I had this dream the other night that Sir Richard Branson (@richardbranson) DM'd me to invite me to contact him off line. I did. He asked whether I'd be interested in participating in a bit of crowdsourcing. It seemed that Virgin America was prepared to launch a new North American advertising campaign and were in the process of querying various concept artists to find the best 'big idea.'
"We've been following you a while now Jim, and we really just want your best idea," Sir Richard said with that smiling voice of his (btw – he really does follow me on Twitter, so this part isn't so crazy.)
"How many others are participating?" I asked.
"Ten, total. Some of the brightest minds in your industry."
"People like me?" I asked, sarcastically.
"Yes. Should we select your concept, we will pay you 5 million dollars, and then hire the best people in the world to produce and deploy the idea. Of course you'll be involved throughout to ensure the concept is communicated as effectively as possible, but you'll have full creative control. Deal?"
I rarely talk with people in my dreams, much less with the world's most renowned industrialist. But I played along, "Absolutely!" Then I figured I may as well ask, "Do I get paid for the project even if you don't select my concept?"
"Yes, you will receive ten thousand dollars US as compensation for your efforts." He said.
(screeching brakes sound) Ok, I made this last part up. Everyone knows that crowdsourcing doesn't work that way, but it's my dream sequence, so I'm running with it.
Then, just as I was about to tell my wife the good news that I'd be competing for the opportunity to develop the next North American ad campaign for Virgin America – an Australian Shepherd planted her elbow in my abdomen and my daughters bounced into bed and turned me into a daddy sandwich.
One can dream.
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Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications You can find him on Twitter @jmitchem