Podcast: If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

Jun 17 2017 June 17, 2017 June 22, 2017 1 Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 34 – Caroline Pay

Caroline Pay has been one of the most successful UK creatives of the last twenty years, which obviously makes her one of the most successful female creatives of that time.

Her Mother partnership with Kim Gehrig made them the most awarded creatives in the UK.

Then BBH, her own place, W&K, Karamarama, becoming a mother, working at Mother (again), BBH (again) and now Valenstein and Fatt.

Great work, great agencies, but what runs through this chat like a stick of rock is Caroline’s burning ambition (‘I have to feed the monster!’).

You can hear all about that and…

Watford!

Working with Ben Tollett.

Kesselskramer.

Getting together with ‘hotheaded, ambitious’ Kim Gehrig.

Not happy if not winning.

Working with Alison Jackson.

Worried about being happy. Driven by being scared.

BBH.

Making your own agency up as you go along.

Wieden’s Tokyo (not much of Tokyo).

When maternity leave makes you realise you’re an ‘ambitious, career-driven show-off’.

Going back to ‘somewhere brilliant’.

But having to fly the coop back to BBH.

Shaping the work by shaping a department (it’s more complicated these days).

What was going on at BBH at that time?

And then the power-lady coupling at Valenstein and Fatt.

A responsibility to bring up the ‘female’ issue and create role models.

Grey=Mother+BBH

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link (apologies: the first 5-10 seconds of our chat got cut off by gremlins), and a shit-ton of Caroline’s best work:

https://vimeo.com/44392538

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 34 – Caroline Pay

00:00 / 1:00:39

Jun 12 2017 June 12, 2017 June 12, 2017 No Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 33 – Stef Jones

Posted in Uncategorized

Stef Jones (along with his longtime creative partner, Tom Burnay) is the founder of Big Al’s Creative Emporium.

For those of you unaware, it’s that very rare thing: a successful ad agency founded and run by a pair of creatives.

How does that work? Well, have a listen to our chat and you’ll find out. If you still have any questions, do drop Stef a line at stef@bigalscreativeemporium.com or pop into Big Al’s Creative Emporium, 1st Floor, 77 Dean Street, London, W1D 3SH.

Otherwise, press play on your listening device and hear about the following…

The choice of paths in your thirties.

‘Better, quicker and costing less’.

Lots of starts and stops.

No premises, funding, staffing etc.

200 business cards as a metaphor for personalities.

Learn from lodging in a production company.

Little detour making a TV show.

Great creatives made available because they were squeezed from the new digital depts.

Creative client contact=smoothness.

Every client has their own level of creativity.

The three commandments.

Women ‘of a certain age’.

Once you commit the stars align.

Have lunch as cheaply as you can with as many people as you can.

Planning=somebody to tell you ‘why’.

Is it a big fucking hassle?

You either get it or you don’t.

Who finishes the work?

The Last Minute hypocritical anomaly.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link (apologies to you and Stef for a slightly abrupt ending, but it’s only a few seconds missing off the end).

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 33 – Stef Jones

00:00 / 1:06:45

Jun 04 2017 June 4, 2017 June 4, 2017 No Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 32 – Brydon Gerus

Posted in Uncategorized

Four years ago my good friend Brydon Gerus created an advertising award scheme called Adcan.

Unlike literally every other award scheme in the entire industry, it seeks to combine young, hungry creative people with briefs for companies that do GOOD THINGS©. It also taps into some of the best production companies in the world for support, opportunities and judging.

From Partizan and Rattling Stick to Psyop, Nexus and The Mill, many great production partners have signed up help Adcan grow. But they’ve also been joined by companies like Anonymous Content and Vice to give young creative talent as much exposure and support as possible.

If you’re interested in taking part (it’s free!), visit their site.

We discussed…

What Adcan is and how it started.

Why Cannes was a turnoff.

How to do good in the world.

And make a name for yourself.

The morality of advertising.

Advertising as a force for ‘good’.

Change from the inside.

How Adcan went from a thought to a reality.

Managing the partners.

The more Brydon tries to give Adcan away, the stronger it comes back.

The exposure it gives filmmakers.

The vision for the future.

Good Yin balancing out a questionable Yang?

Why awards?

How did they get the word out?

‘Using Creativity As A Force For Good.’

You need a team (big up Dan, Debs, Eric etc.).

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link.

Cheers! x

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 32 – Brydon Gerus

00:00 / 1:15:13

May 27 2017 May 27, 2017 May 27, 2017 1 Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 31 – Javier Campopiano

Posted in Uncategorized

This week’s interview is with Javier Campopiano, Chief Creative Officer of Saatchi and Saatchi New York.

On the basis of his award-winning work and super-high-flying job, he’s a very worthy interview subject, but I also wanted to chat to him because he achieved all that from a starting point of Argentina. Now, I’m not suggesting for a moment that South America is some kind of creative backwater – far from it – but I wanted to explore his story to see if the lessons we can take from it are universal. And indeed they are.

Javier has made great work and moved to the top of his industry, just like you’d like to. But his path could be anyone’s path; it just happened to start in Argentina.

So have a listen and you’ll see how that journey happened, with the following specifics…

Advertising = Business + Art.

Networking by fixing Macs.

The influence of Agulla y Baccetti.

Start your own company before you get a job.

Move jobs via tennis.

Or weddings.

The benefits of working abroad.

The rise of South America.

How awards affected networks and vice versa.

How to become an ECD and what to do when it happens.

The experience and effect of winning a Cannes Grand Prix at an agency you’ve left.

The pros and cons of winning awards.

Zombie grannies.

More moves to the US.

The power of ‘Nothing Is Impossible’.

Cracking the Superbowl for P&G.

Comedy/Darkness.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link:

And here’s some of Javier’s best work (more here):

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 31 - Javier Campopiano

00:00 / 1:09:00

May 22 2017 May 22, 2017 May 22, 2017 No Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 30 – Danny Kleinman

Posted in Uncategorized

This week I was utterly delighted to chat to Danny Kleinman.

As I looked through his work a Kanye West lyric kept repeating in my head: ‘I’ve forgot better shit than you ever thought of’. This is because I kept finding classic ad after classic ad that made me think, ‘Oh yeah! Danny did that one, too’.

When I started in advertising he was just rising to prominence as one of the handful of directors (Budgen, Glazer, etc.) that attracted and did justice to all the prestige scripts.

In 2001 my AD and I were fortunate enough to write something that Danny agreed to direct (the Pepsi spot below), leading to a most enjoyable week in New Orleans and a delightful ad.

It’s also worth mentioning that he did all the James Bond title sequences since 1991.

Anyway, he’s a great director and fine company. Here’s what we discussed:

How he started in music videos with the help of Steve Barron (and his sister).

Danny’s pre-punk music career, which connected with Adam Ant, among other famous people.

Why the video for Don’t You Forget About Me features the band in a roomful of toys.

Music videos as film school.

Fleetwood Mac’s tricky 80s stage.

Comedy? Post? Comedic post?

Van Halen led to a life in advertising.

Paul Silburn.

Famous comedians (particularly Peter Kaye).

The director’s job is to bring the performance out of people.

Diversity vs a set style.

Lack of money made the John West bear better.

How do the Bond titles happen?

How do you create a Cannes Grand Prix-winner (and do Cannes Grands Prix matter)?

Camden mudskippers.

Johnny Walker ‘Fish’, and how hard it was.

Audi ‘Jimi Hendrix’.

How Rattling Stick came about.

Adam and the Ants x Jimmy Savile.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link (I hope it’s all good. The switch to Garageband has been a little stressful. And I’ve been really busy this weekend).

And here are some of his best promos, title sequences and ads:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3pbcFm1xpU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6woaSJTMFU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny_NdCyzo3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KumSlToRIwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pFf2pRhqo8

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 30 - Danny Kleinman

00:00 / 1:04:43

Apr 28 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 No Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 29 – Matt Beaumont

Posted in Uncategorized

If you were in advertising in the late 90s you would have been swept up in the delight and excitement that was E. Yes, I do mean the drug ecstasy, but I also mean Matt Beaumont’s brilliant novel, set in an ad agency and written entirely in emails.

It was enormously successful, finally making its way into space and spawning a sequel and a temporary career as a novelist.

Matt then returned to advertising and has since carved out his own space at a kind of agency within an agency at M&C Saatchi.

Check out his work at his site.

We discussed…

Getting into the business via a happy accident and a part time job in a restaurant.

And (like so many others) through the D&AD workshops (thanks, Mr. Trott).

Then getting a job ‘really easily’.

Popping off to become a CD in Hong Kong (with just six years’ experience).

Then getting fired after 18 months (learning many things along the way).

Go to work at a so-so agency, which then inspired Matt’s first novel.

…that didn’t ‘seem difficult’.

Although the follow-up was a ‘real motherfucker’.

But it all led to writing a column in Campaign about what a ridiculous business advertising can be.

And a reception at the US embassy with Roger Daltrey.

Why advertising didn’t really go properly ‘digital’ until 2010.

The pressure of the difficult second novel.

The pros and cons to writing novels vs working in an ad agency.

How to get your own novel published.

Overcoming the doubts of a potential agent.

500 good words or 5000 shit ones?

Creating a small agency within a big one.

Winning big pitches against massive competition.

The basic need for ideas.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link (apologies for Matt’s sound quality. The line from the UK makes him a touch croaky):

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 29 - Matt Beaumont

00:00 / 1:00:10

Apr 20 2017 April 20, 2017 April 20, 2017 No Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 28 – Fredrik Bond

Posted in Uncategorized

This week it was my great pleasure to chat to Fredrik Bond.

As one of the best directors in the world (DGA nomination this year to go with the ones he got in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2007 and 2004, and he deserved more from 2000-2003) his perspective on reaching the top and staying there is fascinating and inspiring.

He and I made our way in advertising around the same time (albeit along very different paths), so I have quite a vivid memory of Fredrik’s meteoric rise, his regular output of brilliant and hilarious work, and his maturing as a truly great director.

I think the fact that 2016 has been one of his best years of his career is testament to his enduring quality.

So it was great to learn how all that happened, including the following tips (many of them will work for creatives as well as directors)…

Work in a gay restaurant in Sydney.

Learn why you need to sharpen your elbows in New York.

Maybe your shouldn’t feature rape in your spec banana ads. Or maybe you should…?

Work with an agency that doesn’t ‘give a fuck about clients’.

Ideas come first.

Darkness is good.

You might get excited about a script when you first get it, when you’re talking to your family about it, or when you’re rewriting the treatment.

If Moby says he loves big tits and ass, he might not be serious.

Treatments can help you find the creative sweet spot.

Pressure can be a good thing because it puts a ‘fire in your ass’.

The easy road is never the fun road.

It’s a team effort.

Very short scripts can be amazing.

Sometimes you just have to put your blinders on.

Each commercial is not just a commercial, it’s a story that you have to connect with on a personal level.

Directors lives go up and down. All you can do is keep working hard and doing your best.

Don’t focus on the money.

Make the job fun.

One note about the recording: we did it in the lobby/restaurant of a hotel, so there is quite a lot of ambient sound. It might be annoying at first, but hopefully it’ll just blend in after a few minutes. Any female laughter you can hear comes from my wife.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link:

And here are some of the many, many great commercials etc. Fredrik has directed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kWdgmMdF_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUrsvegCkEc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1abDtr-Ffnw

And here is Fredrik’s short film, The Mood.

And the trailer for his movie, Charlie Countryman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqnstjzPtfo

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 28 – Fredrik Bond

00:00 / 1:00:56

Apr 15 2017 April 15, 2017 April 15, 2017 13 Comments by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 27 – Me

Posted in Uncategorized

Hi there,

As it’s a holiday weekend I don’t want to put out an interview podcast that might be ignored.

Instead I’m putting out a monologue podcast that might be ignored.

And that monologue is from my own fair mouth/brain.

It concerns three slightly related topics.

The ‘Kendall Jenner’ Pepsi ad. I thought I had a take on it that hadn’t really been explored. Alas, I was wrong. But by the time I discovered my mistake I’d already recorded the whole thing, and besides, I’m OK chiming with Jimmy Kimmel.
Diversity in advertising. It’s the buzzword of today, but many people seem to take it only to mean ethnic diversity. I blather on about why this is, what the other types of diversity might be, and why it’s worth giving a shit.
Does the political context affect the quality of art? Ian Heartfield (a former colleague) wrote an article about this for Campaign (well, it’s somewhat about this; there are other, possibly more interesting, parts of his article). Ian and Richard Curtis think it does; I disagree.

I considered writing three blog posts about the above but I wondered if a podcast might be better. You can listen to it while jogging, preparing dinner, or sticking your hand up a cow’s arse. And those are three situations where it’s easier to listen than to read.

So have a listen, let me know if you enjoyed it and let me know if you think I talk sense or not.

(here’s the Soundcloud link and the iTunes link.)

Happy Easter.

xxx

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 27 - Me

00:00 / 55:38

Apr 10 2017 April 10, 2017 April 10, 2017 No Comment by ben

ITIAPTWC Episode 26 – Chaka Sobhani

Posted in Uncategorized

Chaka is the delightful CCO of Leo Burnett London.

How did that happen?

Well, her journey started at the BFI and went via the Boilerhouse Studios and Fox through ITV and Mother.

It’s an unusual path, which is why I wanted to chat to her.

She wanted to be a director, so she became one, helming pilots and music videos.

At Fox she started directing the promos and programmes for their kids channel, so that was her first step into advertising and branding.

Then a friend asked if she’d like to do the same at ITV, where she made lots and lots of stuff for all parts of the channel.

She then set up ITV Creative, which needed to bring all the different channels and brands together and grew to a large organisation with branding and advertising across the portfolio, £300m of airtime and thousands of campaigns.

She also worked with Tiger Savage at M&C Saatchi and Nick Gill and others at BBH, who were ITV’s off-air creative partners.

Then Robert Saville and Mark Waites came calling, and offered her a place at Mother. It was an offer she couldn’t refuse, particularly with all the fannies on the wall.

We also discuss the vagaries of crossing over between industries, the primacy of populism and the thorny issue of diversity.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link.

Enjoy…

If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

ITIAPTWC Episode 26 – Chaka Sobhani