Got any ideas to spare?

Very interesting article on the AdAge website this weekend, asking whether creativity can be crowdsourced.

The answer is of course it can. But so what?

The article by Garrick Schmitt argues that new tools and technology are forcing big changes in the advertising industry.

No surprises there really. But are these changes going to lead to bigger and better ideas?

In my humble opinion no.

Not always no, but mostly no.

Why?

Because having ideas is often the easy part. It takes an agency client relationship built on trust and respect to bring a truly original idea to fruition.

So yes a creative tender of sorts may result in a collection of inspirational ideas.

But as anyone who has ever produced an award winning idea will tell you - the idea is only the beginning. Not the end.