‘‘Volkswagen want us to pitch.’’ If you’ve just started an agency – that’s what you dream of hearing. It was the Commercial Vehicles division, but was still big and still Volkswagen. Volkswagen; DDB, Bill Bernbach, Helmut Krone, etc. What an opportunity! But it’s 2009, the post-bank meltdown is really starting to bite. We’re officially in a recession and Volkswagen vans are dearer than non-Volkswagen vans. I need to find a writer who can actually write. Who can make the caseRead more
Month: November 2013
ADNAMS: Pictures.
“It’s Simon Loftus on the phone, he says he’s a chum of John Hegarty.” It turned out that he needed some advertising for his family’s brewery. BBH had a conflict (Boddington’s) so John had given him our phone number. Simon was not only the Chairman of Adnams, he was a totally inspirational, lovely guy. I had a cottage in Suffolk, so I knew of Adnams, although they were pretty small, I thought they were quite classy. Not all ‘spit andRead more
THE ECONOMIST: Bouncebackability.
I just found this batch of rejects for The Economist. I was surprised at how many shots we’d had at the brief. I knew the work was getting past the Creative Director, because I was he. It must’ve been the client. I can’t remember who first coined that phrase ‘bouncebackability’, (I think it was a footballing Ian, Holloway or possibly Dowie), but it’s a crucial, if unglamorous skill every creative needs. Your ideas are torched every single day. As good as youRead more
BTA AWARDS: Don’t over think it.
Whilst at AMV/BBDO Sean and I got a brief to write an ad for the British Television Craft Awards. The BTA Awards with the word ‘craft’ inserted are less desirable than the ones without that word. But they’re awards none the less. It got us thinking – what creatives would enter an awards scheme aimed at recognising everyone but the creatives who came up with the idea? Initially it said ‘Shit at ideas?‘, but the word ‘shit‘ was felt to beRead more
ADIDAS: Rough Vs Polished?
I used to work with a very smart writer called Alastair Wood. One thing he said left a lasting impression on me; ‘None of my proofs are as good as the roughs’. I realised it was a common complaint amongst writers. Ideas, when first expressed have an energy, vitality and humanity, because people only write or draw the key elements. There’s no fat. The process of bringing ideas to life often kills them. Firstly, because it’s easy to get seduced by hotRead more
CHRISTIAN AID: The client may be right.
I once pitched for Christian Aid. It’s an emotional subject matter, I got emotional. Sean Doyle and I wrote lots of very angry ads, essentially trying force people to reach into their pockets and save a starving child’s life. We won the pitch. We met our brand new client, Claire. She said, rather sheepishly, ‘The ads… we like them, but they look so gloomy, and… well, we’re all quite positive around here and wondered whether they could look a bit more upbeat?’Read more
ARTICLE DUMP: Is this thing on?
1. How I did the 2012 D&AD cover (Campaign – September 2012) 2. Dave Hieatt: “What influenced you?” 3. Commissioning Photography (Photographer Magazine Vol 5, No.3) 4. Food Advertising (Lurzers Archive) 5. Great Illustration (Lurzers Archive) 6. My Photographic Month (Image, The Association of Photographers Magazine ’08) Read more