It is important not to take yourself too seriously, says Fredrik Carlstrom.

Question: What Skills are needed to Succeed in Advertising?

Fredrik Carlstrom: I think-- you know, advertising people get a lot of crap, and I think a lot of them deserve it. But advertising and design people, are also some of the most well-rounded people I’ve ever met. You know, usually they’re very funny. They don’t take themselves too serious. They know that advertising is not important at the end of the day. You try to make something that doesn’t intrude too much, and sell a product, or make people think. But I think that the really good-- I mean, I think this goes for everything. Like it doesn’t matter what you do. You know, humbleness. The idea of like going-- a good designer or a good architect, or a good copywriter, you go to a bar, or you go on down the street, and they kind of listen and wonder. I have a good friend of mine who’s a designer. He always touches things, and he always tries to-- he always wonders why, and why did that bar-- why is it placed over there? It would be better if it was over there, and then you’d have-- you know, it’s that kind of process of thinking about fellow people, I suppose. And I think that a good copywriter needs to be someone who listens.

Recorded on: 6/12/08