If you're unfamiliar with a creative brainstorming session, it can be exciting, tense, loose, intimidating, funny and insane. Big ideas come from anywhere, they say; but we've found they often come from insightful strategy, open minds, empty Diet Cokes and almonds.

My mom thinks I only write magazine ads. (More specifically, she thinks I write great magazine ads, but she's my mom.) I think she'd be surprised to know that 95% of my day involves work other than magazine ads. But my mom brings up a great point, as always.