Hand me a ball-point pen and I’ve got nothing.

I suspect most ad creatives are like me when it comes to developing ideas: it’s got to be the right kind of notepad, the right kind of background noise, and most importantly the right kind of pen. I used to work with a creative director who would only use those extendable yellow pencils – despite the fact that his meaty paws would cause the leads to snap with every other word. Scribble – snap –scribble – snap. He hoarded them the way a neurotic squirrel hoards nuts, every available desk drawer filled to overflowing.

The worst part is, I get it. A combination of backwoods superstition and probable OCD meant that for years I couldn’t touch pen to paper unless it was one of those Pilot Fine Liners. No Fine Liner, no idea. They dried up almost as soon as you opened them and tended to leak into your pants before meetings, but hey, I was hooked. I went through boxes of the things the way other people go through chewing gum.

But, times change and 2009 has been a momentous year. I turned 35, for one thing, and it seemed like a good time to take stock and make a few changes. Enter the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point.

Maybe I’m projecting, but those things are like little idea sticks. Instead of ink they fill them up with creative juice. They write on anything, they’re permanent and they last longer than the Energizer Bunny. They’re amazing.

So you can keep your Montblancs, your Conway Steward rollerballs and your New York Fifth Avenue fountain pens. If you really need an idea, the best pen of 2009 is the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point. And no, I won’t lend you mine.

Dan Wieden once said that the secret to insightful advertising was to show up to work stupid – which is a great way of saying that every day is an opportunity to learn something new, a motto to which Tyson has consistently stayed true. In the course of his career as an art director, Tyson has been stupid at agencies on the East Coast, in Toronto and in Germany, including a 4-year stint running his own creative boutique, Kilo Creative. He has won awards for his work from Marketing, London International, Applied Arts, Ice Awards, the Extras, and Letterman’s Top Ten (shouldn’t there be an award for that?). Tyson has worked for clients such as Moosehead, Labatt, Atlantic Lottery, Nova Scotia Tourism, Bell Aliant, McDonald’s, Telus, Capital One – and many others. Tyson hopes one day to actually be smart.