ArtClass’s Oren Kaplan on the Inspiration of Domestic Distractions

ArtClass Content director Oren Kaplan speaks with shots on work/life balance, and the inspirations that come with life’s everyday distractions.

One of the things creative people are taught when starting out is to ‘write what you know.’

But, for those of us working in the world of advertising, it’s tough knowing much about Popeyes’ new chicken-wing flavour, or Bank of America’s new cash-back card. So, we’ve gotta make stuff up, get inspired, find a new angle on an old thing.

And, since we’re almost always competing for jobs, the stakes are high. Common knowledge tells us that the best idea wins, so we better come up with something undeniable… by EOD Thursday!

It took me a while to discover that finding inspiration doesn’t have to be painful. Earlier in my career I tried getting into a pitching mindset by cutting out all distractions, which can be difficult when you’ve got the rest of your life to contend with – family, friends and that dentist appointment you still need to reschedule. But, after many years, I realised that, as Ken of Barbie fame so eloquently articulated, “I am enough.” All the elements of my life I considered a distraction from work — packing lunches for kids, going to gymnastics practice, taking my dog to the vet — could actually be transformed into inspiration.