Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident—or at least, that's the usual story. In reality, that serendipity was deliberately sought, by allowing some slides to become freely contaminated and then rigorously analyzing the consequences.

Creativity often works this way: it has an element of unpredictability that must be accepted, but it can be governed when it occurs within a process.

We discuss this with Erik Kessels, artist, curator, and designer, creative partner at the agency KesselsKramer, who last year entered the Hall of Legends of the Italian Art Directors Club.

This episode is produced in partnership with ADCI, the Italian Art Directors Club.

Sources:

• E. Kessels, Failed It! How to turn mistakes into ideas and other advice for successfully screwing up, Phaidon 2016.

• The story of Alexander Fleming is mainly taken from K. Lalchhandama, Reappraising Fleming’s Snot and Mould, Science Vision, Volume 20, issue 1, pages 29-42, 31 March 2020.

• Fleming's life in his country home is recounted in Alexander Fleming's Country Home, https://eafa.org.uk/work/?id=1043537.

• Charlan Nemeth's experiments are described in S. Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From. The Natural History of Innovation, Riverhead 2011.

• Paul Dyson's article on multiplicative factors is Top 10 Drivers of Advertising Profitability, Admap 2014. The most updated data is in The Drivers of Profitability, Thinkbox 2023, https://www.thinkbox.tv/research/thinkbox-research/the-drivers-of-profitability.

• The analysis of System1 and Effie databases is in A. Tindall, The Creative Dividend. Advertising That Pays Back, 2026. A summary of criticisms of the book's methodological approach is in Daniel Gilbert's article, The "Most Important Advertising Thinking in 10 Years" is actually a Masterclass in How Not to do Marketing Research, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/creative-dividend-masterclass-everything-wrong-research-gilbert-bkckc/.

• The most solid data on this topic are still those from Les Binet and Peter Field, starting with The Long and the Short of It, IPA 2013.

Alexader Fleming ha scoperto per caso la penicillina – o almeno così viene solitamente raccontato. In realtà quella casualità è stato deliberatamente cercata, lasciando che alcuni vetrini si contaminassero liberamente per poi analizzare rigorosamente le conseguenze.

La creatività spesso funziona in questo modo: ha un elemento di imprevedibilità che va accettato, ma che può essere governato quando avviene all'interno di un processo.

Ne parliamo con Erik Kessels, artista, curatore e designer, creative partner dell’agenzia KesselsKramer, che l’anno scorso è entrato nella Hall of Legends dell’Art Directors Club Italiano.

Questa puntata è realizzata in partnership con l’Art Directors Club Italiano.

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Fonti:

- E. Kessels, Che sbaglio! Come trasformare i fallimenti in successi mandando tutto all'aria, Phaidon 2017.

- La vicenda di Alexander Fleming è tratta soprattutto da K. Lalchhandama, Reappraising Fleming’s snot and mould, Science Vision, Volume 20, issue 1, pages 29-42, 31 March 2020.

- La vita di Fleming nella sua casa di campagna è raccontata in Alexander Fleming's Country Home, https://eafa.org.uk/work/?id=1043537

- Gli esperimenti di Charlan Nemeth sono raccontati in S. Johnson, Dove nascono le grandi idee. Storia naturale dell'innovazione, Rizzoli 2011.

- L'articolo di Paul Dyson sui fattori moltiplicativi è Top 10 Drivers of Advertising Profitability, Admap 2014. I dati più aggiornati si trovano in The drivers of profitability, Thikbox 2023, https://www.thinkbox.tv/research/thinkbox-research/the-drivers-of-profitability

- L'analisi delle banche dati di System1 ed Effie è in A. Tindall, The Creative Dividend. Advertising That Pays Back, 2026. Un riassunto delle critiche all'approccio metodologico del libro è nell'articolo di Daniel Gilbert, The "Most Important Advertising Thinking in 10 Years" is actually a Masterclass in How Not do Marketing Research, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/creative-dividend-masterclass-everything-wrong-research-gilbert-bkckc/

- I dati più solidi su questo tema sono ancora quelli di Les Binet e Peter Field, a partire da The Long and the Short of It, IPA 2013.

Lavazza is a true Italian cultural icon. It has earned this status primarily thanks to its many product innovations and advertising: from Carosello, through the numerous popular testimonials in Italy, to the recent global campaign «Pleasure Makes Us Human».

How do you manage such an iconic brand? Especially during a phase of global expansion, with repositioning toward the premium segment?

We discuss this with Carlo Colpo, Chief Marketing Officer of the Lavazza Group.

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Sources:

- Lavazzagroup.com and fondazionelavazza.com websites

- M. Calabresi, S. McCurry, I chicchi che hanno fatto la storia, Fondazione Lavazza 2024

- G. Berta, E. Merlo, Lavazza. Una storia industriale dal 1895, Mondadori 2014