OK, so maybe Advertising Week isn’t huge in Halifax yet, however we are considered one of the six creative hubs in Canada that celebrates it. One of the events held in Halifax was Monday night’s screening of Art & Copy, a film about advertising and inspiration by Doug Pray.

The film revealed the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time. Interviewing people like Lee Clow of TBWA\Chiat\Day, the man behind the Apple ads, with his landmark commercial “1984″ the first advertisement that introduced a product without showing it… it aired only once during the Superbowl that year.

The film was a flashback to my childhood, continuously thinking “Hey, I remember these!” One example is the “Just do it” campaign created by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy of Wieden + Kennedy and the “Got Milk” campaign created by Rich Silverstein and Jeff Goodby of Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. If only I knew back then that I was watching history in the making… but I was to worried about what time Full House was starting.

My favourite part had to be the Fail Harder push pin wall at Weiden + Kennedy Portland, made with more than 100,000 clear push pins. The wall was inspired by a true story from the legendary Jelly Helm, 12’s creative director: When Helm was promoted to co-creative director of W+K’s Amsterdam office in 1996, Dan Wieden’s only directive was, “You’re only good to me after you’ve made three tremendous mistakes.” Hence, their advice to every creative: Fail Harder. I have to say I’m truly inspired by this quote. Don’t be afraid of failure — learn from it.

Crystal Oicle loves every aspect of design. While she has worked more than five years as a graphic designer, her passion for illustration, screen printing, art and creativity shows through in her award-winning work. She has been recognized in Applied Arts magazine, and had a logo featured in the international design book Los Logos 4. Crystal won Best of Show Gold for Moosehead International cans, and has received multiple Ice Awards. Some of her clients have included Moosehead, Not Worth It, Destination Halifax, NSLC, Canada Post, Communications Nova Scotia, The Vault Jewelry, Saint Mary's University, Filion Wakely and NSHP.