Avengers: Endgame and Being Open to Creative Input (Um ... Spoilers?)

Being Open to Creative Ideas from Everyone Involved

As Avengers: Endgame continues to decimate box office records and tries to unseat Avatar as the top grossing film ever, article after article is popping up to tell us about what it took to make the film, how well received it has been with both fans and critics, and what the actors themselves think about the experience of creating the film. But of all the articles that have been pushed in front of the collective eyes of UpperNinety, there was a series of articles that spelled out something that really resonated with the crew here. And don’t worry, this isn’t a review — This is a piece about the creative process listening to those around us. These article focus on how an iconic line from a 2008 film was recycled for an impactful moment more than a decade later.

BEWARE, SPOILERS TO FOLLOW.

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Okay, so the Earth is a finger snap away from being obliterated a second time. Thanos states “I am inevitable,” just before snapping his fingers, then … nothing happens. Just a tinny noise of metal upon metal. It turns out, Iron Man has used a little sleight of hand to steal the Infinity Stones away from Thanos and use them himself. Right before Iron Man snaps his fingers to rid the universe of Thanos and his genocidal ideology, he quips, “I am Iron Man.” Boom. A well-placed line that perfectly ties in the very first Iron Man to his final film. This line was what closed out the original Iron Man, and it’s now what closes out Iron Man’s redemptive arc.

So What Does This Have to do with UpperNinety, or Advertising in General?
As it turns out, this line wasn’t scripted. And it didn’t come about from anyone working on set. The idea for it came from the film’s editor, Jeff Ford. Originally, Iron Man didn’t say anything, and apparently the scene just wasn’t work as hard as it can. After trying multitudes of lines and nothing really working, Ford suggested tying it back to the line that closed out the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first film (a staggering 22 films ago). And that’s what we at UpperNinety find so interesting.

The line is perfect for the moment, and it didn’t come from any of the actors, directors or writers. Instead, it came about because the folks who were busy crafting this behemoth of a film didn’t let their egos get in the way of a great idea. Too often in advertising, creatives are quick to dismiss ideas that aren’t their own. Subconsciously, they feel like they’re losing ownership of their work when an outside idea infiltrates their creation. But this shouldn’t be the case. Take our founder’s first television commercial, for example (who shares this with the caveat that he was super green at the time and has loads of ideas on how it could have been better):

That bit at the end, about the tooth fairy? That was not his idea. RT had everything in place except for the right way to go out. While discussing it with his art director and creative director, a client consultant who was in the room threw out the idea. And … it was perfect. The ideal button to close things out. RT realized that even though the idea wasn’t his, the suggestion was spot on, and chose to not ignore it.

Sometimes, the Best Idea is to Listen to Others’ Ideas
At UpperNinety, we listen — not just to ourselves, but to our clients and their consultants. We understand that just because the idea wasn’t yours, it doesn’t mean the execution isn’t yours. We’ve seen it many times at agencies across the US where a client has an idea, and it is immediately discounted because it didn’t come from an agency creative.

One of our favorite campaign lines we’ve done is for Y’all Sauces Holiday Promotion. But the line, “Happy Y’allidays” isn’t our own creation. The client called and suggested it. We put together other options that we were proud of, but nothing could be the simple fun of the client’s idea. So we ran with it, and the results were fantastic. Do we have ownership over the work? Absolutely. We still brought a simple line to life with design, art direction, and social copy that drove results.

We keep our ears open for the right idea. If you have an idea that isn’t working, we’ll tell you why. But if you have the right idea already, we’ll cop to that and find the perfect way to execute it. Collaboration doesn’t start and stop inside our walls — if an idea is good, it deserves consideration. Obviously, we’re confident in everything we create, but we know a good idea when we hear one.