The day before tomorrow

I hadn’t had my first cup of coffee yet, so it took me a moment to process the question. “That’s today,” I said. And then it hit me. I smiled. “Lucy, you just invented a whole new way to say the word ‘today.’” “Oh,” she said, matter-of-factly. Then she went back to watching Elmo and thought nothing more about it.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about it. As a copywriter, I appreciate it when someone finds a fresh new way to say something familiar—even if they’re only six and didn’t intend to. “The day before tomorrow” is so much more thought-provoking than “today.” Today is here right now, a deadline that you’ve either met or missed. The day before tomorrow feels like today hasn’t arrived yet. It offers hope: you still have time to start exercising, get that novel rolling or accomplish something great at work.

Later that morning, as I sat in front of my computer writing copy for a healthcare organization, I suddenly thought about my daughter. In her innocent way, she reminded me of something important about creative thinking: the need to simplify your mind and look at things differently. I had just written the word “optimal” for the billionth time. It was a lazy, reflexive, unimaginative choice of words. How could I look at it with new eyes and come up with something more inspiring?

By opening your mind and looking at things upside down, sideways and inside out, you can bring optimal—make that “perception-altering”—creativity to every aspect of marketing and communications. Finding creative inspiration is on every marketer’s to-do list, so here are some convention-shattering campaigns to get you inspired. Remember, it’s not too late to start rattling the status quo. After all, it’s only the day before tomorrow.