A meeting.

A friend from afar writes:

We just got off the blower with a client. Our big assignment for 2013 is to do a raft of about ten commercials, come up with a new campaign line, a new website, a host of banner ads and more.

"We want ten commercials, the client said. One for each of the products in our product line, two dealer spots and two brand spots."

That seemed clear to me. My client sells plastic wrap and they're in intensely competitive marketplace.

Then our ECD piped in.

"I know you want ten commercials," he conceded. "But they shouldn't look like commercials."

"Of course not," stammered the client.

The ECD galloped ahead. "And the tagline. Well, it shouldn't sound like a tagline. It should capture the emotion of what we do as opposed to saying what we do.

"The same goes with the website. It can't look like a website."

"Naturally," said the client.

My ECD continued: "I mean it will have navigation and scrolling and deep information. But it can't look and feel like a site. And the banners too. Make them feel native.

"We're not looking for a big idea, either. Big ideas get in the way of making things. Let's look for a way to make something that's important to the consumer."

The client was nodding.

And I left the room wondering what any of this had to do with plastic wrap.