cars: the ultimate luxury throwback.
Why would you choose to drive if you didn’t need to drive? (Something else to explore: why wouldn’t you need to drive?..what if super powers were real and everyone could get places like that?)
- Privacy. Nobody there to judge you for blasting NSYNC in the privacy of your own vehicle.
- Comfort. Ditto goes for wanting to turn on the seat warmer when it’s seventy degrees outside.
- Pleasure. Maybe driving is fun for you. Or soothing. Therapeutic even.
I need to just pick one of these and go with it but none of them really speaks to me. Whatever, going with the very first idea: “Your car misses you.” Actually, I had this idea yesterday and I just saw something today when I was researching another post that totally relates.
Funny that I happened to stumble upon this after thinking of something so similar. The copy is really hard to read but it’s basically a cinderella story about the enduring value of the ‘ugly’ VW in the picture as opposed to a better loved “big beautiful chariot” that didn’t last as long. I was actually thinking more along the lines of a car missing its owner because they stopped driving for whatever reason, be it that parking was a hassle, public transit was more convenient, biking was healthier and better for the planet, whatever. I didn’t even think about the VW getting replaced by a ‘better’ car.
A forlorn song about forgotten love plays in the back ground. We see an older gentleman pull the car into the garage and get out slowly, lock the doors, and walk inside. Time goes by. We see a time lapse of the car sitting neglected, aging, gathering dust as stuff accumulates around it in the garage. Eventually someone throws a canvas car cover over it and the screen goes dark. The song winds down in blackness. Then the cover gets thrown off. The first few notes of a happy song play, we see a young man cleaning, first the garage, then the car, polishing and cleaning, checking the tires. Finally, he gets in and starts her up. She rumbles then hums and he pulls out of the driveway and into the street with a smile on his face. We see a flashback of the same street, the trees much smaller, and a small boy in the passenger’s seat peeking over the dashboard, and an older man driving and smiling down at him. Fade out.
“VW, Just as good as you remember.”
Copy Write Paste 