Agency Unveils New Internal Process That Somehow Involves a Pringles Can and a Maroon Bean Bag
In a brave move toward creative efficiency, boutique agency Elk & Marble has introduced a proprietary brainstorming process known internally as "The Cylinder Method." The system, which has been under quiet development since the agency's suspiciously quiet Q3 of 2025, centres around a single, aggressively empty Pringles can and a maroon bean bag chair that no one is allowed to sit on, but everyone must acknowledge.
According to Head of Strategy Sonya Gramley, the method encourages "non-linear ideation by creating a shared spatial disrespect." Reportedly, creatives take turns whispering one-word campaign concepts into the open Pringles can, which is then ceremonially sealed with the original plastic lid (now cracked, ironically, during a failed campaign pitch for a glue brand). The can remains unopened until a junior account manager forgets where it’s been put.
"It forces us to confront the futility of time," said Gramley, while dragging a whiteboard across the open-plan floor for no apparent reason. “Also, the bean bag chair represents digital transformation. No one really understands it, but we’re terrified of breaking it.”
The system has yet to yield a successful campaign, but staff have reported a 16% increase in Slack reaction gifs, and a dramatic decrease in people using the oven in the shared kitchen. Elk & Marble is already in talks to license the Cylinder Method to tertiary advertising schools, provided they can supply their own snack packaging and at least one emotionally ambiguous seating option.
According to Head of Strategy Sonya Gramley, the method encourages "non-linear ideation by creating a shared spatial disrespect." Reportedly, creatives take turns whispering one-word campaign concepts into the open Pringles can, which is then ceremonially sealed with the original plastic lid (now cracked, ironically, during a failed campaign pitch for a glue brand). The can remains unopened until a junior account manager forgets where it’s been put.
"It forces us to confront the futility of time," said Gramley, while dragging a whiteboard across the open-plan floor for no apparent reason. “Also, the bean bag chair represents digital transformation. No one really understands it, but we’re terrified of breaking it.”
The system has yet to yield a successful campaign, but staff have reported a 16% increase in Slack reaction gifs, and a dramatic decrease in people using the oven in the shared kitchen. Elk & Marble is already in talks to license the Cylinder Method to tertiary advertising schools, provided they can supply their own snack packaging and at least one emotionally ambiguous seating option.