If by Rudyard Kipling (feat. Adman)

There’s been plenty written about remix/recombinant culture (Faris Yakob, Eduardo Navas and Lawrence Lessig) and the majority of examples seem to originate in either music (e.g. Diplo), video (e.g. George Bush Speech by Chris Morris) or apps (e.g. Google Maps mash-ups).

What about poetry?

I’ve decided to give it a shot with one of the most famous poems ever written and adding an ‘adland’ slant (sounds horrible, I know). 

But with tongue firmly in cheek, here goes nothing:

“If” by Rudyard Kipling (feat. Adman)

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can defend work when clients doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can graft and not be tired by grafting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being slated, don’t give way to slating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

 

If you can dream – and yes, make dreams your master;

If you can think – and yes, make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Gold, Silver and Bronze

And treat those three impostors just the same;

If you can bear to see the idea you’ve worked on

Re-hashed to fit someone else’s rules,

Or watch the slides you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ‘em up with branding tools:

 

If you can make one heap of all your billings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never tell Campaign about your loss;

If you can force your brain and hand and sinew

To write a brief when no words want to fit,

And so hold on when there is nothing for you

Except a Post-It which reads: ‘Just Do It!’

 

If you can party hard and keep your virtue, 

‘ Or walk with Clients – nor lose the common touch, 

if neither big thoughts nor big thinking scare you,

if you’re diplomatic but not too much;

if you can use the pre-pitch minute

to check the work includes that last amend

Yours is the Agency and all that’s in it,

And – what’s more – you’ll be an Adman, my friend!

 

Phew.

Here’s the original if you want a comparison.