The passion of innocence vs. the authority of experience

We are constantly learning new things. As humans we thrive on building a huge bank of knowledge. As we get older, the more we practice something, the better at it we get. We look up to our elders and learn from our parents and see experience as aspirational. But just as experience brings with it rewards of knowledge, the innocence of youth brings imagination wrapped up in the inquisitiveness of the quest to learn. So, in an industry of ideas and creativity - should we be driven by the passion of innocence or the authority of experience?

Experience is a fantastic thing. And there have been some brilliant leaders in this industry, who with age, have matured into advertising royalty, for example, Stanley Pollitt's pioneering the account planning discipline and Bill Bernbach bringing together art directors and copywriters to name but a few. They have moulded and shaped the industry that we work in today and without them, the landscape would be decidedly different.

According to the IPA, advertising is a young person's game, with 80 per cent of the 14,000 people working in the industry being under 40. But we must remember that our business is ideas. Creating. Innovating. Disrupting - whatever you choose to call it. And ideas, opinion and great thinking can come from anywhere and anyone. Young people are capable of great things - Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Alex Tew (Million Dollar Homepage) are excellent examples of how fresh passion and a lack of worldly experience should never prove a hindrance to having a great idea. Yet it is also the case that experience can prove equally as iconic. Bill Bernbach wrote 'We Try Harder' for Avis in his virtual twilight years by today's standards (in 1962 - aged 51). This campaign has proved to be one of the best pieces of brand planning of all time, a campaign which set Avis up as the quintessential challenger brand - a campaign which is at the heart and soul of Avis to this very day.

Merry Baskin, founder of strategic consultancy Baskin Shark has suggested that junior planners 'are more of a liability than an asset'. Speaking from a research perspective, Merry may be right in suggesting that experience is paramount to craft and hone these specific experiential skill sets. We only learn that fire burns by burning ourselves, like we only learn how to devise great survey methodologies by doing them. But from a creative perspective, a much more intuitive ball game, it doesn't necessarily follow that you need experience in having great ideas to go on to have great ideas.

Ken Robinson's book The Element starts with a wonderful story of a schoolgirl drawing a picture of god. When the teacher suggested that no one knows what god looks like, the girl replied 'They will in a minute'. From a creative perspective, this innocent spirit of imagination is blinding and we should cherish the strength and conviction young people can have in their thinking. Whether right or wrong, it's the bold strength of the idea that should be applauded.

Winston Churchill was elected prime minister twice during his lifetime, the second in 1951 following his wartime premiership, where he proved himself to be a confident, supportive orator and celebrated leader amongst the British population, during a time of great global upheaval. A younger, less experienced politician, might not have been given this opportunity. Yet, Tony Blair was the youngest prime minister since Lord Liverpool (1812). In 1997, the nation was craving a fresh approach to politics. Tony Blair packaged a new political outlook and delivered it with youthful enthusiasm. An older, more experienced politician might not have had the same impact.

Maybe the key to the dilemma of innocence vs. experience is to see them as complementary, not mutually exclusive. After all, experienced people can display passion and imagination, just as much as young people can display wisdom beyond their years. Advertising royalty is something to aim at, through the passion, enthusiasm and openness of creativity - which can be displayed throughout our lifetime, not just when we're young - as Bill Bernbach proved for Avis. If young graduates and senior directors share the same passions, they can be amongst the same sounding board - ultimately, innocence and experience can and should co-exist.