The secret to a successful relationship

I’ve commented on the bizarre nature of copywriter-art director relationships in the past here and here. And here.

So rather than come up with any fresh ideas, I thought I’d just rehash that old gag again.

This week we look at how to foster a healthy long-term relationship.

Most copywriter-art director relationships operate like a loveless marriage – poor communication, constantly looking for ways to undermine and humiliate the other, and a practically non-existent sex life.

There are however a few exceptions to the rule. Beautiful, loving relationships where each values and encourages the other and they both flourish in a beautiful garden of burgeoning creativity.

After a couple of painful break-ups I’ve been wondering what these couples have that we don’t? So I conducted a little research into these unnaturally amicable and productive relationships. The results were very revealing.

Almost 100% of teams surveyed chose to look at one another.


As you can see here, I always place my computer monitor in the centre of the desk, directly blocking my view of my AD. I figure that this way I’m not distracted from work. What’s more, I only have to look at the annoying top of his stupid ugly head.

But in every case of happy relationships, teams actually prefer to move their monitors to one side so they can see one another!

Take for example Jon and Rich here.


They’ve been working together since they met at Watford College back in 1938 and are as in love today as when they first met. Look at the eye contact there. It’s beautiful.

One team here at Partners even goes a step further and lunches together every Friday. Like a sweet old couple going out on date night.

I find this kind of behaviour baffling. I want to say “But what about when he does that thing when he sniffs his marker and stares into the middle distance instead of thinking of ideas? Or what about when he nods at a line you give him, then actually writes only about 80% of the words you said plus a couple of his own swapped in, all of them misspelt?”

The only logical answer is that in these functional relationships, the art director is simply not too annoying.

So, to conclude. If you want a healthy long term relationship, you have to find a not-too-annoying art director. And those, dear reader, are rarer than rocking horse doo-doo.