From the Classroom
to the Pitch

Now that the Six Nations hangover is kicking in, I thought I’d tell you a bit about being a creative copywriter…in rugby terms.

As a rugby player myself, I’m very acquainted with ‘high risk, high reward.’ From playing 7s in the Dubai sun to slogging 15s out in Scottish slosh, I’ve experienced my fair share of physical and emotional exertion. But boy does winning feel good.

Turns out, rugby and agency life have a lot in common: the high pressure, quick thinking, team wins and bouncing back from setbacks – to name a few.

So here are some agency tricks I’ve picked up along the way:

Back yourself

When full-time was called on my Creative Advertising Masters at Edinburgh Napier University, I was ready to kick off a new challenge. But with Edinburgh’s current job climate, I worried I wouldn’t stand out in a crowd of agency-thirsty graduates.

So, I got creative and disguised my CV on a Baxter’s can of soup. I wrote a poem too, likening myself to a green banana – not yet ripe but full of potential (cheesy, I know). But now I’m one of the ‘guys’, tackling briefs and learning to convert ideas into winning campaigns.

Imposter syndrome might creep in but remember, you’re in the team for a reason.

Get your ideas out early

Like a pre-match warm-up, creativity flows best when you loosen up. Bad ideas (and passes) need out to make more room for the good ones.

At university I had months to work on projects, but in agency the pace is miles faster. I’ve learned that creativity, like rugby, isn’t about holding back. It’s about throwing yourself in head-first (legally), making quick decisions and finding the best way to break through the defensive line of an un-figure-out-able challenge.

I quickly realised that good copywriting isn’t about waiting for the perfect idea to fall from the sky fully formed. It’s about hoofing it down the pitch, knowing that some ideas will successfully bounce into touch, but only after writing headline after headline, followed by pages and pages of nonsense.

Trust your teammates

Rugby and advertising share a core principle: no one wins alone. A great campaign, like a great try, is the result of teamwork. At university I often worked solo or with a creative partner, adopting various roles, which was quite overwhelming at times. But at Guy & Co, I’ve learned to trust my teammates – designers, planners and account managers – all working together to carry the campaign over the try line.

Ask them for help, they’re there to learn from.

Play what’s in front of you

Not every brief will be a dream project, but adaptability is key.

Every copywriter wants to nail the perfect line; the one that gets the conversion, and the audience cheering. Copywriter Malcolm Gluck once said, “The biggest problem to overcome with writing advertising copy is keeping it natural, fresh, and seemingly effortlessly arrived-at.”

I’ve wrestled with this often: how do I make copy sound ‘natural’ when a deadline is chasing me down? How do I keep my words ‘fresh’ and engaging every single time? The reality is, not every piece of copy will be a match-winner. And like Finn Russell stepping up for that crucial conversion against England, a copywriter doesn’t always hit the mark on the first attempt (or the third). But when the creative team works together, giving each other valuable feedback and support, you can’t miss.

Take the hits and go again

Agency life moves fast, campaigns come and go as quickly as a winger chasing a loose ball, and sometimes, feedback can feel like a high tackle. But in the same way a rugby team regroups after a tough game – we go again, refining, reworking and making each campaign better than the last.

So, to all the junior creatives making the leap from university to agency life: embrace the pressure, back yourself and give it everything you’ve got. It’s fast, it’s tough, but most of all, it’s incredibly rewarding being part of the team.