---
title: The fastest way to kill an idea
description: Tom Fishburne on BetterIdeas Project, why creative reviews are broken and why a lot of creative work go off the rails
---

[BetterBriefs Library - A curated selection of content on brief writing and idea assessment.](https://www.betterbriefs.com/library)

# [The fastest way to kill an idea](https://www.betterbriefs.com/library/the-fastest-way-to-kill-an-idea)

 Written by [Matt Davies](https://www.betterbriefs.com/library/author/matt-davies) | Mar 14, 2025 1:45:42 AM

The fastest way to kill an idea is to add another one.

Strong ideas aren’t rejected outright.

They’re killed by a thousand cuts.

Watered down, overcomplicated, and revised to death.

Our friend [Tom Fishburne](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomfishburne/) visualises this perfectly in this cartoon, inspired by The BetterIdeas Project, our latest report.   
[Our findings](https://www.betterbriefs.com/asssesing-creative-ideas-global-report) prove how this happens. 

Too often, one change leads to another, then another, until a sharp, distinctive idea becomes a bland, forgettable compromise.

If you’ve ever watched a great idea slowly disappear under layers of feedback, you know what we’re talking about.

Let’s fix this! Start with a good conversation with your team, agency, brand.

Please note that this cartoon is the work of [Tom Fishburne](https://marketoonist.com/) and is copyrighted. To use or share it, please purchase a license from his website as we did.

 

Matt Davies is the co-founder of BetterBriefs, an advisory and training business that helps marketers write better briefs and deliver more impactful ideas. A highly awarded former agency strategist, having worked at Clemenger BBDO, Design Bridge, Arnold Worldwide, AJF Partnership, as well as running his own agency. 

Together with co-founder Pieter-Paul von Weiler, he wrote the [BetterBriefs Project](https://www.betterbriefs.com/research) and [The Best Way for a Client to Brief an Agency](https://www.betterbriefs.com/resources), a practical guide for marketers to improve the quality of briefs, co-authored by Mark Ritson and published in partnership with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). Matt (together with Pieter-Paul) also led the [BetterIdeas Project](https://www.betterbriefs.com/the-betterideas-project), a global study exposing the poor state of the creative evaluation process. The study aims to improve the creative decision-making and evaluation practices and was launched in partnership with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the IPA. 

[View full post](https://www.betterbriefs.com/library/the-fastest-way-to-kill-an-idea)

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