“25 years on, shots is still striving to shine a light on the creativity of the global advertising industry. Some things have changed: the VHS is now a DVD, the website is
the primary product
and the industry itself has
evolved hugely,
but the fundamental reason for shots’ existence remains the same.”
years ago I was preparing to sit my GCSE mock exams. I think, at the time, I was toying with the idea of becoming a scientist (not sure what branch of science. Didn’t matter in the end, I got a double D), or maybe a journalist (I was pretty good at English and what else are you going to do with that, apart from be an English teacher? Though at 14, saying to your mates you wanted to be a teacher was an act of utmost treachery. Unless it was PE. That was basically being paid to occasionally play a variety of sports to a very low standard).
Of course, at that time I had no idea that somewhere in London a small group of people were embarking on an enterprise to distil the creative brilliance of some of the world’s best advertising minds into an hour-long VHS tape and, in the near future, a magazine which would highlight, examine, debate and distribute those minds’ output. Even if I had known I’m not sure if I’d have understood and I certainly wouldn’t have imagined I’d be sitting at a computer typing the introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of said publication.
But here I sit, and 25 years on a light on the creativity of the global advertising industry. Some things have changed: the VHS is now a DVD, the website is the primary product and the industry itself has evolved hugely, but the fundamental reason for Obviously, at our quarter-century mark, we felt it only right to celebrate accordingly and this issue aims to look at the industry from a unique shots perspective, with our A-Z of Advertising, exploring some of the most influential people, interesting topics, unusual issues and favourite campaigns from the last two-and-a-half decades.
It’s not all about the past though. While reminiscing about the advent of the internet [ at the products that never quite made the grade [ Codes, page 80] is good fun, learning what might happen in the next 25 years is essential. To that end this issue examines, among other things, the continued rise of personal branding [K is for Kardashian, page 57], the potential influence of virtual reality [U is for Unreality Havas Media Labs’ head of futures, discusses how corporations might get inside our heads in 2040 [ So, here’s to the future.
Danny Edwards Editor
what kind of execution are you looking for?
shots 25th Anniversary Special
9 A IS FOR APA
This year’s photographic feature showcases new directing talent
11 B IS FOR BUDGEN
Gorgeous head and Nike
Tag director Frank Budgen fills directing downtime with redesigning the alphabet and inventing new ways to measure time. As you do
16 C IS FOR COVERS
The stars of four iconic covers share the secrets behind the shots
22 D IS FOR DROGA
Droga5 supremo David Droga on being the guy who quit the unquittable
29 E IS FOR EDITORS shots’ big mommas and daddies who’ve steered this good ship through its 25-year voyage
36 F IS FOR FAVOURITES
Some of our favourite industry icons pick their favourite iconic campaigns
41 G IS FOR GUINNESS
One of the most recognisable brands of all time is going truly global
46 H IS FOR HARDWARE
AKQA’s global CTO, Ben Jones, takes a nostalgic look back at the tech that changed everything
48 I IS FOR INTERNET
Whatever did we do without it?
51 J IS FOR JINGLES
When it comes to sound, it pays to think outside the musical box
57 K IS FOR KARDASHIAN
Celebrity branding and personality as product are opening up a whole new land of opportunity
60 L IS FOR LIFE LESSONS
…as taught by Mark Tutssel, global CCO, Leo Burnett. Everything may have changed, but some truths are eternal
62 M IS FOR MUSIC VIDEOS
Seven directors who broke the music video mould
69 N IS FOR NEXT 25 YEARS
Amy Kean, head of futures at Havas Media Labs, predicts the future
73 O IS FOR OUTDOORS
Creative tech is bringing outdoors into the future
76 P IS FOR PORTRAITS
… of the artists and execs who’ve graced our pages over the last 25 years
80 Q IS FOR QR CODES
…and other techy stu that never quite caught on, from anti-piracy tech that was hacked by felt-tip to weird finger condoms
85 R IS FOR RESEARCH AND DATA Good or evil?
88 R IS FOR RADIO
Neville Doyle, digital planning director at Colenso BBDO, says these are radio days
90 S IS FOR SCAM
Copywriter and author Ben Kay shines a cleansing light on the dark arts of scam advertising
94 T IS FOR TELEVISION
That rectangle in the corner may seem increasingly unfashionable, but BBH London ECD, Nick Gill, still thinks it’s the home of great storytelling
96 U IS FOR UNREALITY
Solomon Rogers, founder and MD of Rewind FX, dons his VR goggles
100 V IS FOR VFX
How e ects have a ected the ad world over the last 25 years
104 W IS FOR WOMEN
The history of women in advertising over the last quarter of a century. It’s not pretty
112 X IS FOR X‒RATED
Under-18s look away. Six ads that outraged, aroused and revolted
116 Y IS FOR YDA
The story of Francois Chilot, founder of the Young Director Award
121 Z IS FOR ZEBRAS
Our pick of the non-Homo sapien stars of the last 25 years of animal-fronted ads
shots 159 November 2015 News Insight Inspiration shots.net
/
and unexpected jump from the
Read all about it from page 22.
is for
159 contributors
Illustration & photography:
shots 160 / December 2015
The next issue of shots will be our fashion special in which we will be hearing about the state of global fashion marketing. Among other things, photography legend Rankin will be revealing the source of his inspiration, we will be exploring how social media has influenced the fashion industry and fashion guru Mary Portas will be telling us the way she sees it. A shots subscription A subscription to shots gives you all the creative connections you need: online, in print and on DVD. For more information and to subscribe turn to page 8.
shots 159
front cover Droga5 founder David Droga talks to Carol Cooper about how his Aussie childhood made him a scrapper, and tells the tale of his early rise
top.
shots
Words: Jane Austin, Carol Cooper, Tim Cumming, Steve Davies, Neville Doyle, Tom Eslinger, Nick Gill, Ben Jones, Ben Kay, Amy Kean, Paul Kemp Robertson, David Knight, Joe Lancaster, Ben Mooge, Solomon Rogers, Neal Romanek, Lyndy Stout, Mark Tutssel
Julian Hanford, Sarah King, Paul McGeiver
shots 159
November 2015
News | Insight | Inspiration shots.net
Editorial material to be submitted to shots on DVD or emailed to spots@shots.net
Post to: Ryan Watson, shots
Zetland House 5-25 Scrutton Street London EC2A 4HJ
Many thanks to those companies that submitted material for consideration on shots 159. If your work didn’t make it this time, please do not be discouraged from sending work in again. If you feel that your company has produced anything that would complement the Creative Showcase please let us know.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted, either by conventional means or electronically, without written permission of the publisher.
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Frank Budgen, director and co-founder of Gorgeous Enterprises, is known for helming outstanding spots –such as Nike Tag, PlayStation Mountain, and NSPCC Cartoon –just not very often. But far from being lazy, the enigmatic polymath is busy producing photographs, sculptures, ‘squeeze’ paintings and music, plus redesigning the alphabet, time measurement and digital cameras. Another surprising fact about the ‘inadvertent genius’ is that he is virtually indestructible. He tells Carol Cooper about withstanding car crashes, cancer and being hit by a train
BUDGEN
“I recall the winters being very cold, especially indoors. But the summers, or at least my memory of them, were so idyllic they would have made the Waltons cringe.”
My first memories are pretty happy ones. We (my parents, sister and me) lived on a smallholding in Copthorne, a small village in a far away land called Sussex. There was a small field and a small wood with a stream running through it. We bred rabbits, reared chickens and grew flowers and vegetables that we sold locally. We had a couple of goats, two cats, a dog, one goldfish and two 12-bores.
I recall the winters being very cold, especially indoors. But the summers, or at least my memory of them, were so idyllic they would have made the Waltons cringe. I remember running through long grass and climbing fruit trees. And long days making hay with big swaphooks and pitchforks and Mam (Irish) bringing out jugs of iced lemonade for us and any local helpers.
We ate a lot of fresh food, and also quite a bit of buckshot from a pheasant or something my dad had shot. I once ate a plum while it was still on the tree, leaving the core hanging. Which I guess is as fresh as you can get. My friends would come round a lot as it was a great place for climbing trees or walking in the stream or making camps, either underground or out of the hundreds of seed boxes in one of the sheds.
One summer evening my dad collapsed in the garden. An ambulance arrived and took him away and I never saw him again. So that era was over. My mother sold up and we moved into a bungalow with a small lawn and a garden not much bigger than a window box.
I wasn’t exactly encouraged to be artistic as a child, but I did a lot of drawing just because I liked to. One year I won first prize at the village flower show with a drawing of a mallard. I felt a bit bad afterwards and owned up to my mum that I had traced the outline. I can’t remember her telling me off. I think she liked the certificate.
I don’t think I had any career aspirations as a child and there were no expectations of me. I always wondered what I’d be when I grew up but never thought in terms of a career.
Sometimes I wish I’d maybe done something more useful or helpful to others or to the planet in some way. But I guess I’ve always been too attracted to the gloss and glitter of society, which I think is called culture or the arts.
Lately I have been doing more studio work than I used to. I did some about a year ago and, thanks to a very open-minded agency and relaxed client [Taylors of Harrogate], it was one of the most interesting processes I have been through. It wasn’t a big budget but we shot for several weeks. In fact, the prep was actually part of the shoot and the pre-production meeting took place on set. So rather than show storyboards, the client looked at sets and rigs and tests we had done, some of them already shot and on screen.
We hired the cheapest studio we could find, ending up in a photo studio that didn’t really have the ceiling height, but I made do. We hired art college leavers, painters, sculptors, and others who were just starting off or had little or no experience on set.
I hired a cheap consumer-level digital camera that didn’t shoot as fast as I would’ve liked. But a post production test showed it could stand up to being slowed down by 50 per cent. I was amazed as it was never possible to get away with that before. Apart from me and my producer, one spark and a rigger for a couple of days, there were no other grown-ups.
We made a lot of the props ourselves, did our own lighting, made some mistakes, but learned a lot more. We made a dolly out of a trolley on wheels with the camera strapped to it. With the aid of a cardboard arrow on the dolly pointing to lines drawn on the floor, we hand-pushed it on tracks and, despite its wobbly push-bar, it turned out to be a near-perfect motion-control rig. Every day was a part of the creative process rather than just a technical production. It was an environment I loved being in and I would happily have spent months working like that.
The agency and client were even up for showing all the lighting stands and wires holding the props, the track on the floor and all bits of marker tape everywhere. But, not for the first time, what ended up on screen was darker than it looked in telecine, and its naive simplicity and crudeness –which was what I thought was brave and charming – I don’t think came across. It was still a pretty unusual spot though, and had a great track and I hope it sells lots of… oh yes, coffee.
Over the years I’ve tried working in several different ways – from carefully storyboarding every shot and working out how long a short should take to shoot and how many seconds it would be in the cut, to shooting with no storyboard and being flexible enough to shoot whatever the circumstances offer. Mostly though, it’s a mixture of the two. I’ve tried every filter there is plus a few homemade ones, sometimes all at once, so you can’t see through the lens.
I’ve pushed cameras, lenses and stock to their limits and beyond. Opened the camera or shone light into it while it is filming. Tampered with their mechanisms, used a jam jar for a lens, or sound tape for film. Other times I have shot completely clean, occasionally using just one lens for the whole job.
Although I like doing humour or storytelling I also enjoy non-narrative, or even abstract work, based on visuals or sound.
It’s been strange how I have often received a script that was uncannily close to whatever personal stuff I was working on at that time. Some of my references for my jobs have been material I had previously researched for myself. For Cancer Research [Enemy] and Taylors of Harrogate [Welcome To Coffee] I even had drawings and photos that I had recently done.
Gorgeous Enterprises was never set up to be hugely profitable financially, and we have certainly fulfilled that aim. Peter and Paul (like the proverbial dickie birds) flew away [Peter Thwaites and Paul Rothwell left Gorgeous in 2013], but a few directors have joined either in the US or the UK, including Patrick [Daughters] who is with us in both London and LA and is off to a really good start. We’d like to take on one or two more directors soon. But we’re not very good at courting. It’s more reserve than coolness but I guess we’ll have to learn to be a bit more up-front.
I find it hard to believe that, after all this time, our main directors are still ridiculously dedicated to trying to do the best work they can.
To get the award for winning the most awards [at the D&AD 50th Birthday awards in 2012] is pretty ridiculous sounding, but whereas I’ve forgotten about a lot of my awards, this one does mean something to me. As a kid just out of art college, I remember sitting at my first D&AD ceremony, almost open mouthed at the TV and cinema work that Hugh Hudson, Alan Parker, Adrian Lyne and Ridley Scott were doing. Then, a year or so ago, in what seems like the blink of the eye, I get called up as the joint most awarded director in the 50 years of D&AD, still feeling pretty much like that awkward youth.
“It’s
been strange how I have often received a script that was uncannily close to whatever personal stuff I was working on at that time. Some of my references for my jobs have been material I had previously researched for myself.”
“I still play around with a keyboard and bits of software. I often do a guide track to edit to.
I don’t tell the agency it’s my music and never push it, but once or twice it has nearly ended up as the final piece.”
I used to limit myself to producing about four spots a year. But I don’t knock them out at that rate any more.
Although I’m known mainly for my commercials, I’ve probably spent as much, or more, time on other more personal projects. I still play around with a keyboard and bits of software. I often do a guide track to edit to. I don’t tell the agency it’s my music and never push it, but once or twice it has nearly ended up as the final piece.
As well as about 40 years of taking photographs, I’ve also been playing around with paint and pigments, drawing or making 3D models (real 3D, not the two-dimensional 3D that the CGI world use to confuse the rest of us). A lot of it is abstract and experimental, involving dropping, squeezing and generally torturing or mixing liquids that don’t always react well to being mixed – a bit like what has been going on in my own body recently [see next page]. I’ve combined pixels and pigments in photo-paintings and learned to paint out of focus. Sometimes I can’t tell if an image is printed or painted, or a bit of both. I like to work in a random, sometimes chaotic way, whenever I can, making copious notes and conclusions that I never again refer to. I have done a few sculptural pieces based on the sun. And one pretty ambitious one based on its shadow, which would commemorate an annual event, ideally in a large public area, that I would like to get commissioned. I also have another, equally ambitious one, that would need a very large indoor space, like the Tate’s Turbine Hall. So, dear Nicholas Serota, I don’t suppose you’re reading this, but…
I’m usually as busy when I’m not working as when I am. I never really think of it as work, but I’m always doing something. And I always have a camera in my hand.
I get tunnel vision and I can devote hours working on, or thinking about, some random thought or idea. I have been doodling around with numbers for a while and I seem to have come up with a new numerical system. It’s based on the binary system, but also keeps the decimal point. It’s very simple, but I think it could turn out to be vastly superior to either the imperial or metric systems. I need to work out if it’s flawed, and also if I am an inadvertent genius or a self-delusional idiot.
Other projects are redesigning the clock and recalculating the way we measure time, doing away with random measures like 24 (hours) and 60 (minutes) in favour of my new numerical system, once it’s become universally recognised.
I’ve also had a go at editing and redesigned the English alphabet, but it really needs a thorough going over. I once had a stab at trying to redesign the way music is written using different colours, but soon gave up on that one.
Recently I have become a bit concerned about my house. I have been taking light studies of it for several months and it does not seem to be travelling around the sun at a constant speed and I’m not entirely sure what to do about this.
I have a home-movie project which is chugging along. But with about 200 hours of footage to cut down to about one hour, it is turning into a bit of a marathon.
My daughters are making a short, stop-frame animation, with the help of their toys, me and anyone else, usually Chris Palmer, who drops by. We all get so excited waiting to see the rushes and the on-set dialogue and squabbles are hilarious.
That reminds me, I have also been designing a new digital stills camera. Weirdly, digital cameras are still designed on traditional film cameras’ limitations. This one would give equal emphasis to the fact that there are now, with the ability to change the ISO for every shot, three rather than two ways of determining each exposure. Although quite different, it would be pretty classic looking and would be very simple, lightweight and near silent. A bit like a Leica, but it wouldn’t take three days to focus.
I’m not sure which are my personal favourites from my own commercials… there are a few Nike spots, including Tag. PlayStation Double Life and Mountain. Guinness Snails. Reebok Sofa Twisted and Rubbed, both for Levi’s. And maybe a few smaller ones like Volkswagen UFO and Tumble for Pepe Jeans. I’ve probably missed out one or two. Actually what I’m really trying to say is I love everything that I’ve ever done.
What stimulates my creative juices? Words like ‘stimulate’ and ‘juices’ are a good start. Talking about something too much tends to sap my creative juices.
The best day of my career was over the three days when I was shooting a Nike job in London. Saturday evening I went home, then rushed my girlfriend to hospital. Sunday was a down day, and that morning my first-born popped out into the world. That evening we were all back home, and the next day I was back on set. Our second daughter wasn’t born anywhere near a shoot, but I would still say it was the other best day of my career.
In terms of what’s more important, personal artistic fulfilment or success for the brand, I do have a genuine consideration for the product and how it and its message will come across. Without that, the most humorous or beautiful or well-told piece of filmmaking just won’t work.
If I could time travel just once, I’d travel about two seconds forwards, and stay there.
The single greatest human invention is custard. The worst? Gods.
When did I last cry? Sorry, I have ‘dry-eyes’ and I don’t have enough spare moisture for tears.
I’m not sure what my greatest weakness is. Self discipline? Or maybe finishing things? No. Making decisions? Oh, I don’t know.
What is the closest I’ve come to death? Well… if like cats, we have nine lives, I started getting through mine during my Copthorne years. I once fell from a high tree and landed, splat, face down and spread out like a starfish. I think, because I landed so perfectly flat I was bruised everywhere, but nothing broken or worse.
Another time I was on my bike and was hit, head-on, by a car. I rolled off the bonnet and onto the road. A small crowd gathered, I got up but couldn’t find my bike, then someone spotted it about 30 yards down the street. The bike was ruined but the driver took me home and all I had was a couple of small grazes.
My third kamikaze attempt involved driving a scooter flat-out into a ditch. We weren’t old enough to ride on the road but I somehow had an old two-seater scooter that me and my friends would ride up and down my long drive. I adopted a low-crouch, high-elbowed comedy riding position, but I slipped off the back of the front seat and couldn’t get back up. I could barely reach the handlebars and couldn’t steer or slow down. I shot out of the drive across the main
road, as the scooter went into the ditch I jumped and flew (sans helmet) through a hedge into a neighbour’s garden. The scooter was a write-off, but again I walked away with only scratches. There have been other close calls too – one involved a 12-bore cartridge, a vice, a nail and a hammer – but I don’t think the stories live up to their potential.
Later, in my teens, I had a few more close shaves. Two of these were rolling and writing off cars. One of these was a dramatic, high-speed stunt with the car flying sideways between two large trees. As before, the vehicles were a write-off, but I came away unscathed. Apart from a miss-hit golf drive that whistled past one ear, bounced off a tree behind me and whistled past my other ear, nothing too threatening came close for a while.
In my professional career, things perked up a bit. In Rio, I was mugged at knifepoint by a gang of kids from the favela and I stupidly fought back until I felt the knife against my ribs. Another was in Kenya, when I was hit by a train and tumbled about 100ft down an embankment.
Personal work:
1 Red Line
2 Petals
3 Abstract self portrait
The most recent [close shave] was when I was diagnosed with leukaemia and, because of its type, my chances were not good. But I managed to pull through fairly easily and have been free of cancer ever since.
The worst days of my personal life were when I was cold and skint and sometimes hungry for a lot of my first year in Manchester [Metropolitan University]. That wasn’t much fun. But I have had quite a few ridiculously fabulous times.
I think the best times have been simply hanging out at home, on a warm summer Sunday with my kids, and maybe their mum, possibly a friend or two dropping in. There wouldn’t be anything we had to do. But I’d have spent some time doodling ideas or writing thoughts or taking a few photos.
Things that make me angry are… Impoliteness. Being told things that are not correct. People standing too close in queues. Town planners letting developers destroy London to turn it into a high-rise housing estate. Pollution. Most things nuclear. Injustice. Wars. Pretty much everything in the news.
“I do have a genuine consideration for the product and how it and its message will come across. Without that, the most humorous or beautiful or well-told piece of filmmaking just won’t work.”
If I was prime minister for one day, I would ban tobacco.
How would I like to be remembered? I like Woody Allen’s answer when he was asked what he’d like people to say about him in 100 years time, and he replied, ‘Hey you look good.’
Delving into the shots archive for this issue, we were again reminded of the fantastic creativity that goes into a shots front cover. Here the creators behind four iconic covers talk us through the process – from electric shocks to fake beards…
is for COVERS
Paul & Linus shots 122
Paul Malmstron and Linus Karlsson, were co-ECDs at Mother NYC
Tell us about the idea for your creative portrait for shots 122. Linus Karlsson, creative chairman, McCann Worldgroup: I’m a dwarf and Paul is a contortionist and we work at a circus with classic circus equipment.
Was the idea yours or Paul’s and did one have to convince the other it was a good idea? Who comes up with what ceased to exist a long time ago. During the 21,466 hours we worked together over 20-plus years it gets incredibly blurry in the most fascinating ways. We rarely disagreed on things (except one thing), because when you’re in a team, who comes up with this, and who comes up with that, is not important. So I have no idea.
What was the one thing? God.
Were the props and costumes hard to get hold of? The brilliant photographer Josh Alsimer pulled it all together after briefing him on what we wanted to do. The shoot itself took place on the top floor of Mother in New York.
How was your beard extended for the piece? I didn’t have a beard. And if I recall correctly, the make-up people who Josh hired had just come off a job with Tim Burton, so we just let them do their job. It was easy but it took hours to get that beard on. They kept gluing piece by piece until my face was pretty much covered. However, my favourite facial feature is my “smoky eyes”. Several women in the office told me it was “super-hot”.
Do you remember getting any other feedback and what was the reaction when the issue launched? The issue came out right before Cannes, and I remember arriving in Cannes and people saying, “Oh, congrats on the cover – you are so much taller than I thought!” It was interesting and weirdly amusing to see how many people thought I was a hairy dwarf in real life.
How well do you think the image fit with the feature and the tone of the interview? It’s a complete disconnect on one level, and a complete connection on another. Even though we said a bunch of fairly provocative things about marriage, and also compared kids to dogs, people only remember pictures. It’s how it is. We mostly remember pictures and smells. Words change in memory over time unless they are written down.
What did you say about marriage?
Most people marry for the wrong reason – because they’re in love. That only works a little bit less than half of the time, if you believe in statistics. Instead, if you took love out of the equation and married someone who had qualities you didn’t have, you’d be significantly more successful. Additionally, if you gave up the idea of trying to control the other person, you’d be very successful. If you stopped constantly thinking of being loved all the time, you’d be married forever.
“Who comes up with what ceased to exist a long time ago between us. During the 21,466 hours we worked together over 20-plus years, it gets incredibly blurry in the most fascinating ways.”
Tell us about your career since the magazine came out and the strides you’ve made. I’ve been part of an extraordinary journey in rebuilding McCann in the last few years, and literally re-designed McCann New York with my friend Tom Dixon. I’m creative chairman for Commonwealth/McCann running Chevy globally and recently started MING Utility and Entertainment with Brian DiLorenzo and Tara DeVeaux. Life couldn’t be more interesting right now. I love it.
If you could do the shots shoot again, what would be the concept? I would probably do something more fashionable. Perhaps I am laying on a sleek beige daybed in the Hamptons, in a white room with white sheer curtains, playing with my iPad, dressed in JCrew clothes. Just laughing/smiling. Happy.
What are your memories of the day the image was shot? I remember taking the subway home with the beard and hat on. It’s NYC, so no one really paid attention. They probably thought I was just a regular guy with a huge beard and a Leprechaun hat, with smoky eyes and thick mascara on his way home from work – which was actually totally true.
How would you sum up the image and the time it was taken? The picture sums it up. I think it’s a beautiful portrait of us.
“I have chosen to work with wonderful and talented people over the years and have built teams that love to work in collaboration. There’s no room on this bus for selfishness.”
Deutsch LA shots 155
When you were approached to be featured in the LA special of shots and asked to produce a creative portrait, how did you arrive at your idea?
Pete Favat, chief creative officer, Deutsch North America: I’m a big believer in the idea that “without tension, no one pays attention”. That has always pushed me to come up with ideas that will stand out. It also occurred to me that no one cares to see another picture of some CCO taking full credit for all of the blood, sweat and tears that went into his or her organisation’s success. That’s not how I roll and I actually wouldn’t have been interested in the portrait if I had been limited in that way.
Can you tell us the context and explain the situation of what’s happening in the image? The photo represents a group’s escape from ad prison. People in this industry feel stuck, trapped. We have constant urges to try new things and take new directions. And we want to break out. So the idea of stealing a bus and getting the hell outta there made sense. I think a lot of people are feeling this way.
Why did you decide to involve the whole team in the portrait, even though you were the one being interviewed? That’s simple: advertising is a team sport. This isn’t about me. Success comes from great talent all around you putting out powerful work. The days of imperialistic creativity are over. The reason I am where I am is because I have chosen to work with wonderful and talented people over the years and have built teams that love to work in collaboration. There’s no room on this bus for selfishness.
Deutsch LA
How did you select the specific people to feature? Everyone chosen for this picture has a different skill set. Deutsch believes in the T-shaped employee and that the best way to creatively solve business problems is to surround those problems with solvers that have diverse backgrounds and talents. This photo represents talent across creative, design, strategy, tech, art, copy, music production, UX, integrated production and more.
Where did you get hold of the orange boiler suits? I can’t tell you that.
And what’s the story behind your “you need an enemy” knuckleduster? Knuckleduster. Love that term. I gave a talk at Cannes two years ago with artist Shepard Fairey called ‘You Need an Enemy’. It’s a philosophy that is ingrained into my creative process. It’s a way to engage people. And its focus is to identify the antagonist or tension in a brand’s story. Art needs resistance so it gives you something to push against. We use it a lot.
How many shots did it take for the photographer to get the final image and tell us about the direction involved in getting everyone to strike the correct pose? Gary Land is a great photographer, so it didn’t take many – probably 20 shots. Dana Commandatore, EVP, director of creative and print services, produced the shoot and directed us through the windshield – although she should really be in the shot! If you can’t tell from the final image, we had a lot of fun with this.
What feedback did you get when the issue was released? There was a lot of positive energy around the issue. My Facebook and Twitter pages got very excited. I think it made people happy. We live by a mantra at Deutsch: “Invent the most original and shareable work in the world.” I think the reason this cover was shared so widely is because it is unique, original and truly represents our organisation.
How would you sum up the image and memory of the shoot? I want to live in that moment forever. That’s what it’s all about for me. Being with people you love and making things you care about.
AKQA
shots 145
Outside back cover artwork
James Hilton, co-founder, and Ben Jones, CTO, AKQA
297mm x 235mm
Tell us about the concept and what’s happening in your creative portrait in shots 145? James Hilton, founder, AtelierStrange: We wanted to show how the different disciplines and crafts at AKQA think in completely complementary ways and share a total focus on producing the most inspiring and beautiful work possible. Being in sync is the only way this is ever achieved. So the shot has Ben and I attached to each other’s brains with a neural lace we knocked up one evening. It was a bit touch-and-go, but it totally works! Ben came out of the experiment relatively unharmed. Relatively. Ben Jones, chief technology officer, AKQA: The foundation of the article and thereby the final artwork was something that is at the heart of AKQA. To create remarkable products and services we have always formed a beautiful partnership between art and science. In the shot James represents the art and I’m the science and together the most amazing, quite often serendipitous creativity occurs. We create the perfect mind. Right and left brains coming together in one.
How did you come up with the idea and can you remember the initial conversation? JH I’d been watching Back To The Future and I really wanted one of Doc Brown’s mind-reading hats – we’d each be wearing one and they’d be connected. I was doing a search for good pictures of Doc’s experiment when I came across an actual brain reader. It was properly cool. I quickly did a crap mock-up and showed it to Ben. Fortunately he loved the idea! BJ It was pretty much immediate. In fact it’s a great example of exactly how we tend to work. We had an initial conversation about how a magazine which celebrates and showcases creativity would feature how a CTO and CCO come together. But this is where the art of storytelling comes in. My original idea was to have two faces come together. But then James came up with the idea of making a single, perfect mind and hence the wires which join us as one. The next thing you know it’s mood-boarded and away we went to the hardware shop.
A MEETING OF MINDS
Tell us about the production process and your approach. JH Initially we tried to find the equipment I had used in my concept. Harriet [McGregor], my assistant, phoned all sorts of places trying to get one, but to no avail. So we decided to make one.
I tell you what, these brain transference devices aren’t fucking easy are they?! First off we figured we should find a pre-existing net of some sort that would fit over our heads, then we could attach the ‘sensor nodes’ to it. I say sensor nodes, I mean bits of plastic things that Harriet found at a DIY store. But where to find a net? Moments later Harry found herself in a cab speeding off to Soho’s finest sex shops to purchase all the fishnet body stockings and gimp masks she could find. And while the results of her shopping extravaganza were very amusing, none were at all suitable. Which meant only one thing: find lager and construct our own net using electrical cable. This, I should point out, was the night before the shoot. At 10pm it became obvious to all that our net was shit.
There isn’t much in life that can’t be solved by alcohol and double-sided sticky tape. And to that end we decided the best thing to do would be to simply stick the nodes on to our heads. And if any fell off, there was always superglue.
“James represents the art and I’m the science and together the most amazing, quite often serendipitous creativity occurs. We ultimately create the perfect mind.”
BJ As with many things, it started big budget. Then we realised we were going against our values. AKQA is completely customer obsessed and has a disdain for navel gazing. So we reduced the budget and focussed on getting the same result via a different route. This was a little more manual and rudimentary. We started with the belief that this could mainly be done through SFX and post production. But the result looked faked and awkward. So it became an unbelievably meticulous example of manual labour: 150 metres of wire, 220 ‘thingamebobs’ that Harriet found in a hardware store close to Farringdon, a shitload of glue and a huge amount of patience.
And were you both topless when the photos were taken? JH Yes. I was also bottomless, even though I didn’t need to be. BJ James was in a serious fitness mood so he loved it. He got to show off his newly-sculpted body. I’m sure he was doing press ups in the toilets before each shoot.
How well do you think the image fit with what was covered in the interview and resulting feature? JH Well, the feature was called ‘A meeting of minds’ so I think it pretty much does what it says on the tin. I’m nothing if not literal.
BJ Absolutely nailed it and it completely captures how you create great work.
What about the other images in the feature? What’s happening in those and how did you come up with the facial expressions? JH Ah yes. The trick is to whisper to the photographer: “Whatever happens, keep shooting.” Then plug the laces into the mains. Oh we laughed.
BJ Some were done on the toilet and others pinching each other. We just wanted to have fun, to experiment, which again is in line with the article’s premise that you need great relationships to create great things. You rarely experiment if you don’t trust… A fun environment builds trust. It’s a fact that through the art of play you learn to trust and gain confidence, which gives you more confidence, which in turn enables you to continue to discover yourself, things, places, ideas.
“The downside of plugging a homemade neural lace into a standard 240v socket is any memories you might’ve had don’t last beyond: “Ooh, that tingles a bit…”
How important was it for technology to feature prominently in your portrait?
JH Critical. The whole thing was about the creative application of technology. BJ It’s what we live and breathe so it was essential.
Does the image hold any fond memories for you now you aren’t working together anymore?
JH The downside of plugging a homemade neural lace into a standard 240v socket, is any memories you might’ve had don’t last beyond: “Ooh, that tingles a bit… mmwwagggghhhhhhhhh.” I did decide to leave [AKQA] fairly soon afterwards, but nothing should be read into that. Well, not much anyway.
BJ Yes. I miss James because I love the smell of terrible body odour. It’s just one of my kicks. Don’t print that… Oh shit, I never said “off the record”.
Did you get any feedback when the issue was released and if so what was it?
JH “You two look like proper c***s.” Thanks mum.
BJ Yes. How did James get the front cover and Ben end up in the foldout? Brains over beauty?
Tony Granger shots 146
How did the idea for your creative portrait for issue 146 come about?
Tony Granger, global chief creative officer, Y&R: I sat with one of our senior art directors here to brainstorm a couple of things about my views on the industry, and he came up with it.
Why did you decide to highlight a change in time and technology with the image? I wanted to convey that if you’re naturally inquisitive, passionate and excited about technology, you can evolve with our business throughout your career. I was just as excited about radio as I was about TV, film and now about new technologies and what they allow us to achieve. The fundamental quest for creating influential creative remains the same, regardless of how you consume media or what screen you’re watching on.
How well do you think the image fit with what was covered in the feature? It was all about time and technology so I think this image brought this theme to life quite well.
Tell us about your relationship with both forms of technology presented (the TV and Mac) and why they’re both important to the industry. I’ve always been a Mac fan. When the Mac first came out I bought one and have owned every version since. Before the Mac became a standard in the industry I was always dialling up Mac usage at agencies. Just last week, I hesitantly bought the Apple Watch and after three days I’m totally hooked – the interaction I’ve already developed with it is totally different from any other device I’ve ever used. Apple always seems to find new ways of connecting people to their devices.
Do you remember the times when TV was the most important medium? Tell us about your relationship with the old TV set growing up. Well, South Africa only started to broadcast TV in 1976, and for only two hours a night. One hour was in English and one hour in Afrikaans. And it was a riveting two hours – the whole country would rush home to watch. I remember Dallas played on Tuesday night and the entire country would come to a standstill – there was literally no traffic and restaurants would shut down.
So I grew up mostly listening to radio and watching more films. I was always really inspired by how radio can create a theatre of the mind, and be such a powerful medium.
“I grew up mostly listening to radio and watching more films. I was always really inspired by how radio can create a theatre of the mind, and be such a powerful medium.”
You told us you were a fan of Netflix. Is that still the case? I rarely watch cable TV at all, and have fundamentally cut the cord. I love Netflix and it continues to be one of my favourite content providers. I also love Apple TV and HBO Go is fantastic. Netflix only becomes a challenge for me when I’m travelling; the user experience is far better in the US. I love the fact that I can binge-watch great content and not watch when the networks tell me to watch. I even use CNN Go and CNBC Go for news these days.
And what about your face in the image – do you remember the photo being taken? Well, actually, that photograph of me wasn’t taken specifically for this shoot. Our creative team went through a library of my portraits, picked the most suitable one and designed around it. Alan Vladusic, one of our senior art directors who created the image, thought it was very important to use a photo of me that looked determined and thoughtful. It was critical to him that I was looking straight at the camera to get the right look and feel for this.
Tell us about the production process for the piece and your approach. Over to you, Alan…
AV The production process has to start with an idea and be designed around that. We used five or six different stock images of TV screens and computer monitors, but only one photograph of Tony. The look and feel was created in post production. It had to be conceptual.
What was the feedback and reaction when the issue was released? TG It was very well received. It was nice to hear from so many of my peers in the industry, and hear from those who share my point of view and passion for the business. I was really proud to be on a shots cover.
S
is for DROGA
There’s no question that there’s an Australianness to my sense of humour and by default Droga5, whether it’s intentional or not. Aussie humour cuts to the chase – it’s direct and that goes into our work too, whether it be humorous or thoughtful. Too many people spend time circling the issue. I like stuff that doesn’t faff around. People appreciate you being straightforward, saying what you’re about.
I was really lucky to grow up playing in a national park [Kosciuszko, in New South Wales]. It allowed my imagination to run free. It was self-preservation – you had to create your own reality, your own fun, your own games. I’m not trying to pretend that I’m Bear Grylls but I was very comfortable in my own skin, in my own head. Also, because I was the fifth of seven children [his mother would sew labels in his school clothes that read Droga5], I had to get my opinion out there or I might just be invisible. It made me want to prove myself, be a scrapper.
Unlike many daydreamers, David Droga is also blessed with drive, derring-do and a heroic work ethic; qualities that saw him swiftly move from 18-year-old mail boy at Grey to partner and ECD at Omon, Sydney, at just 22. By 33 he had the unquittable role of Publicis worldwide CCO. He quit, of course, to set up Droga5 in New York. A brave move that paid off due to the agency’s bold work, from the apparent defacing of Air Force One for Ecko, to comic Sarah Silverman waving a fake penis around for the Equal Payback Project. He and his agency have won every accolade going, but as the Aussie daredevil tells Carol Cooper, he’s still happier chasing chooks with his kids than chasing awards
write an essay about anything. I may not have known anything about the subject but I could tell a great story. I used to convince myself that I was going to write a novel or a screenplay, but I didn’t have the time, the patience, or the confidence to do that. I’ve written short stories but they’re not for publication, although my wife has read them. It’s good to get something out of your head, to see if it’s what you think it is, or whether it’s a piece of shit. You’ve got to clean all the pipes out.
It was fortunate that I managed to get into a career that allowed me to daydream. Our job is like those drawings where you join the dots by numbers. We all have the same dots, we just try and join them in a different sequence. Instead of 1, 2, 3 maybe you go 1, 4, 2, 4, 3 to try and create something original. That’s what daydreaming is – you’re not following anyone else’s footsteps, anyone else’s thought process.
On holiday I buy those cryptic puzzle books, which I’ve loved since I was a kid. I like trying to solve problems in original ways. A lot of creative is like that – you try and work out how to get to the end point and the end emotion, and there’s a million ways to come at that.
to start now.” My four older brothers all went to university and got scholarships to Cambridge etc, so it was a foregone conclusion that I would do that too. But I didn’t want to wait. I’ve always been in a rush. Someone told me, in advertising, if you want to be a writer you write things and within a few months there will be different opportunities and that appealed to my short attention span. I kept thinking, “Wow, I can do that.” Maybe it’s a flaw, but I’m pretty tenacious. When I want to do something then I do it, all guns blazing.
As soon as I got into Grey in Sydney I loved the energy of it. It was run by a young hotshot creative called Simon Reynolds and he made me realise that you don’t have to be old to be good. It was just his attitude; he really had an impact there.
At Grey I delivered the mail and when I put mail on people’s desks I would look at their work. Maybe this is where my ego and naivety kicked in, but I thought, “I can do that,” and that gave me the incentive to move up faster. People there knew I wanted to write, but they told me I’d have to work my way through the agency, so I signed up to study at the Australian Writers & Art Directors School. I think I was the youngest there and
I thought, “If I’m going to do this, and sacrifice being an 18-year-old guy who goes out and parties, I’m going to have to win this,” so I worked my arse off, won top student and got a job straightaway as a copywriter. I’ve been appreciative and working
Working at Saatchi Singapore was fantastic. Two years there, working at such a fast pace in such a tiny, competitive market, was like five years anywhere else, and that really embedded in me the idea of a work ethic. I felt that Saatchi London was dismissive of us as an agency, so I thought the best thing was to do better work than them. The irony is that they then offered me the job of running Saatchi London. That was a great learning curve because it taught me about the balance between creativity and business and craft. In the three years I was there I really gained in confidence and appreciation of scale, and then when Publicis bought Saatchi, they offered me the global gig [of worldwide chief creative officer]
It wasn’t lost on me that Publicis brought me in as the young gun to try and make them shiny again, which was a fantastic opportunity. But then I got to that thing… I was worldwide CCO of a big network, I was 33 – I didn’t want a job where I was wheeled in as this wonder kid. When you have a big position, you go to meetings and you talk about what you stand for and your principles, but you’re as far away from those as you can get when you’re in a position where you can’t implement stuff. And I thought I don’t want to be fixing something, I want to be building something.
Agencies try to make it impossible for you to quit, because they pay you enough and they incentivise you enough, and they’re smart, it’s smart business strategy. But I liked the idea of being the guy who quit the job no one else would quit. So I thought I’d go back to the rawest and purest thing – which is me, a plan, an ambition and good intentions and see where we go. I’ve been fortunate to collect a lot of good people on the way, and I try to stay true to the reason I set up the agency.
My ambition for Droga5 to be the most influential creative agency is one of those grand plans where there’s no real finish line. It’s not really measured by accolades or stuff like that, it’s more a focus on what we’re doing today and what we’re going to do tomorrow. The only thing the success we’ve had to date has allowed us is to have a little wind at our backs, a bit more self-belief that we can do it. Influence isn’t measured by the number of employees, or offices or awards. I just want to feel that our work has a positive impact. If we can contribute to our industry and make people believe that things can be better, then that’s a good thing.
“Agencies try to make it impossible for you to quit… they’re smart, it’s smart business strategy. But I liked the idea of being the guy who quit the job no one would quit. ”
Every campaign is just one dimension of a grander ambition, and it’s better that it’s something that’s always just out of reach, to keep running forward. Some days we’re sprinting forward, some days we’re falling forward, but we’re always moving forward, and I like that. I’m not a coaster. I’m not scared of failure – I’m scared of repetition.
In advertising sometimes you do have to compromise, you just have to try to do it as little as possible – I think whoever compromises the least wins. I like to think I’m a principled person, but I’m also an optimist, so there’ve been times
when I have convinced myself something is better, or going to turn out better, than I thought. I have good intentions in everything I do.
At Droga5 we try to be authentic to each client. I love the fact that we don’t have an agency style, so what we do for Prudential is very different from what we do for Newcastle Brown. We have always had different styles – I can make you laugh until milk comes out of your nose, or I can make you cry and think about your family. I want us to be super smart and really thoughtful about why something is right for this client, why it’s authentic.
Each morning before I go to work I get the kids off to school. It’s unbelievable. Even the busiest day in the office, no matter what happens, it’s going to be calmer, more manageable. My wife is a fantastic mother and she’s a creative force as well, which is why my kids are all over the place!
The majority of my day is spent interacting with the work at some level. Sometimes my contribution is heavy-handed, and sometimes the best contribution I can make is to get out of the way – but every decision I make is about how to help the work. We are our biggest critics, and we
“I definitely feel like a foreigner in America, but I feel very at home in New York, I love it. I love the energy, the people, the attitude, the ambition, the quirkiness.”
look at what we can and should do better. We’re not growing the agency for the sake of it. Our biggest accounts are our most progressive accounts – you’ve got to be selective about who you work with, and how and what criteria you come together in. Fortunately, we’re not for every client – we’re aware of that, and we turn down more business than we take on. As soon as you take on one big account for the numbers that it brings, not what you can do together, that’s when you lose your soul.
Obama mentioning our Honey Maid campaign This Is Wholesome [on how it promoted more diverse perceptions of families] was definitely a high point for us. I think it probably drills down to the origins of most of our work – the best things are grounded in really smart roots and observations, and aren’t just trend-based or technique-based. I’m not afraid of the obvious –because obvious is a really core starting point, and then you can be exceptionally creative with that.
We can’t just bombard people with marketing messages anymore, we’ve got to put something out there that touches them in some way, and people can make a connection with it. Advertising at its best is extraordinary. The problem is that 90 per cent of advertising isn’t at its best.
People appreciate honesty. They don’t like things that are manufactured or curated, pretending to be authentic. That was the whole thing with the I Will What I Want campaign [for Under Armour, with the model Gisele Bundchen that won the 2015 Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes]. If you’re going to make a point about female athletes, that they’re in charge of what they do, you have to show that it’s not all positive and rosy.
A brand now has to be in sync with what it’s saying. A brand can’t just claim it’s something if all its behaviour behind the scenes isn’t consistent with that. So you’ve got to be a lot more transparent about what you put out there. And we’re all learning, no one has a formula for it, but good intentions get you half way there. If you’ve got good intentions then you’ll find a way.
The deal with the talent agency WME [in 2013 WME bought a 49 per cent stake in Droga5] hasn’t transformed us in the sense that we are still very independent, it hasn’t changed the fundamental core of our business. WME has access and influences that no one else in the industry has, so it’s more about being aware of what’s coming up in the pop culture pipeline –it doesn’t suddenly get us celebrities cheaper. I’m not anti-celebrities if there’s a good reason to use them beyond just using their identity, or if you can be a little bit subversive with them. In our industry, just putting a celebrity in an ad usually means you don’t have an idea. There has to be a reason to have them in there, beyond them just being famous.
What’s really interesting is that a lot of celebrities now see adverts as showing a different dimension to them, like with Anna Kendrick and Newcastle Brown. It was authentic to her character: she’s cheeky, irreverent and she put herself out there – it was fantastic. But if she had just been wheeled in and propped up to hold up a product then that’s just dime a dozen stuff, and you also pay for that, it costs you a fortune.
I think I’m both extrovert and introvert. If I’m in an environment where I’m comfortable around the people, I think I’m an extrovert, but I don’t have to be doing tap dancing jazz hands, I don’t have to be the centre of attention. I like being a leader of an agency, I definitely like that, but not just for the sake of being a leader. I like that with it comes responsibility and I like the thought that it gives you the opportunity to do stuff.
My mother [a Danish artist, poet and environmentalist] is not seduced by her children’s success – she wants us to be happy, contributing people. She’s not caught up in the shininess of success. She just wants to know if I’m happy, and being true to myself. She still talks about The Tap Project for Unicef or the stuff we do for equality – that’s what she wants to talk about, not awards.
I go back to Australia once a year at Christmas and it’s fantastic. I’ve spent a couple of years building a farm in upstate New York, so this year I’ve convinced my family to visit for Christmas –so I’ve got 26 people coming…
My time is divided between the office and my family. I’m not a social animal that has to go out three nights a week or go to galas and dos. I like skiing and the outdoors if it involves my kids. At the farm we have a trout stream, so we do a bit of fishing, trail bikes, chasing chickens…
I definitely feel like a foreigner in America, but I feel very at home in New York, I love it. I love the energy, the people, the attitude, the ambition, the quirkiness. And I’ve got deep roots here – the company, my wife’s a New Yorker, we have four kids who are 49 per cent American. I still get excited by the city. I don’t walk the streets like a tourist, but it’s not lost on me. I’ve worked around the world, and loved my time in Asia, but I always missed Australia. Now, when I go back to Australia, I miss New York.
The one thing that makes me angry is dishonesty. It drives me crazy. People make mistakes, that’s life, but people who are deliberately dishonest just infuriate me.
If I were US president for a day I’d try to ban guns. There are just too many incidents involving guns, it’s unbelievable. Then I would have a great party on the White House lawn.
If I could change careers with anybody, it would be David Attenborough. He’s brought the world to people and he’s done it so charismatically and honestly… has there been a better storyteller over the last 50 or 60 years? Isn’t that the best possible thing? To make people look at the world in a different, better way? To be able to see things for the first time that no one has seen, and bring it to everybody – that’s about as good as it gets, mate. S
shots editors through the ages, from founder Paul Kemp-Robertson to current captain Danny Edwards, reflect on the title’s journey from 60-minute video cassette blending Vogue with AdAge, to its growth into the multimedia organ of excellence you now enjoy
is for EDITORS
Paul Kemp-Robertson 1990-1998
Once upon a time, in a converted chocolate factory on the banks of a murky canal in West London, an impoverished Goldsmiths graduate being paid £50 a week stuffed 1,000 VHS cassettes into 1,000 jiffy bags and licked 1,000 stamps. Then the mail van arrived and shots was officially a ‘thing’. Like all good fairytales, the intern (me) eventually became the editor, overseeing the transition from shots as ‘the creative video programme’ to the glossy magazine and digital resource you’re familiar with today.
shots started in those strange, sepia days before the World Wide Web. A time when fax machines and telephone boxes roamed the earth and when ‘being social’ meant moving your lips and letting words come out.
If you worked in advertising and wanted to see the latest, most creative work from around the world you had to either save up your pocket money and go to Cannes or tolerate the visit of yet another winsome directors’ rep armed with a Prada holdall brimming with U-matic tapes and more false
From left, Paul Kemp-Robertson, Jane Austin, Lyndy Stout and Danny Edwards
“We wanted to feature only the most innovative, ambitious, amazingly crafted creative work. We didn’t care about playing politics, nor did we fear putting noses out of joint…”
promises than a liposuction clinic. When shots came along it felt like a saviour. Ahead of its time, it was as if the yet-to-be born web had got jiggy with a DVD, resulting in an hour-long video cassette, designed as a kind of television show made for creative directors.
Dreamt up by Will Gompertz (now the BBC’s arts editor) and Gee Thomson (my partner at Contagious) the mission behind shots was to be the creative oracle of adland – someone once described it as the love child of Vogue and AdAge
This was no humble compilation reel. We wanted to feature only the most innovative, ambitious, amazingly crafted creative work and post production wizardry. The founders assembled a panel of industry experts to help select content for the first three issues. I thought the bloke from Saatchi & Saatchi was an investment banker, which explains why I only got the ‘unofficial helper’ job. After that, we were on our own.
We didn’t care about playing politics and nor did we fear putting noses out of joint. We were six people wedged into an office space designed for two, and all we cared about was identifying what we thought were the best-crafted ads and music videos on the planet and sharing them, like secret racing tips, with our subscribers.
The hallowed magazine that you hold in your hands today actually began life as a glorified credits booklet, wedged into the shots VHS case. Then Gee taught himself [page layout software] Quark XPress and I qualified as editor on the grounds that my dad was a sports journalist and we started to make something that was, in retrospect, only one notch above a student newspaper.
It was only after shots had been sold to the behemoth Pearson Publishing, a couple of years later, that we suddenly had the backing to fulfill our ambitions and make something that matched the scale and quality of the work we celebrated in the pages and on the reel.
The mid-90s was a genuinely interesting time for the ad industry. Yes, I know that nowadays, you could practically recreate Lord Of The Rings on a Mac in your bedroom but the early days of shots coincided with a purple patch for visual FX, thanks to advances in 3D software. Effects-heavy movies like Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park felt like the Hollywood equivalent of landing on the moon, and pretty soon Madison Avenue was muscling in on the action, with emerging studios like Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic laying out the red carpet for big-budget brands.
Many big-name directors like Michael Bay, David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze were cutting their teeth on commercials and it was a privilege to be able to interview them for shots, even though I realised when playing the tape back at my desk the next day that 90 per cent of Jonze’s responses were lies, feints and fantasies.
Plus ça change…
Paul Kemp-Robertson Co-founder & editorial director,
Contagious
Jane Austin
1998-1999
1 Founding editor, Paul Kemp-Robertson at the shots office during his tenure
2 Guinness, Surfer
3 Budweiser, Whassup
My time at shots was for me a Golden Age of TV ads where budgets were as unrestrained and unfettered as imaginations. It was pre-digital, pre-procurement and a time when the word ‘global’ meant something physical not digital. I joined shots after three years as an editor at Campaign, which was a weekly, fast, newsy, and – at the time – a very London-centric publication. Conversely shots was a bi-monthly magazine and video that offered the luxury of time to process opinion. But I had no idea how frigging huge it was. Also, I initially failed to understand how passionately [people] felt about the brand; I had many directors berating me for not including their work and I narrowly ducked a flying honey pot at breakfast in Cannes from an advertiser who was livid that I wouldn’t put his ad on the cover, even after turning down a new kitchen.
“Surfer defined the time and changed everything. There was more ambition and audacity as evidenced by the casting of a middle-aged man rather than an aspirational surfer dude.”
SHOTS Editing Company of the Year
As for the work, Surfer defined the time and changed everything. There was more ambition and audacity as evidenced by the casting of a middle-aged man rather than an aspirational surfer dude.
The two pre-eminent forces – Glazer and Gondry –earned their reputations for an excess of talent and imagination rather than behaviour. Remember that 90s Linda Evangelista quote about supermodels not getting out of bed for less than £10k per day? Well, at the time many directors wouldn’t get out of a bed for less than a sashimi platter, a massage, a nosebag of cocaine and a helicopter.
There were many directors who didn’t want to be pigeonholed by a style and were consistently excellent, especially in Europe. Kleinman, Ledwidge, Bond, Budgen, Rob Saunders and Chris Palmer. Even Tony Kaye was making good stuff on a regular basis – when he wasn’t kidnapping actors off Bacardi shoots or crapping in art galleries. The variety was delicious.
On the other side of the pond, DDB Chicago entered the vernacular with Budweiser’s Whassup and US-based directors such as the Scott brothers, David Fincher, Tarsem and Michael Bay were still helming the big-budget jobs, while Joe Pytka remained the US daddy.
There were the last of the specialist TV creative teams: Tom Carty and Walt Campbell, Kim Papworth and Tony Davidson, Linus Karlsson and Paul Malmstrom, Mark Waites and Robert Saville and many more. David Droga cemented his reputation as his creative department at Saatchi & Saatchi groaned under the weight of all the gongs they won.
Naively, no one knew what was to come and made TV hay while the pre-digital sun shone. The end of the millennium saw the end of an era and ‘the noughties’ became about noughts and ones. And a helicopter would now have to be argued for.
Jane Austin Owner, Persuasion Communications
Lyndy Stout
1999-2009
One of the first moments of realising that I had the best job in the world was when a VHS arrived from Paris in 2000. It was a music video for Robbie Williams by two young creatives, Fred and Farid. A couple of us from the editorial team watched it and we screamed and laughed and screamed some more when Williams starts stripping his skin off during his dance. We called the entire office into the screening room – advertising, management, the tea boy, everyone – and that shared whoop of seeing something fresh and completely out there has been a compulsion ever since.
The worst fear, apart from choosing work that later appeared a bit lame in the showcase edit, was completely missing something that was good. Like a late night decision to hold over John West Salmon’s Bear until the next issue, which was weeks away.
Viewing creative work is so emotional, it works on a cellular level. I almost fainted with excitement when I first saw Sony Balls, or Cadbury’s Gorilla, recognising that a completely new way of communicating had been created. That surge of happiness when you discover a great piece – with a simple, strong idea that’s fabulously crafted – is addictive.
It’s like panning for gold, always searching for that nugget which isn’t mimicry, or too derivative. It still puzzles me that
“Viewing creative work is so emotional, it works on a cellular level… That surge of happiness when you discover a great piece – with a simple, strong idea that’s fabulously crafted – is addictive.”
during my decade at shots trillions must have been spent on making the same car ad – the car moving along a mountain road, the beautiful woman always in the passenger seat…
Nowadays I’m puzzled why there’s very little work that makes us laugh, as if humour got put into a box when the recession hit and it hasn’t been allowed out since. On the other hand it has been exciting to see how the visual language of film has evolved, and how technique and post have become integral to the telling of the story. How do they do that? It’s far cleverer than rocket science.
Ironically, as we were all about moving imagery, the magazine was the soul of shots. There was always a frisson of excitement when it would arrive smelling freshly printed, although once opened we could only see the flaws.
We loved to travel to do our stories. But like everywhere else, budgets were limited. What was I thinking when I sent Jordan [McGarry, then deputy editor, now director of Vimeo] on a trip to the States on coupons I’d collected from a newspaper? The trip took several days and went via India to get there. On my first Cannes trip in 1999 management put me up in a five-star hotel on the Croisette. It was luxurious and wonderful but I almost died of loneliness. So the following year we used the same budget for the whole team to stay in a hilariously awful place where we returned for the next decade.
Like the industry we were showcasing, working on the shots editorial team was utterly dependent on working together harmoniously. As editor I may have done my fair share of stomping over to publishers shrieking “You’ve got to be joking?!” about some decisions that I had no control over, but I can’t recall ever having a fight within the editorial team. We were always up against deadlines, and my overriding memory is of laughing. Lots.
Lyndy Stout Editor,
onepointfour.co
Danny Edwards
2009-present
I remember my interview with Lyndy and then-assistant editor, Kirsten Wharton. It was for the role of tea boy’s assistant or something, and the only question I can recall being asked is, “You will stay for at least a year won’t you? We’d like to see that commitment.”
“Of course,” I replied, thinking that a year was a very long time. That was 16 years ago.
“I was there for that initial screening of Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ, which Lyndy mentions, and the sense of joy at unearthing something that creates that reaction was, and is, infectious.”
assistant editor and finally, in 2009, editor, life at shots has never been dull. I was there for that initial screening of Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ, which Lyndy mentions, and the sense of joy at unearthing something that creates that reaction was, and is, infectious. From there I have been lucky enough to meet with, talk to and learn from a whole host of creative people from the agency, production and post worlds. When I began my life at shots I felt like a young interloper with a lot to learn; now I feel like a much older interloper, still with a lot to learn.
Most people, when I tell them I’ve worked at the same place for that amount of time, look at me like I’ve just told them the moon landings are not only fake, but the moon itself is an artificial construct and we’re actually living in a huge glass dome, à la The Truman Show. But taking that first role was the best career decision I could have made.
From publishing assistant (no, me neither. Basically, tea boy’s assistant), to editorial assistant, researcher, staff writer,
5 Tea-boy-cum-editor Danny Edwards [centre] with news editor Ryan Watson [left] and former shots features editor Joe Lancaster
6 Robbie Williams, Rock DJ
My 16 years have seen many changes: geographical (from Clerkenwell, to Camden, to Moorgate and now Shoreditch); ownership (the behemoth that was Emap, now called Top Right Group, to a smaller but perfectly formed – most of the time – Media Business Insight); staff (too numerous to mention but many are dotted through the industry still, shots’ previous editors among them).
Of course, shots has had to change with the times, too. The internet is a far more potent force now than in 1990, or even when I started out in 1999, and, editorially, we have had to expand our focus and adapt our practices. But that’s what makes it interesting. The advertising industry itself has evolved so much in the past decade that every year, if not every issue, brings a new challenge and a new topic to look into.
But not everything has changed – shots’ founding principle of unearthing, sharing and examining great creative work from across the globe, as well as the people behind it, remains at our core and we like to think we’re still pretty good at it. The editorial teams, all of them, across the years, have been assiduous in their task of seeking out creative ingenuity and shining a light on it and long may that continue.
DIRECTORS
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
is for FAVOURITES
Fresh, powerful and relevant –Real Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
My favorite campaign in recent memory is Dove’s Real Beauty. It’s a platform that shattered all category conventions, and has proven staying power, remaining fresh and relevant year after year. It forced the beauty industry to reconsider its unrealistic standards, and laid the groundwork for other female empowerment campaigns like Always’ #LikeAGirl, Pantene’s Sorry Not Sorry, Under Armour’s I Will What I Want… the
list goes on. Every year this platform pumps out a couple of amazing, world-famous executions from different parts of the globe, proving how universal this insight is. It is also the campaign that consistently generates the most envy in our industry. Which is always a sign of greatness.
Tor Myhren Worldwide chief creative officer, Grey; president, Grey New York
Still creative after all these years… shots asked some of the industry’s top bods which spots from the last quarter of a century they wish they had on their reel
even before viral existed
The first time I saw Blackcurrant Tango’s St George, I thought it was extraordinary – the way it took over a break, how it felt viral even before we really knew what viral was. It was quite outrageous at the time, but the
Evian, Roller Babies
Blackcurrant
St George
touches are brilliant: Ray’s belly, his performance, the way the story layers up and up to the jump jet. There’s something so brilliantly British about it.
Amazingly audacious and brilliantly bottled bloody water
Bottled water. Bottled bloody water. Still bottled bloody water. The most amazing, integrated, globallyubiquitous, masterfully co-ordinated multimedia achievement of the last quarter century has been the relentless campaign to convince grown human adults (living within constant arm’s reach of working taps full of drinkable water) to part with actual money for environmentally questionable plastic bottles of the bastard stuff. All the while accompanied by the sort of staggeringly exaggerated health
benefits and preposterous provenance claims that would make a hardened snake-oil salesman blush. And be deemed laughable if employed to flog ANY other product.
So I salute your inglorious roll-call: from Evian’s Live Young, through Sapporo’s Diet Water and Dasani’s disgrace, to FIJI’s farcical globe-trotting and Delboy Trotter’s Peckham Spring. You win at water. But did you ever persuade me to purchase? Hell, Neau.
Trevor Beattie Founding partner, BMB London
The simplicity of just doing it and nothing more
An eyewateringly simple yet successful campaign
My choice is a bit embarrassing. No Cannes Grand Prix, no Black Pencil, no sexy technology like Apple, or sports superstars like Nike or trendy ad exec drivers like Audi. No, it targets myopic squinters, frequently old enough to rock a free bus pass. Specsavers Should’ve Gone To Specsavers is a creation of modest genius. First it truly is a campaign, one consistent simple message for 30 years. Next, it’s unbreakably welded to an effortless branded end line that’s as famously memorable as any Morecambe & Wise or Blackadder catchphrase. (I won’t say it, that’s how famous it is.)
It’s a comedy format so simple it’s always attracted the best directors, from Tony Kaye and Jeff Stark right up to recent spots by Pointblank’s own Nicholas Reynolds.
But it is a toss-up with Guinness Surfer, which I know is almost its opposite. It’s visceral in style, you feel it inside and you just wallow in its majestic filmmaking.
Kate Stanners Chief creative officer, Saatchi
& Saatchi London
It would have to be Just Do It. Nike is one brand that is consistently loved, referenced, envied and revered by consumers and marketers alike. Media channels, platforms, technologies – they all change over time. Nike has been able to use the Just Do It mantra for several decades now and it is still as relevant as ever. In the 21st century, it’s not just about saying it but letting consumers “Just Do It”.
When we are briefed by clients, Nike is constantly mentioned –there is a great amount of admiration for it by many brands around the world. And a lot of what drives the expression of the Nike brand is “Just Do It”.
Long before the current fashion for decoupling, Mr and Mrs Perkins, who created the company on a table tennis table, decided to come up with the ads internally, and take them directly to the production company. Look at the result, 1,648 outlets and sales in excess of £1.7bn. Are your eyes watering? “Should have gone…” – sorry, I said I wouldn’t say that.
Tim Mellors Creative partner, Pointblank
Inamoto
Taking a little risk makes for a monster campaign
In my estimation, the Beware Of The Voices campaign for monster. co.uk – done out of Saatchi in the early noughties – was an example of through-the-line perfection. Not only did it have a smart idea at its core, but every element of the campaign was a masterclass in craft. Beautifully written voiceover was accompanied by flawless performances directed by Fredrik Bond. The press was exceptional too, featuring cracking long copy and charming illustrations by Graham Carter. I love the fact that it was a bit dangerous, too. A little more of any ingredient and it
A calculated economy of substance says it all
I’ve always liked The Economist’s first poster campaign, – “I never read The Economist”… Management trainee. Aged 42 – which I thought was a brilliant example of the power of reduction; the power of advertising to take a complicated thought and reduce it down – but to reduce it down in such a way that it opens up inside your head.
It’s an example of advertising that I’ve used a number of times to say: ‘This is how advertising works’ –certainly on posters. A total of eight words, but it defines The Economist. Genius. And [the campaign] had a real impact on The Economist, turning it into a huge success.
Sir John Hegarty Co-founder, BBH
risked becoming too heady and convoluted, but in its execution it came off as relatable, populist, and perfect.
David Kolbusz
Executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy New York
1 Monster.co.uk, Beware Of The Voices
2 The Economist, I Never Read The Economist
3 Red Bull, Stratos Jump
4 Carling Black Label, Squirrel
I bet you wish you drank Carling Black Label
5 Carling Black Label, Dambusters 4
Ambition and bravery win the day
There are so many ads that I love, all for different reasons. They’ve all made me believe in our industry. And it’s no coincidence that the majority of these ads are also part of longstanding campaigns, not just one-offs. In no particular order, these are some that I didn’t do, that I wish I had done. Guinness Surfer; Nike Tag; Honda Cog; Sony Bravia; Levi’s Flat Eric; ALS Ice Bucket Challenge; Whopper Sacrifice; Red Bull Stratos Jump; Dove Real Beauty; Old Spice Responses; Carling Black Label Dambusters But if I had to pick one it would be Blackcurrant Tango St George. It was just so perfect in its ambition, bravery, execution, irreverence and cultural insight.
David Droga Founder, Droga5
I got lucky! One of my favorite spots of the last 25 years just made the cut! It’s the classic Dambusters film for the I Bet He Drinks… campaign for Carling Black Label.
Many campaigns from the last quarter of a century have inspired me, but I just love this one – I Bet He Drinks Carling Black Label. It’s still such a remarkable idea and I think one of the funniest beer commercials of all time.
The content is wonderful. It brought the language into pop culture. It’s entertaining. It’s tactical. It’s tongue-in-cheek and has a lightness of touch. It’s brandbuilding. It’s timeless. It sold a ton of beer. And 25 years later it’s still in the DNA of the brand. If you ran this today people would still love it.
Tony Granger Global CCO,
Y&R
F IS FOR 5
No, we’re not referring to everyone’s favourite nineties boyband, but the much more attractive, and youthful editing house – Stitch.
Celebrating half a decade since they opened their doors on Kingly Street, they give shots a high-five of highlights.
1: 500M+ YOUTUBE VIEWS / Over the past five years Stitch have garnered over 2.5 billion views on YouTube; with Ellie Goulding’s ‘Love Me Like You Do’ edited by Paul O’Reilly having the most with a whopping 500+ Million. Conversely, the least views was an equally surprising zero – a banned video for Disclosure’s ‘Help me lose my mind’ edited by Max Windows. We’ve seen over 500 Campaigns varying from Volvo’s lorry driving hamster to an all action bread-delivering Sylvester Stallone in the Warburtons spot. / 2: FIVE OF THE BEST AWARDS / Out of all the campaigns that Stitch have edited, none so far has been as successful as 4Creative’s Paralympics ‘Meet The Superhumans’. Recognised by 5 top awards bodies, the work achieved worldwide success and won gold awards at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Creative Circle, Promax, the British Arrows Awards and British Arrows Craft. It also received the highest accolades of Commercial of the Year, a Grand Prix and a D&AD Black pencil. Tim then went on to win Best Editing at the British Arrows Craft Awards. / 3: FIVE WAYS THEY’VE NURTURED TALENT / Firstly, they bring up their assistants to be editors. There’s no cutting in line. Secondly, Stitch launched editing collective Homespun as a place to edit music videos, short films and digital content. It supports young talent from directors and producers to their own editors. Thirdly, Homespun takes an ‘ideas first’ approach to commissions. Not every great project has a great budget to match but if it’s amazing it will be made. Fourthly, run as a collective, ideas and projects are shared between all of the editors. There’s no limit on the creative. Fifth and finally, each year Homespun also funds three short films through its competition Homespun Yarns. They invite anyone, regardless of background or experi- ence, to share their great idea and turn it into an even greater short film. / 4: FIVE CAMPAIGNS THE EDITORS LOVE / Leo King – Warburtons: The Deliverers: The edit was essential to the comedic timing of Sly’s latest career endeavour as Baker-come-Action Hero Delivery Man. Tim Hardy – Channel 4 Paralympics: Meet the Superhumans: Tim edited 100s of hours of footage to tell the story of the incredibly inspirational Paralympic athletes. A multi-award winning edit. Paul O’Reilly – Ezeki- el: This short documentary about the eponymous 12 year-old minister saw Paul work carefully with the footage and sound, to create an intense yet unbiased film on religion. Phil Currie – Pampers – Every Baby: Edited In real-time to coincide with the Royal birth of Princess Charlotte on May 2nd 2015, this film took just under 2 days straight, from shoot to broadcast. A rapid edit for such sensitive (yet beautiful) material. Max Windows – Rudi- mental: Waiting All Night ft. Ella Eyre: Max cut over 45 hours of footage to tell the heart-warming story of a reformed BMX am- putee in Rudimental’s awesome viral video. / 5: THE NEXT 5 / Stitch are staying boutique and personal, and will be championing creative projects, but they are by no means stopping there. Barely scratching the surface of possibilities of Homespun and Homespun Yarns; the team want to continue to nurture young talent and generate creative opportunities in the industry for newcomers, as well as their existing staff. With a passion for new challenges, the team will be dipping their toe (before dunking themselves) into long-form, as well as expanding on their roster of short films. Always looking for the next creative project – so watch this space!
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for
GUINNESS
An enviable back catalogue of award-winning advertising has secured its status as an iconic brand, but as its fruitful partnership with BBDO is given a global extension and stunning creative work emerges from as far afield as Asia and Africa, there’s more to Guinness than past glories, discovers Selena Schleh is
Draught In A Bottle, BBDO Singapore
In the business of advertising, it helps to have a unique product. And when it comes to beers, this Irish stout is one of a kind. It’s got the looks: those inky-hued depths; that lusciously creamy head; the perfect interplay of black and white. And then there’s the (allegedly) health-boosting properties of its iron and mineral-rich formula: back in the 1920s, the brand built an entire campaign on the notion that ‘Guinness Is Good For You’. Heck, even the thumb-twiddlingly long time it takes to pour, surge and settle was a ten-year cause for celebration under the slogan ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Wait’. That particular strapline came courtesy of London agency AMVBBDO. Out of all the creative shops that have worked with the brand since the glory days of S.H. Benson (remember the toucans?), it’s AMV – which won the account from Ogilvy & Mather in 1998 – that’s produced Guinness’s greatest hits. From Swimblack to noitulovE and Tipping Point, this glut of creativity has won hearts and minds – 1999’s Surfer (see box, page 42) was voted ‘best ad of all time’ in a 2002 Channel 4/Sunday Times poll – and swept the boards at international awards shows.
According to Mark Sandys, Diageo’s global head of beer and Baileys –who cut his teeth at Diageo on the Guinness brand as a marketing trainee back in 1997 – the success of the partnership, like a good marriage, is all down to common goals, shared understanding and longevity. “I have always felt that the agency ‘gets’ Guinness. They have the same aspiration for great and distinctive work, they challenge us to push ourselves further creatively and they also act as guardians of the brand for us and for our other agency partners. The long-term nature of the relationship really matters and has created a culture between us that has lasted even as the people working on the brand evolve.” Michael Pring, managing partner at AMVBBDO and worldwide account lead on Guinness agrees: “Our relationship has been longstanding but we earn it every single day.”
Such an enviable heritage can be daunting to follow – as Nadja Lossgott and Nicholas Hulley, the art director/copywriter team behind last year’s
“Guinness is unique, and so we look for creative ideas that only Guinness could or would do. Ideas with soul and substance that people can unite around, always executed with that Guinness character and twinkle in the eye.”
Sapeurs advert found out: “It’s the brief you want to get, but when you do get it, there’s a hell of a lot to live up to – which is scary.” It’s also a huge incentive to raise the bar creatively. “Working for Guinness brings a great sense of responsibility to live up to the work that has created this iconic brand – that is the most powerful standard to judge our work against,” says Sandys.
So what’s the secret to Guinness’s success? Sandys states firmly that, unlike the precise mix of barley, hops, water and trademarked strain of brewer’s yeast that goes into making the beer, there’s no magic recipe for its ads. “We have a clear understanding of what the Guinness brand stands for – an inspiration to make bolder choices – and also the personality of the brand, but there is no prescribed formula.”
Still, there are some constants underpinning the brand’s communications. “Guinness is unique, and so we look for creative ideas that only Guinness could or would do,” explains Pring. “Ideas with soul and substance that people can unite around, always executed with that Guinness character and twinkle in the eye. We have a very clear sense of brand purpose, to inspire people to bolder choices, and that is in the DNA of all Guinness work.”
“Throughout the years, Guinness has constantly reinvented itself with innovative firsts and groundbreaking work,” adds Sandys. “It’s important to remember this so that our role is to continually bring change and reinvention, rather than resting on our heritage.”
One current challenge is unifying the brand message across markets that range from Ireland to Nigeria. “Guinness is a global brand, much more so than people realise, but perhaps it hasn’t been as consistent and joined-up strategically or creatively as it could have been,” reflects Pring. That’s all changing in the wake of last year’s global review, when BBDO assumed creative responsibility for Guinness’s advertising business in western Europe, north America, Asia and Africa, taking over from the incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi. Consolidating its advertising under one network has allowed the brand to expand its ‘Made of More’ tagline – originally developed by AMVBBDO for the UK and Irish markets – to the rest of the world.
While ‘Made of More’ might not be as memorable as its predecessors (who could forget earlier gems such as ‘My Goodness, My Guinness’?) it
has more global relevance. ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Wait’, for example, only really works in relation to the ‘long pour’ of draught Guinness; drinkers of the beer’s export variant, Foreign Extra Stout, which accounts for over 40 per cent of total Guinness sales worldwide, don’t have to hang around for a ‘surge and settle’. And ‘Made of More’ is a tagline with greater scope for regional variations that add greater local relevance – or what Pring calls “taking a global concept and dipping it in local paint”.
“The way in which ‘Made of More’ comes to life varies massively depending on whether you are in Lagos, Seoul or Cork,” elaborates Sandys. “BBDO has allowed the creative executions to flourish within the framework of a consistent positioning.”
Sapeurs, created by AMVBBDO for Guinness Europe, is a case in point: a feel-good bit of branded content exploring the kooky subculture of the sapeurs, or Society of Elegant Persons of the Congo, blue collar workers who choose to cock a snook at life’s harsh realities by peacocking around in a magnificent array of glad rags. “They’re just normal people looking to live their lives with dignity and joy,” elaborates Hulley. “How they do it, however, is pretty unique and visual.”
The work dominated at international awards shows, and though some criticised Guinness for lacking a true connection to the story (as well as the agency’s decision to enlist a stylist and to shoot in South Africa, rather than Brazzaville), the decision to feature the sapeurs themselves added sincerity.
“Once we decided to tell the story of the sapeurs we were adamant we had to use the real guys: for authenticity and credibility we knew we couldn’t use actors,” says Lossgott. That drive for authenticity was why the team also pushed to make the accompanying documentary.
Across the pond, meanwhile, BBDO New York has taken a more heartstring-tugging approach with two recent spots, Basketball and Empty Chair, celebrating the values of friendship and loyalty. But, as agency senior creative director Tom Kraemer points out, emotional advertising is a tricky thing to get right: “The biggest challenge was to strike an emotional chord without coming off as false or cloying.”
With its story of a six-strong wheelchair basketball team, five of whom, in a tearjerking reveal, turn out to be able-bodied but playing to support their wheelchair-user friend, Basketball could easily have veered into exploitative or condescending territory. It was therefore crucial the participants had a real connection with each other, and with the sport, explains Kraemer: “The protagonist was a disabled athlete who plays wheelchair basketball competitively, and [director] Noam Murro had the men practise a lot together so they could build a genuine camaraderie that you felt on screen. Also, one of the able-bodied players is the coach of a wheelchair team. All this contributed to the gritty authenticity of the commercial.”
‘Made of More’ is raising the creative bar in regions beyond the traditional Guinness heartlands. “We’re as proud of the work we do in Africa and Asia as we are of the work we do in the US, Great Britain and Ireland,” says Pring. Take last year’s multiple Lion-winning poster campaign from BBDO Singapore, which builds on the brand’s strong print heritage. Created to convince Singaporeans that cracking open a bottle of draught Guinness is the same as pulling it from the pump, Draught In A Bottle uses just a few artful strokes of the pen to give the illusion of a pint in a bottle. It’s the kind of retro-chic advertising that you’d happily rip out of a magazine, frame and hang on your wall.
Africa has been a significant market for Extra Foreign Stout since 1827, and over 40 per cent of Guinness in terms of total volume worldwide is brewed and sold there. But until recently the beer was seen as a drink for older consumers, reflected in very traditional advertising, such as Saatchi & Saatchi’s 1999-2006 campaign, featuring Michael Power, an African James Bond-type who saves the day with the catchphrase ‘Guinness gives you power!’ Tasked with introducing Guinness to a new generation, AMVBBDO and BBDO Africa decided to shake things up. The result, Made Of Black, exploded onto screens last year as part of a five-hour takeover of MTV Base. Featuring a host of local African artists in a quick-paced montage of performance art, dance and set pieces, interspersed with statements like ‘Black is not a colour. Black is an attitude’ and backed by Kanye West’s
“The way in which ‘Made of More’ comes to life varies massively depending on whether you are in Lagos, Seoul or Cork. BBDO has allowed the creative executions to flourish within the framework of a consistent positioning.”
Last year’s Fourth of July offering, Empty Chair, packs a similarly emotional punch: a bartender repeatedly places a pint of the black stuff in front of a vacant seat – whether in tribute or as a sign of hope is uncertain – until finally, one day, the bar door opens and a returning soldier takes up his rightful place… and his pint. The spot strikes a gently patriotic, rather than mawkish note, embodying the tagline: ‘The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character’.
4 Empty Chair, BBDO New York 5/6 Basketball, BBDO New York
Riding the wave of success
Walter Campbell, the creative behind AMV’s seminal 1999 spot, Surfer, reflects on the hunches and hurdles that made an advertising masterpiece
It all started as a side effect of something [client] Andrew Fennell said in the pitch. I’d found a wonderful shot of a really amazing Hawaiian surfer with his board across his knees, just staring out to sea and the line ‘Good things come to those who wait’ sat with it perfectly. Fennell noticed the image and said he’d like to do something with surfers.
Surfing in England wasn’t very popular then, so I went down to Cornwall to see what was going on down there. Sitting on the beach, watching these lads in wetsuits smashing through the waves on a rainy Saturday morning, made me think of a more mythological story.
I’d read in National Geographic about ‘super waves’ like the aptly named Jaws, and it made me picture schools of whales powering through the depths of the sea to create them. To me, this idea chimed with the character Tashtego
rebellious anthem Black Skinhead, the twominute spot marked a daring, even provocative departure for the brand. “It was a very unconventional script for a client to buy, especially for the African market,” admit Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland, the art director and copywriter responsible. “Unlike most traditional beer ads, it didn’t have a linear storyline with a beginning, middle and end and it didn’t feature guys drinking in a bar. There isn’t a pub or drinking shot in sight.”
from Moby Dick. The imagery of Moby Dick perfectly related to the boldness and fierce reality of surfing those super waves.
I’d already asked Jonathan Glazer to have his researchers look into bars with a nautical heritage [for Swimblack]. The potent image that came from that request was the painting Neptune’s Horses by Walter Crane. As soon as I saw it the whole surfer story slotted into place.
One particular bug came as a result of us needing to connect the idea to the notion of drinking. So I wrote a poetic VO, based a little on Moby Dick, and also inspired by some passages in James Joyce’s A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, where he writes about the nature of eternity.
There were various challenges – the cost of post, the music – but one thing that carried us over a lot of the hurdles was that Swimblack had done very well in growing sales, which
1/2
But this wasn’t about creating controversy for controversy’s sake, rather it was about reflecting a huge cultural shift going on in the region. “Africa has the most brash and exciting youth culture in the world,” says Sutherland. “[It’s] comparable to Brooklyn in the early 80s: an energetic, scatter-gun and unstoppable culture shifting in its infancy to something else which demands attention.”
In short, this new audience is not, as The Guardian once memorably put it, ‘twinkly-eyed, Byronic bar-room intellectuals, sitting quietly with a pint and dreaming of poetry and impossibly lovely redheads running barefoot across the peat’. “Tonally it’s a move on from where the brand was in Africa, but it’s the right thing to do,” Pring states. And it’s certainly been the right decision from an awards perspective, with the campaign picking up a gold Lion in Film at Cannes this year. Despite the complex production of the spot, it was based around a simple insight, says Sutherland. “Guinness is the world’s blackest beer; no other beer looks like it. It’s unique and proud to be black. This
stood us in good stead with the client. And, of course, we were lucky to always have amazing support from the agency.
It was also the year Peter Souter took over from David Abbott as creative director at AMV, and his feeling was ‘Let’s make this just as we would if David was here.’ So that feeling of living up to an expectation was there too. These notions carried the creative process along, and gave us a real energy.
Ultimately, Surfer’s appeal is that it speaks of the importance of these moments in our lives – the boldness we need to be fully alive and the feeling of the heroic as a collective instinct.
Of Black, AMVBBDO and BBDO Africa
“Unlike most traditional beer ads, it didn’t have a linear storyline with a beginning, middle and end and it didn’t feature guys drinking in a bar. There isn’t a pub or drinking shot in sight.”
attitude is shared with the youth of Africa – they want to stand out from the crowd and they’re proud to be different.”
What about the all-important touchstone of authenticity? In a similar vein to the approach on Sapeurs, the team insisted on casting ‘real’ people rather than actors, or overexposed celebrities, spending eight months scouring Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast for original emerging talent.
With ‘Made of More’, Guinness looks set for a new chapter of creative landmarks. And that’s definitely worth raising a pint to. S
is for HARDWARE… & OTHER TECH
Sony Sportsman Walkman (1988)
The original Walkman was introduced in 1979 and had such an impact that in 1983 the word itself found a place in the Oxford English Dictionary. But the Sportsman was the one everyone wanted. Actually released in 1988, it’s included here because it became the musthave item of the 90s – if you already had a Tamagotchi, that is.
The Sportsman was the first cool personal music device that clashed with your neon socks so beautifully well. And it was waterproof, which meant dancing in the shower became a 1990s meme. Bass boost, solar-powered alarm clock… oh yes. Innovation at its most pointless, yet best.
The World Wide Web (1990)
Twenty-five years ago, everything changed. Tim Berners-Lee and collaborators created all the tools necessary for a working Web. A year later they were made public and the Web went World Wide. Documents became connected and so did we… and we’ve never looked back. Why would we?
Ben Jones, AKQA’s global chief technology o cer, takes a nostalgic look back at some of the most influential and groundbreaking hardware, gadgets, websites and other tech that have given us fun, functionality and social kudos –not to mention eyestrain and RSI –over the past 25 years. Do you remember the first time?
“If the World Wide Web is the fabric, then Google has established itself as the seamstress.”
Sky (1990)
“The original Walkman had such an impact that in 1983 the word itself found a place in the Oxford English Dictionary.”
Netflix/4G (1997/2012)
It’s come a long way from its beginnings as a traditional DVD rental business to deliver content you want to consume when you want to consume it. Now it trades in social kudos in the form of Daredevil, Peaky Blinders and Orange Is The New Black, all streamed to you wherever you are – with a little help from 4G. (Except when you’re on a plane, which is a little annoying. Come on Netflix, let me go o ine too!)
Actually launched in 1989, but a merger with BSB in 1990 was a rebirth for the struggling baby broadcaster, helping it to grow from four channels to lots and lots. Sky brought choice to the nation’s TV watchers and, to the exploring teenager, Babestation. Sky completely changed the advertising industry and the finances behind it. They were a company that kept on innovating until Sky+… and then they stopped. I’m still waiting. I’m completely confused about my Sky bundle costs and inclusions, but that’s a small niggle and a reasonable trade-o for what the company has done over the last 25 years.
Windows 95 (er, 1995)
This release of the Windows operating system made computing accessible. It drove the PC industry into a frenzy and Bill Gates took a huge step towards putting a computer into every home.
Google (1996)
IBM Deep Blue (1997)
If the World Wide Web is the fabric, then Google has established itself as the seamstress. As various services and search engines came and went, Google delivered simplicity and stayed. The simple will always displace the complex.
A monumental moment in history when a computer beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Computer beats man. Enough said.
Nokia phone 7110 (1999)
Hotmail (1996)
You know a digital service has broken through to the next level when the only username you can get is nothing like your name and includes random numbers. Hotmail took email to the world.
Let’s be honest, everyone wanted to be Neo in The Matrix. Mostly because he had that amazingly cool slider phone with the cover that magically sprang open. So cool. The film used an adapted earlier model, the 8110 (1996), but Nokia released a spring loaded model, the 7110, in 1999, finally making our Neo fantasies come true. It was also the first WAP mobile phone, starting all of us on our journey to always-connected land. Just as importantly, Nokia also brought us Snake, which helped fill the time on trains until Facebook, Twitter and Instagram came along.
“Spotify meant I could take down my IKEA CD rack and say goodbye to those silly plastic CD cases.”
Facebook (2004)
You know something has been overwhelmingly successful when 1) both you and your mum are using it and 2) a company that’s just over 10 years old is buying other companies for $19 billion.
iPhone/the App Store (2007/2008)
Let’s be honest. WAP was an experience best forgotten. Thankfully, along came a phone that made everything so simple – and so beautiful. The fact that it wasn’t the best device for making calls seemed irrelevant because, a year after the phone was launched, along came the App Store to make everything all right.
It meant you could play Sega Super Monkey Ball on your phone, which was better than speaking to your parents (who couldn’t be heard if you did try to call them anyway). The iPhone led us to a complete change in advertising attitude – moving from pure push advertising to utility and bidirectional conversation through the world of apps.
Spotify (2008)
A real innovation that meant I could take down my IKEA CD rack and say goodbye to those silly plastic CD cases that always seemed to get underfoot, crack and break.
Instagram (2010)
Within five years it has become the number one social network on the planet, and now, with the recent addition of the Ads API, it’s going to be the place where brands can play.
What’s the capital of Greenland? Why is the sky blue? What are the symptoms of gonorrhea? These questions and many millions more are now only a click of a mouse away. For digital natives (those born after the advent of the internet) the thought of having to leave their chair, let alone their house, to find the answers to anything must seem arcane. A library? That’s where you keep your iTunes music, right?
But, of course, it wasn’t always so. While the idea of the internet was created in the 60s, the internet as we know it today has only been part of everyday existence since the late 90s, and even then its evolution from fascinating but limited (both in availability and application) tool to a ubiquitous basic human right is astounding. The internet is, far and away, the thing that has had the biggest impact on the world in the last 25 years.
The inevitable meets the intractable
When shots first launched in 1990, shots.net was a mere glint in our pixelated eye. The site didn’t launch until 2000 and even then it wasn’t much to shout about. Video files took a long time to play and, initially, we would save stories and content for the printed publication and the DVD reel (some people even still received a VHS back then) because, well, who uses the internet?
The answer, now, is everyone. And that shift has made the world a captivating, and sometimes difficult, place to exist, perhaps especially so for the ad industry. From the outset, agencies grappled
is for INTERNET
Let’s go surfing now, everybody’s learning how… We have all learned how to find the answer to random pub ponderings or the perfect holiday villa with just a click. But, despite the ubiquity of the internet, and the eager use of buzzword bullshit, Danny Edwards wonders if the advertising industry still has an awful lot to learn when it comes to making the most of digital’s creative possibilities
with how to use the net. Initially, its high barrier to access meant that it wasn’t of too much concern, but as more and more people purchased home computers, then laptops, then smart phones, and as the speed of the internet went from snail’s-pace to Usain Bolt-like, the advertising industry had to sit up, log on and get with the programme.
“From the moment it was created, the internet was inevitable,” says James Hilton, co-founder of digital agency AKQA. “Everyone either had or was getting a computer at home, and they already had the phone line. Petrol, meet match.”
In the very early 2000s came the dot-com bust and a reprieve for beleaguered ‘traditionalists’. But that’s when many digitally-facing agencies looked to open up, learning from the mistakes made before them. “Anyone around during that time will tell you 2001 was seminal, the bubble burst and a lot of the enthusiasm for the internet (we didn’t call it digital
then) was gone,” explains Wesley ter Haar, co-founder of MediaMonks. “People lost money, pride and the faith that this burgeoning technology was going to have an impact on business at scale. That’s the maelstrom of discontent MediaMonks launched in, a direct response to the buzzwordbingo-BS that preceded it.
“As founders we were all part of a start-up before MediaMonks and wanted to stop adding hot air to the balloon. MediaMonks was about the craft of making cool stuff, and getting down to basics – more and more people were going online, and even though the buzz had died down, the grassroots nature of the internet was allowing small shops like ourselves to do amazing stuff.”
But not everyone knew how to make amazing stuff. Some people weren’t entirely sure how to make stuff at all. Throughout the noughties you couldn’t have an advertising conference, seminar or
event without some reference to ‘understanding the internet’ or ‘discussing digital’. It was an industry in itself (we should know, we took advantage of it too). Some embraced it wholeheartedly, revelling in the interactivity and immediacy of this new platform. Others, not so much.
Hilton thinks that the industry’s reluctance to really understand how the internet could be a beneficial force was down to numbers. “It was old dogs/new tricks, with lots invested in the old tricks and therefore lots to lose. ‘New’ scares people, it’s a threat. The easiest way to recognise a threat is to see what the ‘established industry experts’ are laughing at, at any given moment. One day, the pioneers of ‘digital’ will be laughing at something too. And whatever it is, your best bet is to back it, as that’s what will come next.”
Ter Haar agrees: “Initially it was a DNA difference. Traditional advertising is top-down, brand-led and linear, whereas the internet is bottom-up, consumer-led and iterative. The potential avenues the internet presented were,
in many cases, outside the comfort zone of what traditional advertising was in the 80s and 90s. With that in mind it’s no surprise the industry had trouble cracking the code to success.”
The words are not enough
Following the learning curve of digital education, through in-house digital teams, to separate digital arms and back again, through the introduction of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to the ubiquity of Google and the rise of mobile, the internet has been at the heart of a raft of fantastic work created for online users and viewers: Burger King’s Subservient Chicken, back in 2004; IKEA’s Facebook Showroom in 2009; Ecko Unltd’s Still Free viral film in 2006; the Bing/Jay Z Decoded campaign and Arcade Fire’s Wilderness Downtown music video project, both from 2010, are examples of how the internet has made the creative advertising industry an exciting place to live.
But, thinks Hilton, the industry still has a lot to learn and while there are people and agencies who
“They all ‘incubate’, and ‘fail fast’ and ‘innovate’, but they don’t really. It’s just that the ad industry is so nauseatingly vacuous that simply saying the words is often enough to get you by. But this won’t last, Darwin will see to that.”
“From the moment it was created, the internet was inevitable. Everyone either had or was getting a computer… and they already had the phone line. Petrol, meet match.”
1 Burger King, Subservient Chicken
2 Bing/Jay Z, Decoded
3 Arcade Fire, Wilderness Downtown
4 IKEA, Facebook Showroom S
‘get it’ there are, in his opinion, far more who don’t. “They understand the internet and emerging technologies in the same way Mr Bean knows how to drive a car,” Hilton says. “They know it gets them from A to B, but that they ever make it to B is more luck than judgment. The vast majority haven’t got a fucking clue, and that’s the very sad fact. They all say they do. They all ‘incubate’, and ‘fail fast’ and ‘innovate’, but they don’t really. It’s just that the ad industry is so nauseatingly vacuous that simply saying the words is often enough to get you by. But this won’t last. Darwin will see to that.”
LGoCompare.com, Comeback
is for JINGLES
ove them or hate them, there’s no denying that when it comes to memorable audio branding, jingles do the job. Whether it’s Mentos’ mintyfresh melody, the ever-impressive bellow of the Bodyform lady (all together now: “WOOOAAAAH, Bodyform!”) or the hokey strains of “Just one Cornetto…” these earworms wriggle deep into our aural canals from the first listen, proving impossible to dislodge. Which explains why, more than 25 years on from their 80s heyday, jingles are still around. They’ve just evolved.
For proof, look no further than price comparison site GoCompare.com, whose irritating ditty, belted out by opera-singing mascot Gio Compario, plagued audiences for a tinnitus-inducing three years. Gio was resurrected this year in Comeback – which saw the signature jingle re-imagined as a huge recital in front of adoring crowds. “It’s testament to how music production and real musicians can give adverts a new lease of life,” says Paul Cartledge, director of Yellow Boat Music, who created the arrangement.
Comeback also neatly illustrates a shift in how advertisers are using music and sound: instead of being a blunt instrument to bludgeon the message home, or a hastily tacked-on afterthought, it’s now a subtle emotional tool. “Sound no longer plays second fiddle to the picture, it has transformed into a major force in storytelling,” states Carole Humphrey, founder and MD of Grand Central Recording Studios. Dave Hodge, partner and creative director at Finger Music, agrees: “Music and sound design is not an afterthought. It’s exactly half the experience [of a spot]. Brands who put more emphasis on the audio experience have much more effective campaigns.”
Thinking outside the musical box
Whether through licensing (sync) or original composition, the use of music in commercials is key to building a distinctive brand ‘sound’ and few brands have fused the two as successfully as Levi’s under the stewardship of Sir John Hegarty and BBH. From the late 80s to the noughties, the brand built an enviable reputation as a hit-maker through spots such as Laundrette, Space Girl, Mermaids and Flat Eric. “It was at a time when music videos were becoming more and more important as a means of communication for the music industry,” remembers Hegarty. “We were slightly smarter than
From five-note mnemonics to extraordinary live experiences, the way brands use music and sound has progressed far beyond the humble jingle. But crafting a strong sonic identity is harder than it sounds, finds Selena Schleh
“We took a great song, and we wrote a story that the song seemed to add value to, and in turn the story added value to the song. Everybody won.”
music videos and gave the music a meaning. We took a great song, and we wrote a story that the song seemed to add value to, and in turn the story added value to the song. Everybody won.”
Eschewing a formulaic approach (“not just looking up ‘water music’ and ‘mermaid’ references in the file [for 1997’s Mermaids]”) in favour of more leftfield choices was why the music worked, says Hegarty. A prime example is the distinctly un-rock’n’roll Noel Coward-penned song, Mad About The Boy, in Swimmer (1992). Another factor was the luxury of time; often months were spent auditioning different options. Ultimately, the music “needed to find the rhythm in the film”, a peculiar alchemy best demonstrated in 1988’s Refrigerator where the decision to swap the logical first choice, It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World by James Brown, for Muddy Waters’ Mannish Boy transformed an initially “awful” ad with “crap acting” into another hit. Fast-forward to the current decade, and the baton has passed to British retailer John Lewis, which, helped by its agency adam&eveDDB, has also
coined a highly distinctive sound in its advertising. From Ellie Goulding’s version of Your Song (2010’s A Tribute To Givers) to Gabrielle Aplin’s take on The Power Of Love (2012’s The Journey) and Lily Allen’s cover of the Keane classic Somewhere Only We Know for The Bear And The Hare (2013), the formula takes classic crowd-pleasers and gives them an acoustic reboot by up-and-coming (or, in the case of Allen, career reviving) female artists.
This distinctive, stripped-back sound has been aped by others, but none has owned it so definitively. As chief creative officer Ben Priest explains: “We’ve developed a musical handwriting as we’ve gone along. There was never a master plan: we’ve picked the best track for each ad and when something has worked, we’ve held onto it.” Echoing Hegarty, Priest puts the success of the campaigns down to music that complements, rather than overwhelms, the narrative. “There’s a simplicity to what we do – it’s not overblown or complex. It sits gently on the picture and allows the story to be told.”
The agency works with specialist music consultants Leland Music, but their ears are open to all suggestions. “When I was in hospital, in the theatre with my wife [who was] giving birth, a track came on the radio which I thought would be ace for Monty’s Christmas,” remembers ECD Richard Brim. “When I told her, she went mad, but what ensued was a conversation with every member of staff – even the surgeon – about what would make a great John Lewis track. People can really identify with music, and any opinion is valid.”
At the other end of the audio branding spectrum is the sound logo – or mnemonic, as it’s known in the trade. Admittedly, a three-second audio clip is unlikely to bring a lump to the throat (or inspire a debate mid-labour), but it can be equally effective, as McDonald’s, British Airways and Audi have all proved. However, as Simon Robinson, co-founder of London-based ‘creative noise makers’ Pitch & Sync points out, “it’s a really tricky space. The shorter amount of sound you have to play with, the more complicated it becomes.”
While some industry folk take a dim view of mnemonics (see box opposite), Robinson argues that, in our increasingly techy world, the notification bleeps from our mobiles or the start-up sounds of switching on a laptop offer opportunities for brands to be creative, playful and, yes, memorable. “It’s all about trying to work out what the brand stands for, what its values are, and distilling them into sound,” says Robinson, referencing
Moronic mnemonics
Hugh Todd, creative director at Leo Burnett London, on why sonic logos are so hard to get right
It was a few years ago I first came across the term audio mnemonic. “The dab of shit” was how we politely referred to it back then. Three seconds of audio gunk ruining the previous 27 of lovingly crafted writing.
The account man informed us the client had spunked £4m on getting the rights to the five-note ditty, so it was a mandate.
Our baby was ruined.
Not only was it a dab of shit, it was the last stinking thing the listener heard. A bit like going to see the Stone Roses and on your way out, the PA plays Rick Astley, the aural odour staying with you all the way home.
Things have moved on a bit since then. But not necessarily for the good. Sonic logos are big business. Those three to five seconds at the end of your commercial could apparently make or break a brand.
It seems everyone should have one. It’s not just big blue-chip
clients that crowbar them onto their ads. Estate agents, plumbers et al seem to want a sonic logo in the hope it’ll get more custom.
Do they work?
Creatively, I’d say not often.
Imagine this. You’ve just penned and shot the latest Nike extravaganza. It’s a two-minute masterpiece, £4m budget… is there something missing? How about five totally random notes played on a kid’s xylophone? Yep, that’ll do it. Look out, Cannes.
To date, I’ve not spotted Nike or VW or Harvey Nicks with one concluding their Grand Prixwinning spots. Granted, there are ironic ones – the Old Spice whistle comes to mind, but they are few and far between.
1 Levi’s, Flat Eric
2 Levi’s, Creek
3 Levi’s, Laundrette
4 Levi’s, Odyssey
5 John Lewis, The Bear And The Hare
6 Honda, Cog
a place in advertising. As humans we can identify a brand from just a few notes on a piano, e.g. the Intel bong or McDonald’s whistle – so in some cases if it’s done right it can be as good for a brand as any visual branding like the golden arches for McDonald’s or the Nike tick.”
But it is incredibly hard to get right. Adds Munzie: “It can go horribly wrong. Mazda’s ‘Zoom Zoom’ or Ford’s terrible guitar mnemonic from a few years back weren’t the finest. I actually helped get rid of the Ford one and replaced it with something more pleasing to the ear.”
Of course, some audio mnemonics are utterly brilliant. They’re just not on adverts. The Close Encounters five-note sequence. The phone from Our Man Flint. John Williams’ ominous theme from Jaws. All evoke powerful memories, not just of those key moments in the movie, but also bringing back the true essence of the film and the era in which you watched it.
My mate’s mum used to sing three notes up the stairs, which always meant only one thing – dinner was on the table. A happy childhood memory.
If you really have to have one, it’s got to be right for the brand.
A man who knows a bit about sound is the award-winning sound designer at GCRS, Munzie Thind, who says: “Audio mnemonics have
The McDonald’s whistle and Intel bongs seem to work because they’re hard-wired to the brand. Intel is a huge tech company, so the futuristic four-note sequence (created by Walter Werzowa, who apparently updates it every year) feels right. And likewise for McDonald’s, the chirpy five-note whistle perfectly reflects the brand’s populist personality.
One of the most famous (and amusing) briefs was given to Brian Eno. It apparently included a list of around 150 adjectives that the company wanted to convey, and ended with “…and no more than 3.8 seconds long”. The resulting sonic logo for Windows was a bit meh. And that’s being kind.
If Brian can’t nail it, maybe let’s just leave it alone?
“Sonic logos are big business. Those three to five seconds at the end of your commercial could apparently make or break a brand.”
a past Pitch & Sync project composing a welcome sound for Intel’s (now defunct) OnCue TV platform. “Intel stands for humanity and anticipation, and we interpreted those values [sonically] as a breath in. You expect a breath out to follow – that’s the anticipation – and it also has that human element to it,” he explains.
When it comes to sound design, Anthony Moore, founding partner and creative director at audio specialists Factory, thinks it has moved on from “merely tagging a ‘catchy’ mnemonic onto the end of an ad” to a more holistic approach. He cites Honda and Lurpak as examples of brands that have created a definitive sound ‘style’: “You know exactly where you are with their soundscapes through the distinct feel of quality and craft. But they still manage to push into new areas of creativity by constantly evolving their style.”
“And then there’s the brave new world of virtual reality, an as yet undefined channel for audio branding… It gives us so much more space to mess with.”
Honda has championed an experimental approach to sound design ever since 2003, when Cog brought a series of inanimate objects to life through clicks, whirrs and thunks, and that progressive attitude is still winning awards today with recent successes Inner Beauty, Keep Up and The Other Side. “As an engineering company, Honda spends a long time developing products, so we take the same care with our sound design,” says Wieden+Kennedy London’s ECD Tony Davidson.
Take The Other Side, where sound and music played just as important a role as the ‘mirrored’ visuals in the spot’s dual narrative. “We began noting sonic moments down in early storyboards: things like the school bell versus the alarm bell have a nice jump when you toggle between them,” recalls creative director Scott Dungate of the process. After toying with various music options – one idea involved recording two versions of the same song, while another employed opposing genres (choral music on the Civic storyline, heavy metal on the Type R) – they settled on different tones with a shared underlying DNA, to help the interactive element feel cohesive. “The constant beat [gave] flow to the experience, whereas sound design and musical flourishes gave the two sides contrast: menacing and edgy versus warm and friendly,” explains Dungate.
While film remains a powerful medium, there are plenty of other ways for brands to make a noise. “A brand today is not what it says it is to people through a well-placed TV ad, it’s what people say it is when they experience it in multiple touchpoints,” says Tommy Zee, creative director at MassiveMusic Amsterdam. “We encourage brands to be intentional and strategic about their use of music. Make songs, break new artists, take the trouble to create something new, build apps, create unbelievable live experiences with sound – this is what great brands know they need to do to be loved by their audience.”
Apps are one such touchpoint where brands can develop their audio identities. Finger recently created a sonic palette representing model Cara Delevingne as part of an augmented reality app by Beats Audio and Garage magazine. Brands have also moved beyond simply sponsoring concerts. Last month, Lexus teamed up with singer will.i.am to create a giant motion- and audio-sensitive laser game based around his hit track #thatPOWER, while Delta Airlines enlisted New York-based music studio Q Department to compose a soundtrack for its photon shower, created to tackle jetlag in frequent flyers. “It was the ultimate fusion of music and science,” enthuses composer Drazen Bosnjak, who transposed the specific light frequency used in the installation down to an audible range.
Now that’s what I call distinctive audio branding…
And then there’s the brave new world of virtual reality, an as yet undefined channel for audio branding, but one in which Bosnjak sees “a huge opportunity to explore [sound]. It gives us so much more space to mess with.”
One thing is certain: with the proliferation of content across channels – TV, online, mobile – crafting a consistent, distinctive sound has never been more important for brands, says Pitch & Sync’s Robinson. “You’ve got loads of music saying different things, which leads to some very confusing messages for your audiences. It’s a real missed opportunity to align, from an audio point of view, what you stand for as a brand.” Factory’s Moore agrees that developing a style of sound within defined parameters is key, but adds rules should be applied with care: “They shouldn’t be about limiting you, more about guiding and inspiring you to be brave with your sound design, finding new places to explore and own your sound.”
Ultimately, concludes MassiveMusic’s Zee, the solution lies in the context: “Who is this for, who is this by, and what do we hope to achieve?” he asks. “If you want your phone number etched in someone’s memory – do a jingle. If you want to move your audience – write simple, honest, powerful songs.” S
1 Lexus & will.i.am,
2
3
“Make songs, break new artists, take the trouble to create something new, build apps, create unbelievable live experiences with sound…”
#thatPOWER
Delta Airlines, Photon Shower
Honda, The Other Side
is for KARDASHIAN
What is the X factor that differentiates contemporary celebrity brands from merely very successful footballers, cyclists, golfers, singers, actors, models? What distinguishes celebrity self-branding from the endorsement model of the pre-social media world, or the more adventurous cross-branding of, say, Beyoncé with O2 or David Beckham with Haig? And what are the perils and pay-offs of a big brand drawing a celebrity into its web of influence in an aim to make them both shine like a set of new veneers?
Matching the right product with the right celebrity name is the Holy Grail of advertising, the gift that keeps on giving, but when it goes wrong – well, consider the case of Lance Armstrong, a sports and lifestyle brand whose adventures in enhancement medicine finally put his career six feet under in 2013, with little chance of resurrection. Further back in 2009, Tiger Woods’ sexually
Celebrity branding has come of age. Tim Cumming tries to find that special something – the X factor – a celebrity needs in order to win millions of fans on social media, the type of fan who will follow them wherever they go, and buy whatever they tell them to buy, whether it’s a gaming app, a whisky bar or eco baby wipes. The question is, how can brands get their share of that precious cultural influence juice, without coming across as the embarrassing old dad at the celebrity party?
Kim Kardashian schools the Cannes Lions crowd on being the brand
“The massive cultural changes wrought by digital and social media, in which everyone becomes a player, mean that celebrity branding isn’t about static endorsement, but a product in itself, just as celebrity is no longer the by-product of success in other cultural areas.”
endorsement model is no longer ready for its close-up. Today it’s all about involvement – an interactive, accessfriendly 360-degree celebrity turn.
complicated fall from grace left him below par virtually overnight – and his game never has recovered. Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T, Buick and Tag Heuer all abandoned him. However, Nike, which had sponsored Woods since the 90s, loyally stayed on board.
Similarly, cosmetics group Rimmel chose to stick by supermodel Kate Moss in 2005 after a drug ‘scandal’ tarnished the face that launched a thousand container ships of make-up. Although Chanel and H&M dumped la Moss like radioactive waste, it seems her brand was bigger than theirs –a demonstration of celebrity branding’s dominance over corporate product, including tabloid exclusives. Moss strode through the storm as if it was just another catwalk. Ten years on, the Moss brand shows no sign of dwindling.
The brands so big you can see them from space
In the 20th century, stars were larger than life; today, celebrities are a part of life, something communal made large. The massive cultural changes wrought by mobile, digital and social media, in which everyone becomes a player, mean that celebrity branding isn’t about static endorsement via poster or TV, but a product in itself, just as celebrity has itself become self-generating, no longer the by-product of success in other cultural areas. David Beckham, once famous for playing football, recently replaced filling underpants with filling glasses with the launch of Haig Club whisky, tying his brand to a whisky label backed by a pop-up whisky club in London’s Wellington Arch and a Guy Ritchie-directed TV spot, all orchestrated by Diageo, Beckham and Simon Fuller. adam&eveDDB won the Haig Club account, but remain tight-lipped about the mechanics of working with Beckham, or what’s in store. What’s certain is that the old static
Priority campaign with Beyoncé, featuring an opulent Louis XIV at Versailles-style video, advance UK tour ticket offers for members, and The Walk, a live, exclusive feed from dressing room to stage – a trick that’s been repeated by the likes of Coldplay, Gorillaz and Ed Sheeran. As the man behind it – Darren Bailes, ECD of VCCP London – explains, it began with Michael Jackson’s ill-fated series of concerts, announced for the O2 in 2009. “I had the idea to stream a live TV ad of Michael’s walk from dressing room to stage…” he says, “ending just as he hit the first note. Priority endframe. Fade to black.” Alas, that fade to black was all too real for Jackson.
“But out of this came the idea of The Walk,” continues Bailes. “Dressing room to stage door. Access only we can give you because of Priority. First off, we had to pay artists to appear in our Walks. But pretty soon the music industry worked out that giving us an artist to film and put in a spot in the middle of The X Factor to help sell their gig tickets was good business, and no more fees exchanged hands. We started off with JLS and Leona Lewis, but before long we were filming Gaga and Beyoncé. Pepsi had just paid her a reported £33 million. We didn’t pay a penny. The deal worked for everyone.”
Bailes stresses how crucial the celebrity brand – as opposed to mere fame or notoriety – is to modern-day campaigns. “Nowadays the celebs are the brands themselves,” he says. “Brand Beckham and Brand Kardashian are mega, almost visible from space. George Clooney making coffee could be awful, but it works because he’s so likeable.”
While it’s true you don’t get celebrity without the attending furies of social media – Twitter storms are the standard meteorology of the celebrity age – celebrities feed their devoted audience from these same platforms. They have, as Bailes points out, “millions of followers that hang on to their every tweet or Instagram post. Actual fans. Brands think that they have fans – but that’s not always the case. So they love nothing more than having access to a real celebrity fan base.”
To hear from the source how a world-crushing celebrity can work that fan connection, this year’s Cannes Lions featured among its 560 speakers one Kim Kardashian, owner of the derrière that broke the internet, and doyenne of the heaving cleavage selfie. It was a low-key affair.
“The Forum stage is where delegates can explore more specialist topics,” says Cannes Lions CEO Phil Thomas, who gave the green light for Kim to Cannes-do. “It’s a place where you can see more familiar faces talking about topics you might not expect. Kim is a world-famous celebrity, but the story at Cannes was about her work with Glu on her gaming app. The discussion and press conference were both focused on the game development story, which is very relevant to the audience at Cannes. It was a discussion panel that explored the back story and creation of one of the most popular mobile games of the year. We deliberately kept her appearance relatively low-key.”
1/2/3 O2’s Priority
Not for the branding professionals the rolling thunder of celebrity entrances and exits, and Thomas happily reports that KK and her entourage presented no challenges at all on the day. “There were no demands, no riders, not even a green room. She was an absolute professional – polite, punctual and prepared. She came with a tiny entourage that included her mother, an assistant and a bodyguard.” Handily, her bodyguard knew the backstage layout of the Palais pretty well. No “Hello Cleveland” Spinal Tap moments here.
Rock, which is a collaborative mission using his strengths to get everyone to achieve their goals, and to actually get up and do something about them.”
The ascendency of personality as product Elsewhere at Cannes, there were numerous sessions on the power of celebrity brands – Maurice Lévy and David Guetta, the MAC Presents panel featuring Lars Ulrich, Ketchum Sounds with Natalie Imbruglia – and, like them, Kardashian’s appearance worked because it was relevant and in context. When it comes to social, brands want to know how she works it. “When there is no relevance or relationship between the celebrity and the host,” says Thomas, “the session loses authenticity and the audience sees right through it. Cannes Lions isn’t a celebrity arms race.”
However, if it’s full-frontal assault you want, there’s always The Rock. The movie star and wrestling icon Dwayne Johnson recently signed with Droga5 in New York to prepare the launch of Project Rock, which goes beyond the cross-branding model of Beyoncé-O2, Beckham-Haig or Kardashian-Glu, to a new world of total, 360-degree lifetime branding, working directly with the audience.
Droga5’s director of brand influence Matthew Gardner explains: “Project Rock is a result of the partnership between us, Dwayne Johnson and WWE. Very early on in that relationship we took a meeting with [Johnson’s] manager. At the time he was the highest grossing actor on
While the likes of The Rock and Kim Kardashian (“people like to make fun of her, but no one’s got a better POV on social than she has,” says Gardner) are well established, Gardner is also tasked with sifting the wheat from the chaff when it comes to upcoming trends. “You’re not playing God, where you’re making the emerging culture and defining it, but you are spotting what will happen. It’s knowing about the emerging culture and knowing who knows who is emerging. In other words, knowing the most influential networks in the audience is just as important as knowing the most famous and the most talented person on stage. If they’re clapping, you’re on to something. They’re the ones who have good taste and a good eye.”
The mechanics behind self-branding as opposed to endorsements and collaboration is all about big, big numbers and big, big authenticity. “Every single celebrity now, or at least those on a level with people like The Rock, is a single media platform,” says Gardner, “with dozens of millions of followers – a TV show might get two million. And that’s a new landscape for them, but what you need to make sure is that what you’re saying is super authentic to what they love and who they are and that you’re not going to give them something that’s not true to them. If it’s true for you, it’s going to be true for years.”
“It’s knowing about the emerging culture and knowing who knows who is emerging… knowing the most influential networks in the audience is just as important as knowing the most famous and the most talented person on stage.”
the planet, which doesn’t sound like a heavy problem that would require an advertising agency. But they knew they could build and capitalise on that success, and he needed the next step to build on that. So we went through a process that we always do with brands, to figure out what his brand should be about, what is his brand purpose.”
They also needed to shift the demographic. “He’s been around a while, and a lot of his fans are older, and they really wanted to capture an idea that was relevant to a millennial target audience, so we gave him this idea of Project
It’s the ascendency of personality over product, or rather, personality as product, opening up a land of opportunity that, for Gardner, eclipses the old models of engagement. “The way brands use celebrities, that’s not really my world,” he says.
“To me, that feels like a pretty stale way of working with celebrity. You can trace that back to TV ads going back decades, whereas I’m thinking more of the opportunities for culturally influential people to create more culturally influential content.”
Gardner describes that new cultural space as “a Wild West, where you can do it really haphazardly and still make a killing, just because that space is growing. But at the same time, you’re going to start seeing the bubble burst, eventually. The people like Jessica Alba [whose startup The Honest Company has been valued at $1.7 billion] or Dwayne Johnson, who have managed to really find something solid to stand for, that’s crystal clear, and a way to monetise that and make that into a real business – those are the kinds of people who are going to come out of it looking super, super smart.”
campaign with Beyoncé
4 Kim Kardashian on the Forum stage at Cannes this year
is for LIFE LESSONS
The past decade has quite possibly been the most notable our industry has ever experienced. From the introduction of the smartphone to the explosion of social media and the resulting endless supply of data, these innovations have changed our industry forever. Technology has made it ridiculously easy to connect to people, yet incredibly hard for advertising to connect with them. With a swipe we are greeted with messages perfectly tailored to us. With a tap we can instantaneously block a brand from ever contacting us again.
In the yesteryear of advertising, brands were able to buy their way into your life. Now, the only way in is by being interesting, engaging and rewarding.
Brands have to earn attention and interest. They have to empower people to take action. While technology has changed, the fundamental challenge brands face remains the same – how can they create lasting relationships with people?
From data to insight to idea
Technology has made it incredibly easy to collect data, but much harder to find the right data point to stop you in your tracks. We have to know how to sort through the staggering mountain of information and harness it to answer: “Can this change behaviour?” and “How will this affect a brand’s business?”
Mark Tutssel, global chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, takes a long, calm look at how the advertising industry should react to the rush and the push of our tech-led world. Be nimble, move with the fast cultural flow, but trust in the eternal power of creativity and remember, the most powerful message is the truth
These were questions we asked ourselves when we were developing the Always #LikeAGirl campaign for P&G. To begin with, we were aware that brand affinity is now more important to people than ever. Everyone has their own unique emotional relationship with certain brands and will choose to connect with and buy from the ones that share their values. This is why purposedriven brands are succeeding.
Always is a prime example of a brand that has built that focus on purpose into its mission. The spark that got us started was the finding that girls’ confidence drops during puberty, significantly more so than boys. That insight led us to dig deeper into the different factors that influence girls during this vulnerable time.
Every idea needs to be rooted in a comprehensive understanding of human behaviour. Our challenge was to transform that insight about girls’ dwindling confidence into
a big, unifying idea that’s daring, inspiring, relevant and shareable.
#LikeAGirl was born, and led to the idea to push for a social experiment, engaging a documentary filmmaker. Equipped with a compelling central idea that helped us “connect with” people, a smart media strategy – putting the film on YouTube, followed by a 60-second spot during the Super Bowl broadcast – allowed us to “connect to” the people we hoped to reach.
The process of data translating into insight translating into an idea snowballed into one of the most influential campaigns ever, capturing the imagination of the world, with more than 90 million views. It was one of the most awarded campaigns at the recent Cannes Lions festival. More importantly, this work has transformed the hearts, minds, and behaviour of the world, igniting a cultural movement and proving that doing something #LikeAGirl isn’t an insult, it means amazing things.
“While a great deal has changed, one thing hasn’t – the power of creativity. Without a doubt, creativity has and will continue to reign supreme; the best ideas are the ones that are incredibly simple and rooted in beautiful human truths.”
“Everyone has their own unique emotional relationship with certain brands and will choose to connect with and buy from the ones that share their values. This is why purpose-driven brands are succeeding.”
Creativity in the age of technology
Technology is propelling the media world along at an astonishing rate. So how do we connect to an ad-literate generation, who will not tolerate being advertised to? To do this and stay relevant, we must be nimble and move at the speed of culture.
While a great deal has changed, one thing hasn’t – the power of creativity. Without a doubt, creativity has and will continue to reign supreme; the best ideas are the ones that are incredibly simple and rooted in beautiful human truths. In this new dynamic landscape, we have to keep creativity at the forefront of engagement because it remains the most valuable asset in business.
We no longer compete within the advertising industry; we compete with all of pop culture. Nevertheless, we are intuitive people and I still believe that the best way to understand consumers is to observe life. I am an eternal student of human behaviour because this is where you’ll find the truth. The finest strategy in the world is to tell the truth.
Our job is to make the truth interesting, relevant and rewarding. And our business is about creating strong, provocative, emotional relationships between brands and people. We are in a human business. You have to feel the relationship and move people to act.
Great brands have a point of view in life. They know why they exist and have conviction. Technology will truly enable human potential, but I believe creativity will always capture people’s imagination and change the fortunes of brands.
Our responsibility is to create ideas that are valuable to people and brands, and that’s true whether they are staring down, completely immersed in something beyond the screen, or they have their chins up and eyes forward, embracing the world with full voracity.
Always, #LikeAGirl
From epic guitar solos to K-pop extravaganzas, David Knight looks back at the landmarks of the last 25 years of the promo, and the directors who’ve wrangled tiny budgets and massive egos to make them
1991 Andy Morahan makes the greatest guitar solo in a video by mistake is for
MUSIC VIDEOS
In 1990, when the first issue of shots appeared, the music business was bigger and richer than it had ever been. It was the heyday of the MTV Generation and the biggest rock band on the planet were Guns N’ Roses. Their debut album Appetite For Destruction had been a multi-million seller; the full-length
Björk watches Michel
Gondry’s showreel
In 1993, when Björk, having departed Icelandic indie rock band The Sugarcubes, was planning a video for her debut solo single Human Behaviour, she discovered a French director called Michel Gondry – thereby changing the course of music video history.
It wasn’t the low-budget videos for several early 90s British indie bands on his showreel that caught her attention, but the ones he’d made for Oui Oui – Gondry’s own band, formed
“quote create any project I wanted, I’d create a human child.”
Always #LikeAGirl
at art school some years earlier. They were an upbeat reaction to the pervading trend of gothic gloom and doom. “Björk identified with that,” Gondry told music video industry mag PROMO a few months later. “She also shares my interest in Eastern European animation.”
By this point, Gondry had made some promising videos for other French artists, honing his uniquely inventive visual sensibility. But as he approached the age of 30, the real breakthrough had yet to happen. This first collaboration with Björk would change all that – a tour de force combining live action, puppetry, rear-screen projections and post-FX. Björk is placed in a fairytale dream/nightmare,
“Slash is quite a canny fellow. It was supposed to be a slightly ironic twist on the whole ‘air guitar, posturing rock god’ thing. Unfortunately, most people took it seriously!”
follow-up, Use Your Illusion Pts 1 and 2, would surely do the same, so the music video for Pt 1’s epic centrepiece, the nine-minute November Rain, had to be something special.
The band turned to British director Andy Morahan to film it. He had already made a couple of their videos and was familiar with the band’s notoriously unpredictable behaviour. The video combines live concert footage with a doomed romance melodrama featuring Axl Rose and his then-girlfriend, supermodel Stephanie Seymour, inspired by a story by Rose’s friend, the author Del James. But Slash, GnR’s lead guitarist, was determined to have his moment, leading to perhaps the most iconic guitar performance in a music video, bar none. But in some respects, this was an accident.
On the shoot in New Mexico, Morahan covered Slash’s solo outside a white wooden clapboard church with a Steadicam, two dollies, and (for good measure) a helicopter. Just before the
But Morahan also revealed the original reason for the extravagant coverage of Slash’s guitar solo was ultimately lost in translation. “Slash is quite a canny fellow,” Morahan mused some years later. “It was supposed to be a slightly ironic twist on the whole ‘air guitar, posturing rock god’ thing. Unfortunately, most people took it seriously!” Instead of a joke, it became the definitive rock video of its era – which was about to come to an end, superceded by the grunge of Nirvana and others, and its US$1.7m budget would be exceeded by numerous other videos in the 90s. In many ways November Rain marks the end of an era, the true end of the 1980s… 1993
a Goldilocks terrorised by a giant teddy bear in a forest, swallowed whole, then leaving the planet entirely in her own imagination. Gondry created it in a studio outside Paris, itself situated in a forest, and he later said the journey to the studio every day through the trees inspired many aspects of the £60k video.
Human Behaviour was the launchpad for the careers of both musician and director. For a long time Björk was Gondry’s primary muse and they made many great videos together. According to Gondry, “When we work together, Björk has 60 per cent of the ideas. I’d be mad not to use them.”
Even more importantly, Human Behaviour
shoot Morahan bumped into his old friend [director and photographer] Anton Corbijn, staying at the same hotel on a magazine shoot. “Anton asked if he could spend a couple of hours with us while we filmed Slash,” Morahan remembered some years later. “Anton came out and saw us and said ‘This is amazing, is this the entire video?’ I said ‘No, it’s about 27 seconds.’”
opened the door to a different way of making videos. Georges Bermann, who signed Gondry to Partizan in 1990, and has been producing his work ever since, told PROMO in 2006: “Human Behaviour didn’t simply have a great impact on Michel’s career, it also totally swung the perspective on music videos, which were totally dominated at the time by photographers like Mondino, or at least by directors who were heavily inspired by photographers. Michel showed the world of music video directors that there is life beyond just the look and the style.”
“Human Behaviour swung the perspective on music videos, which were totally dominated at the time by photographers like Mondino, or directors heavily inspired by photographers.”
1997
Chris Cunningham makes Come To Daddy and becomes a director/artist
Chris Cunningham’s singular talent emerged with his video for Warp Records artist
Autecre’s Second Bad Vilbel in the mid-90s –a mix of buzzing white noise and flashing screens clear to reveal breathtaking sci-fi models built by Cunningham for Stanley Kubrick’s unrealised version of the film AI.
“When
The austere techno of Autecre seemed to match Cunningham’s sensibilities; subsequent videos for more mainstream indie bands failed to match the creative heights of his debut. That early promise seemed in danger of fizzling out.
So when Cunningham’s video for Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy was released in late 1997, it created a sensation. Shot on the Thamesmead Estate (where Kubrick shot A Clockwork Orange), it stars an evil spirit with the grinning visage of Richard D James (aka Aphex Twin) coming alive in a dumped TV, recruiting rampaging kids (all with the same evil face) and then emerging, a uniquely skeletal figure, to launch a piercing death scream into the face of a terrified old lady.
Watching Come To Daddy was an extraordinary experience, a brilliantly realised sensory assault, achieved on a paltry budget of £20k. Cunningham brilliantly achieved the fusion of sound and vision as one, perfectly matching his visceral visuals with Aphex Twin’s equally ferocious music.
The director had a certain advantage in that respect because, as he said at the time, he was listening to pretty much nothing else but the experimental techno of Aphex Twin and Warp labelmate Squarepusher. “I’m very limited in what music I like,” Cunningham told PROMO magazine shortly after the video was released. “With a lot of tracks I find it very difficult to come up with ideas. For this one, I couldn’t write them down quickly enough.”
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of the video was the gang of kids with their identical Richard D James faces. Many who watched the video assumed this was achieved in post production. Not so. The little ones (played by a combination of real kids and small adults) wore silicone masks made from a live cast of James’s head.
Cunningham’s video for Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy was released in late 1997, it created a sensation.
It was a brilliantly realised sensory assault, achieved on a paltry budget of £20k.”
After a couple of views, Come To Daddy reveals its black humour. “I may have been subconsciously thinking about Village Of The Damned, with the creepy kids,” Cunningham told PROMO. “But I was basically trying to capture the flavour of those early 80s horror movies I watched when I was a kid. It’s a bit of a piss-take because I think the track is a bit of a piss-take for Richard.”
Come To Daddy eventually transcended its role as mere promotional item for the music. Soon, VHS copies were flying off the shelves. Cunningham was credited on-screen at the end of the video, which was unusual but entirely justified, and this equal billing gave him a visibility unknown to virtually any other music video director.
Cunningham went on to work with Madonna and Björk, and make the awardwinning Windowlicker for Aphex Twin, in a short but prolific period of high achievement. He has also made video art – showing at London’s Royal Academy – experimental short films, and a few commercials, and has also tried his hand at music production. Despite this eclectic activity, Cunningham has been relatively quiet on the music video scene since 2000, which just adds to his aura of mystery.
1994
Spike Jonze refuses to make Beastie Boys’ Sabotage promo the way the production company want
In 1994 Spike Jonze was fast finding his feet in the music video game. Not long before he’d been a writer/photographer for California skate magazines such as Freestylin’, and had infiltrated the music
2002
Mark Romanek films
Johnny Cash, adds old footage, creates a masterpiece
By 2002 Mark Romanek had established himself as one of the best music video directors of his generation, with his exquisitely crafted and photographed videos for the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, Beck and others. But Romanek’s most impactful work of all stands in stark contrast to everything that came before it. Romanek had long wanted to make a video for Johnny Cash, and regularly pestered Rick Rubin, the celebrated producer who worked with Cash from the mid-90s onwards. When, shortly after completing his first feature film, One Hour Photo, he heard Cash’s version of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt, Romanek later confided that he “almost threatened” Rubin in order to get the job of making a promo for the song. Rubin finally agreed to let him do it, permitting Romanek and a small crew to shoot Cash performing the song at his home in Nashville – and also to visit The House Of
“quote create any project I wanted, I’d create a human child.”
Always #LikeAGirl
Cash, the singer’s museum, that had been closed for some time. Romanek was shocked by the dilapidated state of the museum when he arrived, but he also found riches there –cans of film featuring Cash in his prime, performing on TV and in various acting roles.
Romanek filmed Cash and his wife, June. This was a last-minute decision taken after seeing her expression while watching her husband perform. Then the director went back to LA and worked through the old footage for several weeks.
The resulting work, featuring Cash past and present, was more than a music video. Simply through the quality of the editing, incorporating archive footage with live performance, Romanek created an artistic document on the life of a giant of American music, transcending the traditional music video medium. Both intimate and historic, the film revealed Cash’s personal journey – from
“The important thing about the Sabotage video was ‘to steal it’ – shoot around LA without permits – ‘otherwise it would’ve cost ten times more and it wouldn’t have the same feel.’”
video world with his skate-themed work on videos for Sonic Youth and The Breeders’ indie classic Cannonball (the latter co-directed with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon). This got him signed to big LA production company Satellite, home to Mark Romanek and Peter Care, leading to a few videos as solo director for US indie bands, with proper budgets.
Then Jonze started talking to the Beastie Boys about making a video for Sabotage, the standout track from their new album Ill Communication. Satellite produced a budget appropriate for a band as popular as the Beastie Boys – but both the director and the band protested, determined to make the video in a rough-and-ready, on-the-fly, guerrilla style. They got their way.
As Jonze said later on the notes accompanying his DVD in the Directors Label series, the important thing about the Sabotage video was “to steal it” –shoot around LA without permits –“otherwise it would’ve cost ten times more and it wouldn’t have the same feel.”
In fact, it was not quite as low budget as planned. Jonze took lots of risks and there was serious collateral damage to some expensive camera equipment as a result. For example, a camera was bolted to the hood of a car flying through the streets of LA when the camera mag flew off and was totalled.
Whatever the final cost, the result was a game-changing video – an original spoof of 70s cop shows that was also a hard-edged satire on police violence.
the charismatic, hell-raising Man In Black of his prime, to wise old man, still giving everything to his art.
Romanek had, to a large degree, stripped away several of the elements that were regarded as crucial in making a great v ideo – namely, a killer concept, exceptional cinematography and art direction – and had nonetheless made a masterpiece. Trent Reznor, the writer of the song, later revealed that, although he’d been fairly unmoved listening to Cash’s version of Hurt, he’d been reduced to stunned, awed silence by the video. “It was a beautiful piece of art,” he said.
Hurt had already had a huge impact by the time Johnny Cash died, less than a year after it was made (and a few months after his wife June also passed away).
Romanek has since expressed his distaste at the idea that the video was in some way a premature obituary for the great man –and Cash was apparently full of energy and cracking jokes on the shoot.
But there’s little doubt that, after Cash’s death, for many the Hurt video has become the greatest possible testimonial to a remarkable life.
“Romanek had, to a large degree, stripped away several of the elements that were regarded as crucial in making a great video – namely, a killer concept, exceptional cinematography and art direction.”
2006 OK Go hire some treadmills and create the first hit music video on YouTube
OK Go discovered the power of the viral video even before YouTube existed. As a just-formed indie rock band in the late 90s, they created elaborate spoof dance routines for a public access TV show in Chicago that was too low budget to record bands playing live. VHS tapes of these routines became collector’s items locally and by 2005 the routines had became a regular feature of the band’s live shows. But when they decided to create a routine for their song A Million Ways, they also decided to film it, as one unedited take, on a domestic camera. They distributed the tape to friends and it found its way onto iFilm – a precursor to YouTube – soon racking up over 130,000 hits.
“A Million Ways wasn’t supposed to be a video, it was a dance routine we came up with to do on stage,” OK Go frontman Damian Kulash explained to shots in 2011. But the reaction to the leaked tape suggested that they were onto something, and were reaching a new audience. “The number of hits was equivalent to the number of records we’d sold in five years.”
Trish Sie, Kulash’s sister, OK Go’s sometime choreographer and co-director of the A Million Ways tape, then came up with an idea for the follow-up – inspired by watching people at her local gym – using
“A Million Ways wasn’t ever supposed to be a video, it was a dance routine we came up with to do on stage.”
treadmills. The routine was filmed after days of rehearsals in the same method as before: completely no-frills shooting; a single unedited take. In the end, after numerous attempts at a perfect performance, the band opted to go with the least error-strewn take, where Kulash slips but manages to recover.
OK Go’s label then sat on the Here It Goes Again promo for months, finally releasing it in mid-2006 on stupidvideos.com. It was a few months after the launch of YouTube, and the video soon migrated to the new platform, where its impact was immediate. “We’d never
2012
Gangnam Style reaches one billion views on YouTube
heard of YouTube. It was a case of ‘This looks like as good a site as any.’” Kulash told shots
The promo got a then-astonishing two million views in 10 days.
Here It Goes Again was YouTube’s first viral music video, even becoming national news. The band were pulled off the road in the middle of a tour to perform the dance at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
Subsequently, it was the most favourited video on YouTube for several years. And the video heralded a new, more democratic and immediate era of music video creativity.
of a track performed in Korean, the phenomenon also shows the abiding power of the pop video in the YouTube age. It also highlighted the new realities of the global music business. The immense popularity of the video led to Gangnam Style becoming a number one hit in numerous countries, including the UK. The video itself also earned millions for Psy and his label, both through advertising revenues and royalties for YouTube plays – and continues to do so.
In July 2012, Psy, a Korean pop singer, released his 18th single, the lead-off track from his sixth studio album. Just four months later, the video for that song became the most watched video in the short history of YouTube. A month after that, on 21 December 2012, Psy’s Gangnam Style became the first video to reach the landmark of one billion views on YouTube.
This tribute to the chi-chi Gangnam district of Seoul was the first introduction for many in the Western world to K-pop, South Korea’s vibrant pop music scene. It prompted an international dance craze, a social media frenzy and numerous parodies. It also became a surprising focus for political activism – one of the first parodies of Gangnam Style came from the North Korean government mocking South Korean president-elect Park Geun-hye. This was quickly followed by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei dancing to Gangnam Style in handcuffs, a symbol of his arrest by Chinese authorities.
Though Psy’s irresistible performance, witty direction (by experienced Korean video director Cho Soo-hyun), fine production values and, of course, a wickedly catchy pop song, all contributed to the surprising success
Since 2012, the importance of income from video streaming to the global music industry, on services like Spotify or YouTube, has continued to grow, with revenue paying back production costs – and then some. Music videos, once promotional and largely ephemeral, are now potential income generators and permanent – always available to view on the internet, all the time.
More pop videos have passed through the magic one billion views barrier on YouTube, and the pop world’s real superstars – the likes of Katy Perry, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift – are now making music video blockbusters expected to rack up hundreds of millions of views.
Meanwhile, Gangnam Style may not have triggered a global takeover by K-pop, but many people still watch the video (and its follow-up, Gentleman) in their droves every day, and the video is by far the most viewed in YouTube history. It’s now on 2.4 billion views, and counting.
S
“Music videos, once promotional and ephemeral, are now permanent potential income generators.”
is for
NEXT 25 YEARS
Amy Kean, head of futures at Havas Media Labs, predicts that the future of creativity will be blowing our minds – in a good way
Is it because we hate the present? So exhausted with the monotony of the everyday that we collectively enjoy imagining a time when there could be peace, hope and possibly even flying objects whizzing around in the air? (If there’s one thing I can confirm about the future, it’s that there’s going to be a lot more whizzing.)
Perhaps it’s because humans like to be in control… we hate surprises, we thrive on having life mapped out so that we can plan, save money and mentally prepare accordingly. In a Western world that’s becoming increasingly dominated by secularisation, futurology is arguably reaching religion status, with futurists (mostly white, middle-class, middle-aged men) prophesying new forms of transport, politics and relationships that we will need to adapt to (although very rarely do these modern-day Yodas emphasise the role that we common folk play in creating these futures). Futurology is a science; it requires a wealth of data, testing and imagination. But the interesting thing about cultural and industrial forecasts is that they’re generally based on the mentality and aspirations of the time. So if you’ve ever read Nostradamus, who was writing during the dark, dark days of the 16th century, his predictions were about governments being overthrown, kingdoms being built and destroyed and he foresaw more deaths than even the Final Destination movie franchise. He focussed on power, and men.
If we move along through history, the beautiful science fiction of the 19th century was powered by steam; their machines of the future were elaborate, dramatic, romantic and representative of an era dominated by discovery. Much of this, of course, influenced the steampunk trend we enjoy today.
And then came The Jetsons, an animated TV sitcom that ran from 1962 to 1988 and was essentially the American Dream set in space. 2.4 children and a robot housemaid (the jury’s out on what race Rosie the robot was intended to represent). Now of course we live in an age of science. So when we make predictions about the next 25 years everything’s faster, smarter, more efficient and more mind-blowing. And it’s the blowing of minds that I’d like to concentrate on.
The growth of grey matter
Over the last 25 years, society’s fascination with the brain has increased: we love to learn about its malfunction, about sociopaths, psychopaths, narcissists and addicts, while geeks with big brains –your Zuckerbergs, Schmidts and Musks – are worshipped as technoGods. The brain is the most complex computer known to man, so designing technology that replicates it is the ultimate goal. Alphabet/Google is investing heavily in artificial intelligence but that’s not where the mind-blowing stops. The fairground ride
“It’s widely predicted that by the year 2040 the most deadly global disease won’t be cancer, HIV or Ebola, but depression.”
Neurosis is the world’s first rollercoaster you can control and ride with your mind… who needs a theme park when you have a virtual reality helmet and some electroencephalogram transmitters to play with? But the future’s not all fun and games. The brain is a sensitive machine – some might argue more sensitive than the bones and skin that surround it. It’s widely predicted that by the year 2040 the most deadly global disease won’t be cancer, HIV or Ebola, but depression. Mental illnesses, so often ignored or reviled, will overtake physical ailments among the general public in most international markets. This needs to be taken into account now so that the creative industries can plan for the impact this change is going to make. Think about our current relationship with technology. We’re so close to our mobile phones that to be away from them causes genuine fear and anxiety – a psychological condition known as nomophobia. It’s likely we’ll have robot lovers in the future, not because people find robots attractive per se, but because people are going to get lonelier. Driverless cars will exist not because people don’t like driving, but because humans cave easily under pressure and become vulnerable in the face of fatigue and dangerous when exhilarated.
Cuddling up to technology
So in my opinion, the creative industry needs to become more meaningful, mentally. Rides such as Neurosis show that technology means very little to the consumer unless it’s peppered with creativity and imagination. Over the next 10 or 20 years creative technology won’t just be used for fun, we’ll be using it to make a difference. Virtual reality will evolve to become an aid for people with depression or mental conditions such as agoraphobia – rich creative executions that can help the user feel freer, happier, more enriched. Microsoft has already begun making waves with holographic technology via its HoloLens [see page 96] but over the next 25 years holograms will utilise artificial intelligence to create ‘companions’ with a range of functions, from medical to recreational. You could have branded entertainment delivered by your favourite stand-up comedians performing in your living room – you’ll even be able to heckle and receive a real-time response. Samsung is already leading the way when it comes to using mobile technologies to make lives and minds better –its Look At Me mobile app game was developed by ad agency
Cheil Worldwide to help young children with autism improve their ability to make eye contact and read facial expressions. In the future augmented reality will also be a common tool to help other mental conditions. For example, it’s already being used to help sufferers imagine spiders or snakes as part of therapy to help overcome phobias.
And when it comes to the subconscious, it’s likely that the industry will take it one step further with ‘dreamvertising’, ie marketing that infiltrates the sleeping mind. Using neuroscientific technology, brands will be able to transmit lifeaffirming sounds, lights and messages that promote a healthy –yet aspirational – sleep. Think Red Bull bringing you flying dreams or the National Lottery delivering dreams of immense wealth, even Lynx could deliver a subconscious experience that enhances your dealings with the opposite sex. If we can get our heads around using technology to get even closer to the mind, then we can start to make a real, positive difference.
But we, as creative individuals, bear the responsibility for where this goes.
Within this industry, we have the power to act for the greater good. Advertisers have always been experts at mind control and manipulation but every industry needs to evolve, and over the next 25 years there will be different consumer problems that we need to solve – not just hunger, thirst or other physical needs. So, unlike Nostradamus I’ll make some positive predictions. Over the next quarter of a century I think technology and immersive creativity is going to get better at blowing people’s minds, but will also have the power to put them back together again.
“Using neuroscientific technology, brands will be able to transmit lifeaffirming sounds, lights and messages that promote a healthy –yet aspirational – sleep. Think Red Bull bringing you flying dreams or the Lottery delivering dreams of wealth.” S
Ahead of the Game
Find out how Twentyfour Seven productions in Spain grew up with football
n the 11 years since Dutch Spaniard Ivo van Vollenhoven founded Spanish facility company Twentyfour Seven, he’s gone from working alone from home in Malaga to employing over 30 permanent members of staff and opening offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon. He’s able to count some of the industry’s most awarded and successful production companies as his clients and has developed a bit of a penchant for facilitating football ads for some of the most prestigious clients, including Nike, Adidas and Beats. He talks about goals, fouls and team playing
Lots of boys dreams of either being a footballer or working in football when they’re growing up, what did you want to be when you were a kid?
A stock car racing driver, a special effects make up artist, an actor even. And then I ended up at the University of Humberside studying to be a lighting cameraman. People usually laugh when I tell them that, a boy from the Costa del Sol in Hull, but I had a great time.
So how did you get from lighting to setting up a facility company?
Some summer work as an agency driver led to a job offer I couldn’t refuse, producing at the age of 21. I learnt a lot quickly and by the time that company closed its doors, I knew I wanted to work for myself.
It sounds like a relatively organic process, so presumably you also never set out to specialise in football ads?
No, definitely not, especially as I’m a person that never watches football, I’ve never supported a team and my five year old regularly beats me when we have a weekend kick about. So it´s funny really that we´ve done more football ads than any other facility company in Spain, including having facilitated most World Cup ads. But we’re really lucky to work in a country that has been blessed with some of the best football players in the world and to have built up some great clients. I think football ads still seem to attract the best budgets, creative and therefore directors. But that’s really not to say we only do big budget work, we take on and fight for every kind of job. That keeps it exciting and means we invest in client relationships.
What’s been your most exciting project so far this year?
A Chemical Brothers music video. I’m so pleased that people still make promos, they are a great breeding ground for creativity and I love the Chemical Brothers. We pulled a lot of favours and there was a great atmosphere on set.
How’s the atmosphere on the set of a football ad?
Oh, very serious. When you’re trying to get 15 shots in one hour with six cameras after the player has most likely failed to turn up, at least twice, and then has everyone standing around while he eats his veal Milanese, there’s no room for error on the part of production or crew. So it brings with it a special kind of discipline and while it’s not exactly an atmosphere I’d describe as great, it can be an amazing challenge. I feel lucky enough to have learned from some of the best production companies and directors in this industry, and I strive to give them back the kind of service they deserve. And I used to service jobs in Cuba, Argentina and Colombia, so compared to that it’s a walk in the park!
Who would make up your Fantasy
Football team?
As my football knowledge is limited, maybe I could put together a team of the directors I’ve shot football ads with – Danny Kleinman and Guy Ritchie in goal, Ringan Ledwidge striking against Alejandro Iñárritu, Nabil [Elderkin] and Jonathan Glazer defending and Johnny Green as the referee. But my son is a crazy Barcelona fan so he probably wouldn’t be very happy with that answer.
And what about your future goals?
I want to keep it personal, to stay as involved in every single job that crosses the Twentyfour Seven threshold as I have always been. I want to keep developing the great team growing up around me and to instill everyone that works at the company with the absolute dedication and care that motivates me.
Contact details
For more information please contact: Twentyfour Seven Spain ivo@twentyfour-seven.tv www.twentyfour-seven.tv
is for OUTDOORS
We inhabit an information landscape in which increasingly smart tech signals our position as we progress through a dense net of wi-fi, GPS, QR codes and Blippar, all overlaid on the great outdoors. Whether on the motorway, public transport or walking along the high street, the out-of-home experience is evolving and adapting quicker than perhaps any other. Across the globe, traditional outdoor sites – billboards, bus stops and train stations – are being revolutionised by augmented reality and real-time interactivity.
For example, this spring saw the arrival of posters that know when you’re looking at them [see box out, overleaf, for more on artificially intelligent billboards]. The spookily interactive Look At Me campaign was created by WCRS for Women’s Aid to highlight the importance of not turning a blind eye to domestic violence, picking
up a gold Outdoor Lion at Cannes this year. A series of digital posters features images of models who have been beaten and bruised. If the posters are ignored, the faces remain unchanged, but once passers-by look at the screen, facialrecognition tech activates a reaction – the bruises begin to fade and the models’ faces are healed.
Train delays aid consumer gaze
Less high-tech but also eye-catching was Audi’s Waterloo Motion campaign, which saw a 40m x 3m HD screen dominating London’s Waterloo Station concourse for two weeks in February last year. Created by BBH London and produced by Grand Visual, it displayed dynamic content –interesting and unusual station facts plus useful info such as availability of seats on departing trains – to two million commuters a week,
Winners of the 2015 Cannes Outdoor Lions highlighted not only the enduring power of a traditional poster with a strong image and killer tagline, but also how the category is now an arena for the dazzling evolution of creative tech, with billboards reacting in real time to mobile devices, the weather and even the gaze of the passer-by. When it comes to outdoor, Tim Cumming and Carol Cooper discover, space has no frontiers
Audi, Waterloo Motion
refreshing every two minutes to ensure audiences remained engaged. Waterloo Motion even benefited from train delays, delivering an estimated 17 minutes of dwell time as commuters awaited trains. “The challenge was to keep such a vast audience engaged,” says Matt Doman, then CD at BBH. “We came up with a dynamic concept where the data on the Audi Dashboard was never the same twice.” Also, live Twitter feed, #AudiWaterloo, allowed commuters to participate in the on-screen conversation. Mobile devices have of course allowed for a whole new world of posters and punters connecting. While things we used to do outside – meeting friends, shopping, exploring – can now be done wirelessly indoors –the hard data reveals most of us still like to get out and about: 90 per cent of Xmas 2014 sales shoppers, for example, went out to real shops. But we don’t leave home unconnected – 2015 figures from the Global Web Index show that 80 per cent of us use smartphones to access the internet, so the augmented reality of dynamic outdoor campaigns can hit a winning home run when it comes to consumers on the move.
The weather outside
While out-of-home campaigns find a fruitful pairing with mobile tech, another force to be harnessed is the weather; there is plenty of that outdoors. In 2013, digital OOH agency Posterscope created a campaign for Stella Artois Cidre featuring billboard spots triggered by weather data delivered via a real-time plug-in. A two-degree increase in local temperature activated the content. Last year, Nokia Glove Love employed the weather as its leading player on a heatsensitive billboard. Working with Do The Green Thing (the folks behind Earth Hour), Nokia created a message that became clearer as the weather got colder. That message was that Nokia Lumia devices have screens so sensitive they can be used with gloves on. Tom Messet, digital director of travel tech start-up Eviivo, was head of digital Nokia Europe at the time and said: “To attract attention in today’s media landscape, we have to surprise and delight consumers. A static out-of-home placement is a bit too obvious. People don’t react to them in the same way anymore.”
The results of this year’s Outdoor Lions suggest otherwise – static ‘old-fashioned’ billboards have not had their day. The Apple iPhone 6 World Gallery, part of the Shot On iPhone 6 campaign,
took home five gold Lions and the outdoor Grand Prix for a simple, low-tech concept of crowdsourcing images from the public sphere. Using images from 162 ordinary iPhone 6 users, in more than 10,000 installations in 75 cities in 25 countries, it created what Apple called “the largest mobile photography gallery in history”. Talking to Fast Company, Juan Carlos Ortiz, the Outdoor jury president, CEO/president of DDB Latina and creative chairman of DDB Americas, admired how it overturned traditional media strategies that rely on content from professional photographers. “It’s not just a great idea, it’s a game changer,” he said. “It’s really opening up a new way of doing things and changing behaviour.”
Merging magic with purity
Other Outdoor gold winners included traditional posters that packed a punch, such as Lew’Lara\ TBWA São Paulo’s campaign for Save the Children, which highlighted exploitation in clothing manufacturing with ‘fashion shots’ that on closer inspection revealed images of suffering children trapped in textiles’ patterns. Ogilvy & Mather London’s anti-FGM campaign for 28toomany.org brilliantly conveyed wince-inducing pain in images of stitched-up national flags paired with the line ‘Female genital mutilation doesn’t only happen in far away places,’ along with stats of the number of girls at risk in European countries.
This year’s Outdoor Lions attracted a whopping 5,037 entries, making it the festival’s most popular category. “We didn’t choose the Grand Prix, the Grand Prix chose us,” said Ortiz. “We were looking for work that merged the purity and simplicity of outdoor with the magic of innovation.”
Something that out-of-home platforms look set to achieve well into the future.
“To attract attention in today’s media landscape, we have to surprise and delight consumers. A static out-of-home placement is a bit too obvious. People don’t react to them in the same way…” S
When algorithms start writing ads…
David Cox, chief innovation officer of M&C Saatchi, talks about creating the world’s first artificially intelligent billboards, unveiled at London bus stops earlier this year
What inspired the campaign?
Artificial creativity is currently very popular. There are many items being produced by algorithms, and there’s no reason why advertising shouldn’t follow suit. M&C Saatchi wanted to produce a campaign with more immediate use, which is why the ads seem a bit weird, but perhaps over time the billboard function could be optimised – to, say, feature a half-written ad (half human-half technology).
How do the billboards work?
We created billboards that write their own ads by generating copy, images and layouts – there’s a huge library of options so, in theory, there’s an endless amount of possibilities available. But the campaign will also evolve over time – hopefully, the ads will get more effective. At the top of the ad, there’s a screen which monitors if people look at it – which we regard as a marker of a successful ad. Over time, the billboard will use data to churn out only successful ads, based on what worked previously.
Who is the client?
At the moment, there is no client [the ads were for fictional Bahia Coffee]. While we wanted the ad to look authentic and feature a product, we’re still treating it as research and development. We made up a brand and created fictional promotional copy, but it could definitely be something that appeals to future clients.
What was the most difficult part of production?
Balancing all the different factors. Making sure all the algorithms worked and keeping it simple; we had a million ideas but we didn’t want to get lost in the concept. We’ve already had a few results though, which is pleasantly surprising as that means the ad is actually doing something. At the moment, the billboard prefers to show text in upper case, rather than lower case, it displays shorter sentences, rather than long sentences and it likes hearts…
What are the future implications of this technology for advertising?
I don’t think any creative jobs are currently under threat. In the short term, perhaps a tool like this could be used to optimise work. Amazon uses optimisation to test out certain functions, such as where to put a button on the screen. Similarly, this campaign is experimental optimisation.
is for PORTRAITS
Over the past quarter of a century, shots has collaborated with some of the most daring and creative photographers and illustrators to portray the top creatives, production supremos and star execs that have graced our pages…
shots 154 Marco Cremona, Creative Labs, Google; photograph: Ambrogio Cremona
shots 136 Emer Stamp, Ben Tollett, Ben Priest, then joint CDs/ECD, adam&eveDDB; illustration: Stanley’s Post
shots 126 Ben Kay, copywriter/author; photograph: Sean de Sparengo
shots 152 Stephen Butler, CCO, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA; photograph: Jen Rosenstein
shots 136 Graham Fink, CCO, Ogilvy China; photograph: Julian Hanford
shots 151 Pablo Del Campo, global CD, Saatchi; photograph: Machado-Cicala
shots 150 Marisa Clifford & Thomas Benski, co-founders, Pulse London; photograph: Mike Piscitelli
shots 139 Joachim Back, director; photograph: Daniel Montecinos, illustration: Ingo Putze
shots 134 David Wilson, director; photograph: Brendan & Brendan
shots 145 Alex Schill, global CCO, Serviceplan; photograph: Uwe Düttmann, post: Digitales Leben
shots 128 Josh Gordon & Will Speck, directors; photograph: Emily Shur
The codes that time forgot, the search engine you never remembered to use, the digi-doms you wish you could erase from your memory forever… Joe Lancaster looks back at all those special gadgets and schemes that seemed like a good idea at the time… or did they?
QR CODES AND OTHER THINGS THAT FAILED
QR codes
Art directors the world over breathed a sigh of relief when Quick Response codes began losing their appeal to marketers. When it came to the worst ways clients could ruin the beautiful work they’d pored over for weeks, “make the logo bigger” had been replaced by “make the QR code bigger”. As said codes look like the dead-flysmattered bonnet of a white van after a lap of the M25 on a sunny day, this brought a whole new level of pain. The truth is, despite them being the modern equivalent of the CueCat – an invention so spectacularly moronic it must be Googled to be believed – QR codes are actually quite useful, it’s just that nobody uses them. Perhaps because they always seem more about tracking the e ectiveness of ads than making our lives easier. Hilarious QR code fails here: wtfqrcodes.com
Microsoft Bing
Ever heard someone say, “I’ll Bing it”? Us neither. Despite the brilliant 2010 integrated ad campaign by Droga5, Bing: Decode Jay Z, which impressed the hell out of award show juries, Microsoft’s search engine just didn’t impress the public. In fairness, when your rival is a brand whose name has become a verb, you’ve got your work cut out from the start. It’s a shame, because healthy competition often leads to improved products and apparently Bing is a decent engine. If you don’t believe us, Ask Jeeves.
“In well over 100 years of trying, no one has ever found a way to make a prolonged success of 3D.”
“Ever heard someone say, “I’ll Bing it”? Us neither.”
“When your rival is a brand whose name has become a verb, you’ve got your work cut out from the start.”
“Make the logo bigger” was replaced by “Make the QR code bigger.”
“QR codes are useful, it’s just that nobody uses them.”
“…condoms for your digits that came in three sizes, four colours and cost about $10 for a bag of 25.”
Trying
to convince people you don’t work in advertising
The headline on your ad-packed website reads: “We are not an ad agency.” You tell the press and your friends that you’re not in this game for the money, you’re only interested in doing great work and telling stories that will inspire people to live better lives. Then an FMCG client calls about a pitch and you spend the next six months, not to mention enough money to run a soup kitchen for a year, at their beck and call, hoping to win their business. Face it, you’re not fooling anyone. Money makes the world go round and you’re a slave to the big clients just like everyone else. And really, there’s no shame in that.
The (most recent) revival of 3D film
3D is almost as old as film itself and, in well over 100 years of trying, no one has ever found a way to make a prolonged success of it in mainstream filmmaking. Why? Because it doesn’t contribute to cinema’s raison d’être: storytelling. Yes Gravity was good, but was it a worse film in 2D? Stereoscopy is a gimmicky experience best employed on three-minute theme park rides along with moving seats and smoke machines. The most recent 3D cinema revival seems to have petered out. In the market where 3D may genuinely have had a chance – gaming, where the viewer is part of the story, and hence an immersive experience makes sense –VR is set to revolutionise the market instead. Perhaps this time 3D is gone for good.
The Publicis/Omnicom merger
Dark clouds were looming and the ad industry was about to be crushed by an almighty force from the skies, at least according to some commentators during the build-up to the proposed $35bn merger of advertising giants Publicis and Omnicom last year. It didn’t happen, apparently for numerous reasons, but in truth it would have been less The Empire unites with The Klingons and more Facebook meets Twitter, wouldn’t it?
Phone fingers
In a world of clouds, apps, software and data, it’s nice to see hardware solutions to the conundrums of living in the digital age. Music piracy, identity theft and cyber bullying all pale in comparison, of course, to the problem of unsightly finger smudges on cellphone touchscreens. In 2007, previously unknown and never-heard-from-since tech genius Philipp Zumtobel answered our prayers. He brought to market Phone Fingers, which were essentially condoms for your dirty digits that came in three sizes, four colours and cost about $10 for a bag of 25. (What do you mean you only want to put them on two fingers? That would look stupid!) Who knows how much money the enterprise cost Zumtobel, who had to publicly insist on the product’s legitimacy to pacify hoax theorists and eventually gave up on the brand whose social media presence had swelled to 19 Facebook likes. A holding page at phonefingers.com promises a new site is coming soon. For his sake, let’s hope not.
“Gates watched Apple refine the portable MP3 player [then spent] the next five years trying to compete with them.”
“Yep, an entire mobile device for using a single social network.”
“Microsoft’s Zune… could compete with Apple’s tech, but not its cool.”
“It took pirate masterminds all of five minutes to find a hack.”
Twitter Peek
Phone Fingers were a terrible idea, but at least they were cheap. Twitter Peek was a mobile device with a full QWERTY keyboard that looked like a BlackBerry but functioned nothing like one. Released in 2009, it was designed and built for one purpose only: Twitter. Yep, an entire mobile device for using a single social network. Wait, it gets worse. It only allowed use with one Twitter profile, links displayed web pages in plain text, and it cost at least $100 plus an $8 monthly service subscription. In 2012 service for all the company’s devices was discontinued and the seven people who owned a Twitter Peek were devastated –presumably venting their frustration via Facebook.
Sony BMG CD copy protection
In 2002, a year after the introduction of the iPod, Sony was rightly worried about the impending MP3 revolution. But instead of focusing on anti-file sharing, chumps at the major record label poured money into pricey copy protection measures that made it impossible to rip a disc’s tracks to a computer. It took pirate masterminds all of five minutes to find a hack, achieved by drawing a line around the edge of the disc with a marker pen (no, really). Three years later Sony landed itself in scalding water when 22 million CDs installed antipiracy software on customers’ hard drives, even if permission was denied. Under pressure, Sony provided an ‘uninstaller’ that merely un-hid the program, added further software, created vulnerability issues and collected email addresses and personal data. They backed down in 2007, presumably after realising that CDs had become useful only as coasters.
Microsoft Zune
“Fails have included automatic uploads of a U2 album to 500 million users’ devices without consent.”
“We’re not actually sure what it does, but it doesn’t seem to be much more than an iPhone can do.”
It seems Bill Gates just loves launching inferior products late into markets already sewn up by the opposition (see Bing). For five years Gates watched Apple refine the portable MP3 player and sell millions of the things before spending the next five years trying to compete with them. Microsoft’s Zune was released in 2006 and might have been an attractive alternative to the iPod if it hadn’t looked like a massive rectangular turd. Despite design revamps it eventually went the same way as all the other decent players made by brands like Creative that could compete with Apple’s tech but not its cool; you weren’t anyone in London if you hadn’t been mugged for your iPod.
A Jobs-less Apple
This year mankind came dangerously close to a crisis that had never been faced before: we nearly ran out of things to spend money on. Luckily a certain Californian tech company stepped in (again) to save the day with a product that starts at about $500 and goes up to over $20k, thus ensuring even those with the deepest pockets and the shallowest brains can join in the fun of bankrupting themselves for the sake of a watch that does… well we’re not actually sure what it does, but it doesn’t seem to be much more than an iPhone can do.
It remains to be seen if Apple will prosper in the long term without Steve Jobs, but most consumers have been underwhelmed by the company’s output since his death. Fails have included automatic uploads of a U2 album to 500 million users’ devices without consent, let alone knowledge, but we have to admit we’re keen to see what comes next. There are rumours of a car and with Jony Ive still in charge of design, that’s an exciting prospect.
Relying on research is a lazy way out, says Ben Mooge, creative partner at Havas Work Club
It’s too easy to make an enemy of research. Shooting animatic fish in an Ipsos barrel. Research has long been positioned as the creative department’s enemy –the Becher’s Brook of the creative process. It’ll cruelly wipe out half the ideas at a stroke.
You can hone for months, find that insight that feels true to you, write a killer line, have all your references going on, the music you won’t able to afford but that somehow works and then… a carefully chosen panel of Lees or Karls from Bradford or Bromley won’t get it. Or maybe the
is for
RESEARCH & DATA
It’s
time to stop being defensive about data, argues Tom Eslinger, worldwide digital creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi
I ran into one of my favourite people – not just in advertising, but real-life – at Cannes and I commented that I had just finished an exhausting, eyeopening stint on the Creative Data jury. I got a scrunched-up face in return, followed by an unexpected comment: “I bet the work is awful!”
Normally, this would make me feel a little defensive, like when I defend One Direction at dinner parties, challenging people’s assumptions that something
Drowning inspiration in a deluge of information and stifling brilliant ideas at birth, data and research are often cast as the twin bogeymen of the advertising industry. But are they a necessary evil? Two industry insiders discuss…
“Cadbury’s Gorilla would never have made it through a link test. They had to make it first to prove it! Can you imagine that? Betting on creativity!”
Lees and Karls have a slightly better idea. They should be writing ads. All their mates say so. That’s too easy. And I don’t think it’s necessarily true.
I’ve had countless evenings on the weird side of the two-way mirror, eating the samosas of fading strategy, the spring rolls of unrequited scripts, the awkward lights-up with the suddenly underwhelmed clients. And you know what, they’re important. They’re crucial. Maybe you’re not as good as you think you are. Maybe it is only an ad idea, and heaven forbid, maybe Lee and Karl actually consume this shit. Of course I’ve had triumphant nights when Lee and Karl are actually uncannily eloquent suburban savants who’ve earned every penny of that £30 and agree with my genius. Both scenarios can be true. Neither is right. Committees can’t write creative ideas. But audiences have a right to vote.
That’s not why I’m slightly allergic to research. I don’t subscribe to the apocryphal research tales – that the Sony Walkman bombed in research or that Cadbury’s Gorilla would never have made it through a link test. They had to make it first to prove it! Can you imagine? Betting on creativity!
Nope. I’m slightly afraid of research because I’m afraid it’ll make me lazy. “Leave it to research. Let the people decide.” That’s dangerous. Not having your own point of view is the true enemy. If you rely on lucky dip research you run the risk of not second and third guessing your crowd.
The truth is that the very best points of view shouldn’t need research, because they should already know their audience inside out. Know what the audience wants, but more importantly know what their audience don’t yet know they want. The Netflix model is maybe the modern-day Holy Grail. Netflix content needs no research. It’s entirely predicated on pre-existing audience taste and data. Netflix doesn’t do pilot episodes –research by any other name. It already knows that there’s a clear gap for an intelligent political thriller possibly directed by Fincher and members who liked Fincher also enjoyed the work of Spacey. That’s enough to commission seasons at a time… I love that data confidence. Put a bit of Netflix into your work. Trust your instincts, because you should already know your audience.
S
“Best of all, we can let the data provide the backing our clients need to okay our more unusual proposals and the confidence for them to let us do it again and again.”
so calculated and precise on the surface would be devoid of creativity and emotion.
But I felt something altogether different: disappointment. My friend assumed that work that had been informed by numbers, statistics and measurements would automatically mean that it lacked the elusive something that makes it Cannes-tastic.
This makes me think about the best reactions I’ve had when giving someone a gift: after some digging around to determine someone’s likes and dislikes, I add my creative interpretation to my final selection. Then I share the gift, along with the story of how I selected it, at the best, most precise time and place.
That’s exactly what combining data into our creative ideas allows us to do. We can go deep and precise or broad and timely, with combinations of tools, devices and processes. We can create multiple solutions and attack business problems from multiple angles, combining intuition and information. Best of all, we can let the data provide the backing our clients need to okay our more unusual proposals and the confidence for them to let us do it again and again.
Data can provide the ideas with the sharpness needed to get those ideas noticed by our customers and to garner cut-through at Cannes.
Data can also kill ideas that ignore the abundance of information available about almost anything. When was the last time you bought someone a gift without browsing their social media profiles and posts? Exactly.
Ideas woven from the data we can access from millions of sources are as exciting to me as HyperCard, Flash, QuickTime and mobile phones have been at different times in my career. The interaction between people and ideas that these tools and devices made possible are at the core of everything we make and call digital. I get really excited about how data coming out of virtually everything can be used to make completely unexpected ideas.
In an open, creative mind, all of this information is a prescription to break from the prescribed. To clumsily paraphrase a beloved boss – data allows us to create unexpected ideas that people never dreamed possible.
S
is for RADIO
Neville Doyle, digital planning director at Colenso BBDO, explains how a medium that started almost 100 years ago has never been more relevant to today’s multi-screen, multitasking audience. So why is it so often overlooked? A copywriter’s dream, radio offers endless creative opportunities, unbound by budget restrictions, or even the laws of physics. What can’t you do when the only limit is your audience’s imaginations?
The creative challenges and opportunities of radio advertising are not hugely different to those that agencies faced when the first ads aired in 1928. The brief hasn’t changed: engage the audience, make them laugh, pique their interest, make them care. When you’ve one sense to work with, this can seem a daunting task and yet radio has the power to drive uniquely compelling branded opportunities.
One thing has changed since the first days of the medium, however; radio is now an often overlooked and under utilised channel.
The freedom to try something new
No matter how fantastic a creative team is at visuals, these skills are always going to pale in
comparison with the creativity of the audience’s own imaginations. Radio should be seen as a dream channel for all copywriters; there’s no other channel that relies so heavily on the writer’s skill, their ability to craft a story. In many ways, radio ads are to TV ads what a book is to a film, allowing you to tell a story in a way that coaxes the listener to bring it to life in their own mind. Despite the lack of visuals, there is nothing beyond radio’s storytelling reach.
The 1987 ad Colour for Kodacolor Gold is a perfect example. It took the tricky brief of selling colour film on the radio and brought it to life through a perfect blend of voice casting (Jimmy Nail), witty writing and accompanying music. Having Stephen Fry reading out your brand
“With the onset of digital radio you have the ability to be incredibly targeted to specific niche interests or audiences, to create something that can live in the digital as well as the broadcast space.”
signoff never hurts either. Would anyone try to sell such a visual product on radio these days? Maybe not, but this ad proved just how effective it can be.
At Colenso BBDO I work with Nick Worthington, one of those creative heavyweights you might only be fortunate enough to work with once in your career. Nick won the first of his many Yellow Pencils for a radio ad for Cadbury’s Boost (1994’s Any Length). When I asked him what radio advertising meant to him, his response was simple: “Creative freedom”. The chance to try things without the pressures that go hand in hand with bigger budget platforms.
With the affordability that radio provides –both in terms of creating the end product and also buying media – there’s scope for far greater levels of creative experimentation. Rather than putting multiple scripts and storyboards into round after round of testing, you can simply create and record a suite of options and test them out in the wild.
Radio is also free of a lot of the usual constraints of visual content. You can’t be asked to keep the product shot longer on screen, to devote more precious seconds to an end frame and, best of all, with radio no one can ask you to make the logo louder.
An old medium for a modern world
Multiscreen media consumption is now the norm rather than the exception. For many media channels there are legitimate questions to be raised about the effectiveness of advertising when consumers can so quickly turn to a second (or
third) screen. Unlike channels that attempt to command most, if not all, of your attention, radio works far better as a supplemental activity to whatever else you may be doing.
In a world where having consumers’ undivided attention is now as likely as riding a unicorn to the office, this is a hugely undervalued strength. Consider that most of us can easily manage to drive a car and still take in every word on the radio, and you realise that this is a medium that we have all grown up learning to absorb while our primary attention is elsewhere. It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the most ‘traditional’ channels has the potential to be a serious player in one of the most modern media consumption trends.
The opportunity for innovation
There is an increasing habit in the advertising world to try and find short-term, headlinegrabbing uses for the latest digital platform, service or app. This never-ending rush to be first means that there are meaningful innovation opportunities being missed on platforms that offer far more scale and substance.
Radio is a perfect example of this. Last year, working with Pedigree in New Zealand, we created K9FM – the first radio station created specifically for dogs, with hours of unique content all aimed at man’s best friend. All of this was created with the intention of targeting dog owners through their dogs. It went on to become the first radio campaign in 32 years to be honoured by D&AD with a Black Pencil and, like so much of the best
work, it tapped into a very simple but powerful behavioural insight. This truth was hiding in plain sight, in front of everyone that has ever grown up in a household with dogs and whose parents would leave on the radio when the dogs were home alone to keep them company. As with all great radio, however, what truly elevated the campaign was the quality of the writing – I defy anyone to listen to segments such as Talkies and Where is the ball? and not laugh out loud.
Elsewhere, Saatchi & Saatchi Stockholm’s SIRIous Safety Message for Toyota is another great example of creative thinking putting radio to good use. To help raise awareness of the dangers of using your phone while driving, these radio ads spoke directly to Siri, getting her to switch your phone to flight mode before reminding you it’s never safe to text/browse/call when behind the wheel.
Radio is often passed over in the creative pecking order, but the reality today is that it offers more power and flexibility than ever. With the onset of digital radio you have the ability to be incredibly targeted to specific niche interests or audiences, to create something that can live in the digital as well as the broadcast space.
If anyone ever tells you that a certain traditional media channel is past it or holds no real creative opportunities anymore, hopefully projects such as K9FM – which proves there is still creative magic to be found in the radio platform – will convince you to take a second look and make sure that something powerful isn’t hiding in plain sight (or sound), waiting to be found.
25 years
PROVIDING YOU WITH CREATIVE INSPIRATION SINCE 1990
‘Scam’ is defined as a dishonest scheme. In that sense, much of what we call scam advertising is no such thing. Most of it simply looks for an advantage within the parameters of an awards contest, then exploits that advantage. There are very few ads that actually transgress those rules then hope not to be caught.
But when the ad industry uses the word, it generally refers to work that sits at the outer limit of the conditions of entry; not illegal as such, but consistent merely with the letter of the law rather than the spirit. That’s why you’ll find scam advertising all over the world and its practitioners able to deny producing any such thing.
I started working in advertising in 1996. Back then the word scam was unheard of, and yet scam ads did indeed exist: there were the two-minute director’s cuts that ran
“Proactivity became a very deliberate drive towards the collection of Cannes Lions and D&AD Pencils, and the race to the podium inevitably led some to run before they could walk.”
a few times “to qualify for awards”; the ads whose edit, grade or music were changed for the award entry version; the DPS with the phone number sliced off the entered proof. Nobody really cared about those practices, mainly because everyone was at it. They also provided the lucky people of planet Earth more perfect examples of what the rest of us could aim for, so where was the harm?
You’ve got to spin it to win it
Then a couple of things changed. One was the rise of the Gunn Report, which counted up the scores of an ad’s global awards and then declared a poster/copywriter/production company to be THE BEST. Suddenly there was an empirical measurement of an ad’s or agency’s creative ability, and that could then be used in creds meetings, which led to pitches, which led (hopefully) to cash. The other thing it led to was
There’s been plenty of brilliant advertising to celebrate over the past 25 years, but is the relentless pursuit of awards encouraging a darker side of the industry to flourish? Ben Kay, the copywriter behind If This Is A Blog, Then What’s Christmas? shines a light on the murky practice of scam advertising is for SCAM
1
the rise of international ad awards. You see, the sneaky thing about the Gunn Report is that Donald Gunn never explained which awards counted to the final total or what each award was worth. This meant that agencies started entering their ads in somewhat questionable schemes all over the world. But how do you please international jurors? You create ads with as few words as possible, with a conceit that would play as well in Botswana as it would in Basingstoke. So a certain kind of ad began to take precedence: the fewer elements, the better.
That doesn’t mean that such reductive ads were always scam – far from it. An ad with few elements is often a much better ad anyway, due to its greater simplicity. But clients don’t always want ads without their logo or website, so agencies started to create ads whose only purpose was to win awards. I guess that initially it appeared as
“It’s the creation of work whose intended audience is an award jury, not the general public. Is this why we no longer attract the most creative people?”
1 Ben Kay
2 JWT India’s unapproved ad for Ford Figo
3/4 Saatchi & Saatchi New York’s Speed Dressing for JC Penney
5 DDB Brasil’s controversial 9/11 ad for WWF
a kind of laudable proactivity that showed an agency doing extra-curricular work on behalf of its clients. But give human beings an inch and they will always take a mile: huge agencies started devoting entire floors of their buildings, months of the year and the best teams in the department to nothing but the winning of awards. Proactivity became a very deliberate drive towards the
collection of Cannes Lions and D&AD Pencils, and the race to the podium inevitably led some to run before they could walk. Some efforts, such as the WWF 9/11 ad and the JC Penney teen-fumbling Speed Dressing spot, crossed far enough over the boundaries of good taste that the clients feigned ignorance of their existence and the agencies involved received global opprobrium.
Soon after came the explosion of media, creating many new categories that awarded ads unlikely to have been seen by anyone in real life: banner ads, pre-roll, experiential, one-off OOH, mobile, social media etc. As nobody saw them, and they took a bit of explaining, they were accompanied by an explanatory entry film, which gave a huge amount of scope for exaggeration (eight people visited the site instead of two? That’s a 300 per cent rise in web traffic!) and, some might say, bullshit. Of course some of these films are genuine, but they come from ad agencies – who can blame them for presenting the best side of something when that’s essentially what they do all day?
If an ad runs and no one sees it…
So now anything can be an ad, and you barely need any proof that it really happened, let alone had any significant impact in the world. Add to that the fact that award schemes have neither the time nor incentive to check the veracity of entries (I believe a client sign-off is enough these days), and you have a vicious cycle of complicitous rule bending, commonly known as ‘scam’.
Is that a problem? Well, it undermines the credibility of what we do. It makes agencies look craven and, I would argue, pathetic. It’s the creation of work whose intended audience is an award jury, not the general public. Is that why we got into this industry? Probably not. Is it why we no longer attract the most creative people? Maybe. Is it why our salaries are shrinking in relative terms? I think so. But while we continue to reward the bullshit, the bullshit will continue to flow.
Nick
Gill,
executive creative director, BBH
London, started his career in TV’s heyday, with the great John Webster. Yet he sees today’s more complex, fractured and tech-driven marketplace as the ideal environment in which to produce great storytelling and truly creative filmmaking
is for TELEVISION
Twenty-five years ago, yours truly was attempting to find his voice in the medium of TV advertising. I had the benefit of being mentored by a true great, in the shape of John Webster. It was all very different then. Quality 30-second TV campaigns were commonplace, the humour was Anglo-centric, special effects were done in-camera, there was no such thing as digital or mobile, and a platform idea was something you had waiting for a train.
They were happy times. I learned so much. But given the choice, I’d choose now. Why? Because we can do anything we want these days. We can dream without boundaries.
We’re all individuals! I’m not!
What got us here? Well, global advertising, for starters. At first, we thought everyone would laugh at our jokes but, seemingly overnight, we discovered British humour didn’t fly abroad. Irony and self-deprecation struggled too. Likewise gritty reality. New money in developing markets wanted to see Ferraris and Rolex watches, not fat blokes with big noses in pubs.
What gradually emerged was a new global language. It was a visual one, of course. But also one that appealed to the most basic of human desires. TV commercials focussed on hopes and dreams and shared mindsets; on love and life and success and ambition.
This was both a good and a bad thing. It was good because cultural barriers were being knocked down; bad, because global brand messages would eventually become homogenised. Two strategies emerged that more or less every brand in the world embraced – ‘Get the most out of life’ and ‘Be an individual’. Suddenly the
whole advertising world had two ideas – running across beaches and graffitiing walls.
Even as brand messages homogenised, those same brands began to understand the power of film as a differentiator. Writing and directing flourished. Longer, richer, more ambitious TV commercials were made that could truly be called films.
Spots for Guinness and Levi’s and Sony were triumphs of craft. Horses exploded out of waves to a Moby Dick-inspired script. Grunge and techno music underscored period Americana. Coloured balls cascaded down San Francisco streets.
Directors emerged with the sensitive eye of an independent filmmaker. Ringan Ledwidge would add elements to a film that it didn’t technically need, but without them it would be less special.
The Hovis child saluting the soldier. The Axe couple goofing around with a sock.
More and more markets found their voice in this new, global environment. It was an inspiration to see the Hungry? campaign for Cup Noodle featuring tiny cavemen. I wondered where an idea like this had come from. Drugs? No, Japan.
I had a similar reaction to early Traktor work, as the Swedes took the US by storm. I never dreamed men with beards in the woods could be so funny, so cool.
Goodbye loyalty, hello engagement
As advertising globalised, so TV channels proliferated. Choice was sold hard to the viewing public. When many of these new channels under-delivered on quality, surfing and snacking became the norm. TV viewers became as impatient with their viewing choices as they did with the increasing interference of brands. Interruption wasn’t working. Hello engagement.
Brands had to up their game accordingly. Those that invested in long-term campaigns would enjoy success. BBH’s Vorsprung Durch Technik (Audi), The Axe Effect (Axe) and Keep Walking (Johnnie Walker) campaigns would continue to reward creatively and commercially because their clients stuck by them. Dove, Honda and John Lewis are similarly being rewarded for their staying power.
One big happy family… on the sofa
But it would take an explosion in media and technology to properly liberate TV advertising. I use the word ‘liberate’, rather than ‘threaten’, very deliberately. Technology took filmmaking’s brakes off. When I started out in the business I’d write a script that began with “A pig flies…” and people would say “You can’t actually make that.” This year, with the help of The Mill, we’ve created an apparently live-action Audi commercial entirely on a computer (Birth). Interactivity has added a whole new dimension to film. It enables you to, for example, have even more fun with the Old Spice guy. It allows you to “choose a different ending” in the fight against knife crime. It enables you to buy clothes off the back of the ASOS model.
Cheap, democratic technology has allowed everyone to be filmmakers. Endless homemade films of amusing cats have inspired advertisers into ruthless YouTube courtship, as more and more comedy animals have stepped forward in the name of brands. How wonderful that an intelligent and poignant docu-film like Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches should trump all of them in terms of views. With more and more time being spent online, digital-fundamentalists soon predicted the death
of TV as an advertising medium. “It’s over,” they said. “The kids are now surgically attached to their phones.” This proved to be nonsense, of course. In the UK an average broadcast campaign of 400 TV ratings will still get you 234 million views. TV advertising is still proving to be twice as effective at increasing sales as any other medium. Buried in this exciting, yet bewildering, media landscape, that rectangle of pleasure is apparently as effective as it ever was.
Me? I’m a hippy when it comes to media. I just want everything to live happily together, peacefully and successfully. TV is so often the entry point into a bigger, richer story that continues to reward at different touch points. As so many people have observed, “The future is about ‘and’ not ‘or’.”
One of the great arguments for broadband over narrowband was that TV was a shared medium. You sat down and watched it with others. You laughed and cried together. But that still goes on. My children are invariably interacting with multiple screens on the front room sofa, mixing traditional viewing with ‘YouTwitFace’, as my young son amalgamates them.
All for the love of filmmaking TV, as a watching experience, is better than it ever was. Smart TVs put you in control. HD is beautiful. Sports coverage is breathtaking. And the best screenwriters in the world have deserted the movies for this born-again medium. What an amazing environment for our work to thrive in.
Consumers are similarly more sophisticated than they’ve ever been before. They are advertising-literate. They smell marketing bullshit. They skip any pre-roll that doesn’t
“Smart TVs put you in control. HD is beautiful. Sports coverage is breathtaking. And the best screenwriters in the world have deserted the movies for this born-again medium. What an amazing environment for our work to thrive in.”
reward in the first few seconds. They’re informed and aware, thanks to the sheer volume of information available to them. They want brands to be well behaved and have a purpose. What an amazing challenge for advertisers, to have this amazing generation as your audience. And this writer continues to love filmmaking. He thrives on the magic. The unpredictability. He loves storytelling. He’s fascinated by the structure of film. He loves the alchemy that happens when you put the right music on the right picture. Public Enemy ramping up the strength and defiance of those superhuman paralympians. Jean-Claude van Damme slowly spreading his legs to the strains of Enya. Aaaah. So my toast is to the next 25 years. TV advertising works, and it’s here to stay. S
The resurgence of virtual reality in recent years has been the single most influential change in the direction of the entertainment industry and may well change how we consume content forever. After a slow and stuttering start over four decades ago, the handbrake was finally released when Palmer Lucky launched Oculus Rift in 2013. Since then, VR has pushed its way into every aspect of media, marketing, entertainment and design. It has led to the development of communities, melded new design methodologies, fuelled numerous tech start-ups and ignited countless production companies. But with this new medium comes the need for caution; what can we learn from VR’s past to prevent the mistakes of the future, and where is that future heading?
1970s: Virtual Genesis
Virtual Reality as a concept is thought to have been first written about by sci-fi author Stanley G. Weinbaum in his short story of 1935, Pygmalion’s Spectacles, in which a professor invents a pair of goggles that enable the main character to see a “movie that gives one sight and sound… taste, smell, and touch… You are in the story, you speak to the shadows (characters) and they reply, and instead of being on a screen, the story is all about you, and you are in it.”
However, the first real example of what we would consider an actual VR headset wasn’t created until 1968, when Ivan Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull built an HMD [head-mounted display]. Named the Sword of Damocles, it was a primitive device that was so heavy it couldn’t be supported by the user, and had to be suspended from the ceiling, making it reminiscent of one of the trap devices in the Saw films. The experience of using it was probably just as torturous, as the graphical capability was, not surprisingly, extremely limited, with environments comprised of simple wire-frame rooms. So, while the seeds of
is for UNREALITY
Don your goggles and escape into an alternative reality with Solomon Rogers, founder and managing director of Rewind FX, as he explores the history of VR and muses on its future potential
1 Rewind FX’s Solomon Rogers
2 Bjork’s Stonemilker, a 360-degree music video created by Rewind
3 VR headsets used at Rewind to demo projects such as Stonemilker
discovery had been sown for the future, VR made little impact outside of specific tech circles and it would stay that way for quite some time.
1980s: Prehistoric HMD
During the 80s, interest in VR technology grew, though the results rarely matched expectations. It was during this period that Jaron Lanier, one of the industry’s pioneers, popularised the term ‘virtual reality’. Following Atari’s poor attempt at creating a research lab dedicated to VR in 1982, Lanier, along with Thomas G. Zimmerman, founded VPL Research (nothing to do with underwear) in 1984. It was here that he developed several VR devices, such as the EyePhone (nothing to do with Apple). The EyePhone actually looked and behaved very similarly to modern day HMDs; put a VR novice in front of a line-up of headsets and they probably wouldn’t be able to pick out which was from 2013 and which was developed 24 years earlier. The EyePhone looked like a potential triumph for VR, until you factored in the cost – upwards of US$250,000 in 1989 . VPL was also responsible for the Data Glove, which was ultimately licensed to Mattel. Mattel went on to create the more recognisable Power Glove – a wholly deserved critical and commercial failure. As anyone who had the misfortune of using it will tell you, it was almost unmanageable in every aspect; suddenly the ‘It’s so bad’ Power Glove tagline from the Nintendo-funded movie flop, The Wizard, took on a whole new meaning.
However; it was the first example of an affordable piece of VR tech and set the scene for future commercially available hardware. Despite these promising developments, and the introduction of industry publications CyberEdge and PCVR Magazine, VR remained on the outskirts of public consciousness, especially with the growing popularity of the internet. It was relegated to the sidelines of the tech industry, providing devices primarily for the medical and military sectors.
1990s: The Pixelated Dark Ages
1991 saw VR really take off. Sega announced their Sega VR headset for arcade games and the Mega Drive console, which used a combination of stereo headphones, LCD screens in a visor and inertial sensors to respond to user movements. Sadly, the product suffered from development issues and was ultimately dropped from the 1994 release line-up. Though Sega claimed that the VR was just “too realistic” and that people could have injured themselves while wearing the headset, it was more likely down to the dreaded ‘sim sickness’, nausea caused by ‘perceived’ but not ‘felt’ motion. They tried again a few years later with the Sega VR-1 arcade attraction, which tracked player head movement and featured fully 3D graphics. Around the same time, a company called Virtuality launched the first mass-produced, multiplayer VR entertainment system for arcades and theme parks. Featuring headsets and exoskeleton gloves, it enjoyed way more success than the competition
– possibly due to the ability to interact with other users while inside the system – and despite crude graphics and limited processing power, Computer Gaming World lauded it for having “all the necessary hallmarks of a fully immersive system”. The big bump in the road? A decidedly un-wallet friendly cost of US$73,000, once again pricing the everyday consumer out of the VR race.
In 1995, Nintendo launched Virtual Boy, a critical and commercial flop, thanks to its uncomfortable and unintuitive hardware, and the post-gaming nausea, dizziness and headaches that players were reporting. These early commercial dabblings with VR might seem amusing now, but they’ve left the industry with a negative legacy.
2000s: The Digital Age of Enlightenment
2007 saw a spark of light in an otherwise black period for VR with the launch of Google Streetview, which wowed both the tech world and general public. Its comparatively simple strategy of stitching together multiple images to create a 360-degree environment, with simple virtual tour navigation of hotspots and arrows, showed us
that VR might have a place at the table one day. In 2010, Google introduced a stereoscopic 3D mode, which generated enough interest to put VR in the spotlight once more.
2010s – present: The VR Renaissance (Age Of Oculus) VR has truly exploded in the last few years, with multiple companies joining the fight with their respective hardware. The daddy of them all, of course, is Oculus Rift, which reached its US$250,000 Kickstarter target in just four hours and was eventually launched in 2013 after raising US$2.5m. A year later, Facebook got in on the act, purchasing the Oculus VR start-up for US$2bn.
The Oculus Rift has undoubtedly been the most explosive and versatile of the latest range of HMDs available, and it’s this versatility that has inspired thousands of developers and tech start-ups to begin creating VR products to rival the larger studios. The potential applications for the technology are limited only by your imagination (and your budget). At Rewind, we have been using the Rift for a diverse range of projects from entertainment and simulation, through to visualisation and product review. Take our Red Bull Air Race VR experience, which allows users to experience what it’s like to fly at 200mph in the cockpit of an air-racer – at 50ft off the floor. This is only possible with a combination of modern game engines powering the experiences, and telemetry data from pilots to drive a virtual simulation of each flight. But it’s this graphical power of hardware combined with the Rift’s capabilities that has enabled development of fully VR-ready games, such as Zombies On The Holodeck, a survival-horror game by Survios. The system itself is compatible with any mid- to high-end PC that’s running a Windows OS, and the modest price tag means that it’s available to
“The future for the VR industry is looking increasingly bright, now we have something to offer that won’t make people throw up or have to file for bankruptcy. ”
everyday consumers – or at least it will be by 2016. For enthusiasts who don’t have access to a good PC or a Rift headset, there’s always Cardboard, Google’s low-budget VR solution which can turn any compatible smartphone into a VR device for less than a fiver, and has led to other companies making more robust (yet still reasonably priced) HMDs that are compatible with any smartphone. At Rewind, we use these fully portable headsets to demo our projects –such as Stonemilker, a 360-degree music video we helped create for Björk – to the public.
The future: Mixed Reality
The future for the VR industry is looking increasingly bright, now we have something to offer that won’t make people throw up or have to file for bankruptcy. There’s unlimited potential for growth in so many areas, whether it’s games, training, apps to make life easier, or just for pure entertainment; there are already several new HMDs ready for launch in early 2016 that could help to push VR into the stratosphere. Most recently, HTC and Valve announced a partnership to develop their own VR headset, the HTC Vive, which is already garnering rave advance reviews. Sony has also released details of an upcoming VR headset to rival the Rift; Project Morpheus, which would be exclusively compatible with the PS4 and bring VR to console gamers.
And there’s more to come: VR isn’t the end of the road; we’re now beginning to move into MR (mixed reality), with companies such as Microsoft getting in on the ground floor with HoloLens, a system that scans the environment to fit 3D
graphics into the real world. However, the real unicorn of the VR/MR industry is the mysterious start-up, Magic Leap, which is reportedly developing an HMD that melds real life and VR. It’s all very hush-hush, but several big companies have invested $500 million into the technology, including Google (tellingly, they invested shortly after pulling Google Glass – a great ‘social experiment’ in gauging the public’s reaction to AR/MR devices).
Another side effect of the VR boom is the development of hardware to complement the already available and forthcoming HMDs. Realism and fully immersive experiences are becoming increasingly important to consumers, meaning that peripherals, such as full-body controllers and motion sensors, are becoming more popular. Spain-based NeuroDigital Technologies has been working on Gloveone, a smart glove that can accurately simulate touch, enabling users to feel and interact with virtual objects – a step up from the motion-control gloves of the 80s and 90s.
The sudden interest in VR can be simply explained by the advancements in technological capabilities that now allow us to fabricate concepts that have been around since the 50s. One of the main downfalls of primitive VR technology was the inability to effectively actualise any of the designs, no matter how good the original idea.
Both HMDs and peripherals suffered from poor software, clunky and unintuitive hardware and a price tag that everyday consumers couldn’t afford. Now, we can say with certainty that those days are behind us and the dawn of truly immersive and affordable VR has begun. S
1/2 Oculus Rift is used by Rewind across a
Visual effects are the modern magic. Whether they are dancing M&Ms or dinosaurs in your living room, the past 25 years of advertising could not have happened without the boom in visual effects technology, specifically CGI. Romanek representatives from the world’s top visual effects houses to hear about that 25-year journey, what we might learn from it and where VFX could be going next
VFX
eanimating a deceased Audrey Hepburn may be all in a day’s work for today’s masters of VFX but how do you reanimate that wow factor when clients have seen it all? The experts reveal how to still find the dazzle in the perfect blend of tech and creativity, how non-CGI practical effects are making a comeback and the blurring of the lines between agency, production and post…
Framestore’s Jon Collins always wanted to become a director. But in 1980s London he found a home in post production, eventually becoming one of London’s first post production producers. “It was an exciting time,” he remembers, “Music videos were exciting and technology was emerging. Stuff like Quantel’s Mirage was coming out; I remember seeing it used on Saturday Live with Ben Elton. They’d wrap the screen into a saxophone, and I thought: “Jeez, that’s cool.” He joined Framestore almost 20 years ago as head of production, and is now the company’s president
of integrated advertising, worldwide. He remembers a landmark Framestore ad, St George, for Blackcurrant Tango: “On the surface it looked pretty straightforward. There’s a guy in an office on the sixth floor and he’s talking and the camera’s tracking with him in one continuous shot. The punchline is he ends up on a boxing ring on the white cliffs of Dover, and it’s all one seamless shot. “I used to take that around to people – particularly to the States – on the showreel. People would see it and go, ‘Ok, so?’ But then when they understood it, they wanted to see it again and again. It was so cleverly done that people almost didn’t get it. It was the right mix of technology and creativity, and that’s what we still go after for just about any project we do.”
That same question of how to impress a client is even more on Collins’ mind two decades later, when dazzling visual effects are taken for granted. “For all sorts of reasons, most people have seen more or less everything. We did a Galaxy chocolate spot with Audrey Hepburn in it. It was
“Storytelling goes hand in hand with the technical aspects of VFX, and it’s becoming increasingly important that artists get involved in the early stages of a project to evolve and enhance the story.”
a CG head replacement, but very few people I showed the spot to knew how we did it –including people in the VFX industry. I feel that was a landmark for us. Most of the time, most people are pretty visually sophisticated. They’ve seen a lot of stuff and it’s hard to impress people. And I’m not even sure most clients have the budgets to spend to impress people in that kind of way. We’ve [recently] seen more of a move to docudrama or comedy spots.”
Looking to the future, Collins isn’t sure that the 30-second spot of old will have the pride of place it has enjoyed for a generation. “I’m not sure, in the traditional 30-second form, that there’ll be the same kind of breakthroughs that there were in the past 25 years. But it doesn’t mean that the ideas won’t be strong or creative.”
Like now, but with jetpacks!
“Artists were operators, FX shots were called ‘opticals’, pens and pallets were knobs and levers and the predicted retirement age was 35,” says Neil Davies, ECD of The Mill, remembering his start in visual effects 24 years ago.
He has seen big changes over the course of his years in the effects industry, but believes that core principles never change. “At The Mill we have moved away from being simply the technical execution guys at the end of the process to becoming creative partners working hand-in-hand with the agency and director. We have always wanted to help tell the story in the most engaging, cinematic way possible.”
Through changing technologies and economic shifts, Davies has learned that the core lessons are always creative ones. “I’ve learned that you don’t just do what’s asked of you,” he says, “you need to contribute creatively at each stage in the process so you can be part of shaping the ad to be the best it can be on every level. Storytelling goes hand in hand with the technical aspects of VFX, and it’s becoming increasingly important that artists get involved in the early stages of a project to evolve and enhance the story.”
Davies believes that the future will see more falling away of traditional boundaries. “I think we’re already moving away from the clear-cut divisions we had 25 years ago. The lines between agency, production and post will continue to blur.” He does note that cycles do repeat. Asked about the current romanticism surrounding a
return to celluloid by big-name directors and the celebration of the employment of practical effects in the new Mad Max and Star Wars films he says, “Like anything, fashions come and go. Shooting film on anamorphic lenses is a current trend but once that reaches saturation point the backlash will begin and we’ll all be yearning for the golden days of digital. As we’ve all discovered, 25 years goes very quickly so maybe it won’t be quite as different as we might imagine. Like now, but with jetpacks!”
Craft and experience
Alex Lovejoy, creative director at MPC New York, started as a runner in a small company called Triangle, part of Saatchi. He moved to MPC, working in the tape room, eventually working his way up to being a junior compositor. “There was a lot of watching over people’s shoulders to find out what they were doing on these odd machines called Henry and Flame,” he recalls, and he still finds the continuously evolving technologies a source of inspiration. “To me the really fun thing about this industry is that it’s constantly changing, and there are always new bits of kit arriving. It keeps the industry fresh and exciting.”
Lovejoy notes that most of the entrants into the industry now go through a very different route from him. “Now there are quite a few academies and schools for learning CG and compositing software. And that’s where MPC looks to hire our junior artists. They’ve had two or four years’ experience learning all this. When I started there weren’t any schools where you could learn the software, because it was too cost-prohibitive.”
Though training can allow new artists to slot into work quickly, Lovejoy thinks there are some benefits to the old way of doing things. “I still think that if you join as a runner, for example, you get to experience all areas of the company, and that gives you a better viewpoint in terms of what you find interesting and where you want to go.”
Justin Brukman, MD of MPC New York, seconds his colleague’s admiration for the skills of the past. “People were still faxing scripts around when I started. And that really wasn’t long ago. I feel that there was a lot more focus on craft and experience at that time. You couldn’t teach someone how to process 35mm film in a week. It took years of apprenticeship and experience to be trusted to handle what was essentially millions
“In the 90s it was more fun, creative, more open to new ideas. Today it’s very strong still, but if a client is doing a commercial, they want to see the reference first. It wasn’t the same 15 years ago. It was: ‘We think you can do it. Go ahead.’”
of dollars of investment on a piece of film. There was a lot more to get to grips with on the craft side of things. I caught the very tail end of when you still had technology as a USP for what you were doing in the VFX world. You were still able to say, ‘We have 12 Infernos and the people across the road only have three.’ You had specific hardware – and that gave you an advantage. But now it’s a software game.”
From exploration to industry
Pioneering Parisian VFX house BUF Compagnie has adhered to a rigidly artistcentred vision since it was founded in 1984 by its CEO Pierre Buffin. The company, now with offices in Europe and North America and a film
development wing, worked from the beginning with its own proprietary software and a workflow which shunned assembly lines and saw individual artists working on shots from conception to delivery. Buffin believes that in a world of increasing time pressure and greater corporate control some worthwhile elements of the past have been left behind. “We have moved from exploration to industry. It’s much more industrial now,” he muses.
It’s not surprising that Buffin should treasure the company’s artistic roots. BUF grew up alongside visionary talents such as Michel Gondry, David Fincher, Marc Caro and JohnPierre Jeunet, and the Wachowskis (the company helped develop the ‘bullet time’ slow-motion effect used in the Matrix films). He looks back at those times with affection: “I think now we are in a
Industry experts share the VFX stunners that inspired them
An old favourite and a modern master
I joined The Mill shortly after Dunlop’s 1993 ad Test For The Unexpected [right] was completed and it still seems groundbreaking 20 years later. Combining the maverick skills of Tony Kaye, Walter Campbell and Tom Carty, who I’ve been fortunate enough to work with
on a number of occasions, the film was shot in black and white and hand coloured to add to the surreal nature of the visuals.
Couple all that with a track by one of my favourite bands, The Velvet Underground, and it’s easy to see why it becomes such an iconic spot for me.
Fast forward 15 years and I was lucky enough to be involved in an epic spot myself
– this time for Nike. Write The Future, [left] a collaboration with W+K Amsterdam, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and DP’d by Chivo, was, at the time, the biggest VFX job The Mill had ever undertaken. A legendary six week shoot followed by just five weeks of post culminated in a spot I’m still really proud of.
From a down-and-out Wayne Rooney, to cameos by Homer Simpson and Roger Federer; the visual effects team worked on a staggering 236 VFX shots, including the largest and most believable CG stadium and crowd replication we had ever created. This, coupled with another great track, makes an advert that really stands the test of time.
Neil Davies
Executive creative director The Mill
More tales of the Unexpected
I remember watching Dunlop’s Tested For The Unexpected [below and right] as a runner and I was just blown away. What was this? A commercial?
A film? The colours, the mind-bending visuals, explosions, the soundtrack, pin head – just bloody awesome, and then, wait, it’s an ad for Dunlop tyres! From this moment I knew visual effects was where I wanted to be.”
Alex Lovejoy
Creative director
MPC New York
difficult time. There are fewer risks taken. In the 90s it was more fun, creative, more open to new ideas. Today it’s very strong still, but if a client is doing a commercial, they want to see the reference first. It wasn’t the same 15 years ago. It was: ‘We think you can do it. Go ahead.’”
One of the company’s early hit commercials was O&M Paris’ 1990 Perrier ad, Lion, directed by Jean-Paul Goude, which saw a young woman going face-to-face with a lion. The effects are seamless and dramatic and could easily have come out of a commercial from last year. Ironically, Buffin doesn’t see technology as a major creative influence. “For me a computer is very practical. It’s like a tool, or a brush. It’s not important. What’s important is the art you put into it.” He also looks with some skepticism on the growth of visual effects “assembly lines” –
“Technology only gets you so far. Experience, hard graft and a good eye are the final 10 per cent. And that’s the difference between good visual effects and great visual effects. And that’s always been the case.”
big houses with many pairs of hands at their disposal, but a narrow creative vision.
“When you are in a company of 2,000 people doing visual effects – running all the time – there is no place for artists in that kind of industry.”
The enduring role of the good eye
Giles Cheetham, lead Flame artist at Electric Theatre Collective, has been in the VFX industry for 20 years and has been a Flame artist for most of that time. But when he started out, Flame was the new kid on the block. Quantel’s Harry and Henry were the industry’s workhorse compositing tools. “When I started in 1995, there was a top ten set of companies and they were all of a big size because you needed a lot of money to buy the kit. It was half a million quid to buy a Flame. It’s a fifth of that now.” He sees the democratisation of
technology allowing a host of new entrants onto the scene, such as Electric Theatre Collective. “Now you’ve got the big three companies, with huge staff. They’re owned by banks or big corporate companies. And then all the rest are independent, smaller companies. I think that’s been quite a change. In the last five years with the price point coming down, it’s viable for self-funded, creative bands of brothers to get together and start a small visual effects company.”
Cheetham echoes the same sentiments as many of his colleagues – that craft and skill are the most important things, as they always have been: “Technology only gets you so far. Experience, hard graft and a good eye are the final 10 per cent. And that’s the difference between good visual effects and great visual effects. And that’s always been the case.”
A seamless commute from office to coast
After much discussion in the office we all think the Blackcurrant Tango spot, St George, [below left and below] should be mentioned when we talk about iconic ads. Composited on a Henry by the legendary VFX maestro Tim Webber, the effects are spot on and as you don’t notice them, this means they are really well done. It would be interesting to know if St George or Gravity gave Tim more sleepless nights.
Giles Cheetham
Lead Flame artist Electric Theatre Collective
A perfect coupling of ideas and VFX
Smirnoff Smarienberg [below] was released in 1996 when I was a runner just starting my career in post. It was a spot that stood out when I was absorbing all the spectacular work the industry was producing. Michel Gondry’s work on this, [the Chemical Brothers’ video] Let Forever Be and his whole catalogue, always inspires me. He doesn’t fool us
with photo-real impossibility but just engages and inspires us with great ideas and uses a perfect mix of in-camera and visual effects. Seeing his work for the first time made me appreciate how much work should go into the preparation for great VFX and how it needs to compliment a great idea rather than be the only idea.
Ben Cronin VFX supervisor/head of Flame Framestore
“Why do gentlemen prefer blondes?” poses a voiceover in Budweiser’s Why Ask Why? campaign 25 years ago. A flaxen-haired floozie in a black minidress pouts at the camera, which then lingers over her pert buttocks before the answer appears – “Dumb question.” The ad, from DDB Needham Worldwide, went on to present another stereotype – that tiresome accessory ‘the girlfriend’ – as an irritating nag that any chap would readily replace with a cold beer. This was 1990, 30 years on from the women’s rights revolution, so there were rightly complaints of sexism. Subsequent spots in the Budweiser campaign were presented more from a woman’s point of view (albeit largely showing male stereotypes – idiots and brutes). Good. So, a lesson learnt then. No more sexist ads. Oh, hang on… In 1992, an 18-year-old stick-thin Kate Moss in
“There’s still plenty of objectification, but women are also being spoken to with respect, understanding and on female terms for the first time.”
nowt but her knickers wafts onto billboards, straddling Mark Wahlberg and selling Calvin Klein pants and heroin chic – not much empowerment there. In 1997, a Pepsi spot sees a lad’s dream of being “a soap-on-a-rope in Claudia Schiffer’s shower” come true: Claudia, (blonde) hair flowing and breasts a-jiggle, approaches the shower in slo-mo to Tom Jones singing She’s A Lady. Orgasmically, she loosens her gown; the lad, his face weirdly photo-montaged onto the soap, can hardly contain himself, but then – the horror – a chubby woman pips Claudia to the shower, disrobes and starts scrubbing herself with the soap/bloke who screams in disgust. The subtext – fat girls are revolting, they’re not the ladies Tom’s singing about. In the Noughties, things are looking up. We still have women in pants but they’re larger pants, for larger women, courtesy of Dove’s Real Beauty print ads launched by O&M London in 2004. Though the women are flatteringly shot and cellulite free, the ad’s a gamechanger. “Ogilvy’s iconic campaign started a very important dialogue about the force of empowering, women-
focussed advertising. Since then there has definitely been a slow but growing movement to be more aware of the way we’re speaking to women and representing them in advertising,” says Laurel Stark Akman, associate creative director at Razorfish San Francisco and chief social advocate of The 3% Conference, the industry pressure group aiming to increase the number of female creative directors. So has the trend continued in the right direction? “Twenty five years ago, we started to see more variety in how ads represented women, but it was still very much from a male gaze,” says Laura Jordan Bambach, creative partner at agency Mr President. “Fast forward to 2015 and we have a range of how women are portrayed. There’s still plenty of objectification that goes on, but women are also being spoken to with respect, understanding and on female terms for the first time.” Droga5’s David Droga [see page 22] says: “Thankfully, women are no longer portrayed as just happy housewives and excitable shoppers in ads. The better campaigns are able to tap into the more dynamic, emotive and cerebral dimensions of a female audience rather than just the feminine wrapping paper that was pushed out for so long.”
Sex (or is it sexism?) still sells
Certainly debate is raging. In February, the UK’s House of Commons hosted a WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications London) debate proposing the motion “This house believes the portrayal of women in advertising in 2015 lags behind reality.” Helen Weisinger, managing partner of agencies HeyHuman and Brave, was present and reports that “An overwhelming majority of the audience, which incidentally wasn’t just women, felt that it does lag behind reality.” This year also saw the launch of the Cannes Glass Lion to promote gender equality. Though Corinna Falusi, O&M New York’s new CCO would have liked this to come sooner, “I felt this initiative from Cannes came very late. The ADC started the 50/50 initiative years ago. However, incentives tend to work better than deterrents. If people
WOMEN
want to waste everyone’s time with misogynistic work they’ll just have to accept that they’ll miss out come award season.” Better late than never, though, and the Glass Lion jury president, advertising consultant and founder of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn, Cindy Gallop (profiled in shots 157) was thrilled with the results, especially Grand Prix winner, BBDO India’s Touch The Pickle, for Whisper sanitary products, which addresses the stigma surrounding menstruation. “This is a worldwide issue, but that campaign was launched into one of the most conservative marketplaces in the world. Which is what also made it so extraordinary,” says Gallop. Other Glass Lion winners included Sport England’s This Girl Can – more women in pants, but this time they’re sports pants and these are real real women, a diverse range exhibiting their strength, determination, humour and, crucially, their cellulite.
“While we recognise advertising and the media cannot cause eating disorders... we are aware how toxic images can be to an individual.”
The ongoing Real Beauty campaign also picked up a Glass Lion and continues to provoke debate. “Ten years on and it’s still being copied. It is the new standard,” says Falusi. But should part of that debate be asking why women need to feel beautiful? How far does this need preoccupy men? “Exactly,” says Jordan Bambach, “[Dove is ] a beauty brand and celebrating that all women are beautiful is spot on, but it all feels like yet another pressure now. What we need are more representations of women from a women’s perspective, and a normalisation of ‘normal’. Dove made a huge impact originally, though I think that as the campaign has moved on, there’s a feeling that making women feel guilty about not believing they’re beautiful enough is not necessarily the right thing.”
At least it’s not definitely the wrong thing, such as the poster for slimming pill pusher Protein World, which featured a busty blonde in a teeny bikini and the line, ‘Are you beach body ready?’ Though the ASA ruled the ad was not offensive or irresponsible (though it eventually banned the ad for its health claims) it received 378 complaints that the poster implied other body shapes were inferior. Rebecca Field from eating disorders charity Beat said, “While we recognise advertising and the media cannot cause eating disorders, we are aware how toxic images can be to an individual.” In 2012, after an online campaign against it garnered 11,000 signatures, the ASA
Reflecting on 25 years of women in advertising throws up many tricky questions – why are only 25 per cent of creatives in the UK female? If portrayals of women in ads have evolved from just housewives or hot honeys to more diverse visions, why do babes still pout from billboards and how real are the ‘real women’?
Carol Cooper looks for the pimply truth beneath the airbrushing
“As leaders in the media industry, it’s our job to take responsibility for our role in perpetuating these harmful stereotypes.”
did ban Ryanair’s print ad teaming female flight attendants wearing skimpy undies and porn-star pouts with the line ‘Red hot fares… and crew’. Last December, the ASA banned VIP’s similarly outdated spot showing a sultry vamp talking dirty about getting jiggy with an e-cig. However, the ad was not banned for demeaning women, but for glamorising smoking.
The ASA may not be as proactive as we’d like over such “toxic images” but at least digital democracy can be effective. “The advent of social media has really helped push our awareness as a society – and an industry – in the right direction,” says Stark Akman. “Sexist advertising gets skewered now, immediately and publicly – and those brands can choose to respond. It’s given consumers a voice – and the ability to influence our creative work in impactful ways.” However, there are gains and losses, for social media has also become a platform for misogyny, but Gallop feels that this is no bad thing. “By exposing to a much wider gaze how very toxic that all is, it’s enabling lots of other people, men included, to counter it. It brings it to the surface, which is far, far better than the way it’s been allowed to go on for decades, under the surface and actively holding women back.”
Conflicting images and a cacophony of double speak
While overt misogyny and sexism can be hauled out of the shadows and condemned, an issue with today’s advertising is where insidious, subliminal sexism still lurks. Stark Akman worries about “ads that quietly feed into gender stereotypes, like the 2014 VW Super Bowl spot Wings [‘Every time a Volkswagen hits 100,000 miles a German engineer gets his wings.’ Only one token ‘wingless’ female engineer appeared.] Or the diet ads that reinforce body image issues, like the Special K campaign ‘What will you gain when you lose?’ Because these kinds of ads are seen as less offensive, they also happen more often. And that subtle sexism is a harder thing to battle.”
Advertising that appears to champion strong, empowered women can transmit conflicting counter-messages that reinforce the old order. Recent L’Oréal spots have Helen Mirren stating how older women can be sexy, while paradoxically boasting of hair colour that means “greys [are] gone” and Age Perfect face cream that battles age spots and makes her feel more “like me”, but surely now she’s older (69 actually) “me” has wrinkles and grey hair, so why hide them? An ad for (L’Oréal-owned) Garnier Nutrisse shampoo sees
another female icon, the satirist Tina Fey swapping laughs for lock swinging. You wait for her hallmark irony, but there is none. Fey has never seemed less like herself and both she and Mirren are diminished by these ads. So too are the accomplished women who appear in a recent ad for L’Oréal’s Collection Privée Color Riche Nudes range. In the extended, behind-the-scenes spot, Julianne Moore, Jane Fonda, Eva Longoria and other high-achievers are having a girly makeover session – all soft-lit, slow-mo and laughing among themselves at secret jokes (like a gaggle of blushing Jane Austen-era bonneted virgins) while talking about how confident and “pretty” their new lippy makes them feel. Try to imagine a male-hunk version of this ad, Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney, David Gandy, Idris Elba all giggling at a grooming session saying how their new aftershaves/shiny cufflinks give them confidence, make them feel ‘hunky’? This ad does not speak of empowerment, more embarrassment – is this really all we have to show after decades of brave women have fought for our freedoms? And what mixed messages are contained in one of the world’s most successful – and once emancipating – taglines “Because we’re worth it”? (See box opposite).
In the mid 19th century only prostitutes wore make-up, thus it was a signifier of availability. Thankfully, now a woman has the freedom to adorn her face and body how she likes without the message being clearly intended that she’s up for it, so from “I’m yours” to “I’m worth it – I do this for me not the male gaze.” But though a woman may choose to look good ‘for herself’, that look will still be governed by the current definition of beauty. “Being a true feminist means accepting all women have a fundamental right to make their own choices about their appearance,” says Jordan Bambach, “where it gets difficult is when these choices are made for someone or something else. Whether that’s a partner, an industry expectation or a social group.” It’s a complex issue, but for our purposes the point is that women have the right to wear make-up and brands have the right to sell it to them, but the marketing doesn’t have to be shallow, narcissistic or subtly sexist. Take Clinique’s recent web film Read My Lips, which was made in partnership with the-pool.com, an online mag “for busy women”, and produced by digital agency Swhype. This has a diverse range of women, including best-selling author Kate Mosse,
3 Sport England, This Girl Can
4 Whisper, Touch the Pickle 5 L’Oréal, Collection Privée Color Riche Nudes
Dove, Half Empty/Half
World,
featuring Kate Moss
Reading between the taglines
When it was written 52 years ago, L’Oréal’s ‘I’m worth it’ was a message of female empowerment, but today, is it part of a dispiriting subtext that translates as ‘You’re so not worth it’?
One day in 1973, 23-year-old female copywriter Llon Specht was angry with her male bosses at McCann Erickson and dashed off the tagline ‘Because I’m worth it’. She was writing about women wanting to look good for themselves, not for men. Back then, it heralded a refreshing emancipation from the tyranny of ‘the male gaze’. One of advertising’s most successful taglines, it’s spawned essays and analysis and in 2011 had a starstudded 40th anniversary bash. In the mid-2000s the line changed to ‘Because you’re worth it’ after research concluded it
would be more inclusive for the consumer. And in 2009 was changed again, to ‘Because we’re worth it’, in an effort to make we mortal women feel even more like members of this girls’ club of goddesses and role models – all equal in how much they richly deserve posh shampoo.
But as it has evolved, do these ads now actually speak to everywoman? When Julianne Moore simpers “I have my own shade for lips and nails, how lucky am I?” isn’t the answer, “Yes, quite lucky dear. You’re rich, slim and talented and you’ve just won an
Oscar, but let’s talk about your lippy instead.” It diminishes her but also, subtly, diminishes us, the un-airbrushed, un-Oscared women. When Eva or J-Lo or any other superbly-lit beauty winks at us about being worth it, isn’t there a subtext at work? “I’m worth posh shampoo cos I have fame, fortune, and flawless skin. I deserve a barnet that gleams so brightly it could guide ships. While, you, well you need to have a word with
yourself love. You’ve got split ends, grey skin and a dull job. Get a grip, buy the products and some of our glory might rub off on you.” This is, in part, how aspirational advertising works: by marketers making consumers feel inadequate, that their products will fill in where they are lacking. But it doesn’t have to be this way, marketing can be subtly suggestive and effective without making women feel that, somehow, they’re worth-less.
entrepreneur chef Thomasina Miers and broadcaster Lauren Laverne, reading quotes from songs and literature that inspire them. They look and sound like intelligent individuals rather than vacuous numpties.
Of course our selfie-mongering, image-obsessed culture increasingly affects men too, as the boom in male-grooming products shows, but while conventional good looks boost the prospects of both genders, men are still predominantly judged on their substance rather than their surfaces. “Women and men like to look good, there’s nothing wrong with that – the beauty industry is a sector that continues to grow massively,” says Weisinger. “But as Lisa Bloom highlighted in a piece she wrote for Huffington Post recently, the problems for women/girls start at a really young age. Too often people’s first comment to a little girl is about her looks: ‘Oh, you’re so cute,’ rather than ‘Oh, you’re so smart.’ Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything.”
The controversial question is: are some women complicit in ongoing gender stereotyping by continuing to buy into ‘the beauty myth’? “Yes, of course,” says Stark Akman, “by buying into these stereotypes or limiting definitions, women help reinforce their relevance. But as leaders in the media industry, it’s our job to take responsibility for our role in perpetuating these harmful stereotypes. We need to make the media world a safer place for women and girls to be seen and heard as multi-dimensional beings who are more than just our ability to fit into mandated ideals of femininity and beauty.” Zoe Cassavetes, features and commercials director with Little Minx, feels that women do continue to subject themselves to “the pressure to be thin, to have no wrinkles, perfect hair… to embody perfection”. Falusi is uncomfortable with the charge of complicity, “We tend to find all kinds of problems with things that women are into. It’s unfair to blame oppressive
“I have a violent objection to people, women included, who go, ‘We need to be more confident, we need to put ourselves forward, to lean in more.’ Fuck that.”
social structures on mascara choices, or someone’s fashion interest.” While Gallop is vociferous that the problem comes from male dominance rather than female submission, “I have a violent objection to people, women included, who go, ‘We need to be more confident, we need to put ourselves forward, to lean in more.’ Fuck that.” Gallop asserts that stereotypical images of women in advertising will cease when more women are making the ads than men, “When we have gender equality at the top of every agency, holding company and department, but especially the creative departments, not only will we see better, more authentic, realistic, non-stereotyped depictions of women, we will also see non-stereotypical depictions of men.” Weisinger agrees and on slamming Ryanair and VIP’s sexist advertising says, “Created by women, for women? I don’t think so. Therein lies half the problem.”
Unmaternal monsters and bossy bosses
So how close are we to achieving gender equality in the ad industry? There have been some gains: the first half of this year saw six women take chief creative positions at FCB, Y&R, W+K, O&M and Wunderman. DDB launched the Better By Half initiative, which is aiming to have a 50/50 gender split in its creative leaders within five years. Awards shows are making an effort too, with the ADC and the Clios now insisting on an equal male/female ratio in their juries. A third of Cannes Lions’ jury presidents were female this year. But with female creative directors still only numbering 11 per cent in the US, progress can hardly be said to be galloping apace. Kate Robertson, Havas Worldwide global president, speaking at a Cosmopolitan conference this spring said: “There are not enough women in senior positions in advertising. Women are not being paid enough, or promoted enough and mostly we are treated appallingly.” Agency Droga5 is trying to address the issue. “There has certainly been a positive progression but clearly not enough,” says David Droga. “We’ve more female department heads across our agency than male, however we still have fewer female creative directors than I would like to see.”
One of the major obstacles to women’s advancement is the working mum
issue. Falusi says: “With its unpredictable hours, advertising is not very parent friendly. One of the hardest things I’ve done in my career was adjusting my work life to accommodate my private life after I had a child. But by US standards O&M New York has good parental leave and flexitime for both men and women.”
So the barriers and stigma around part-time work need to be removed for both sexes. We need to strive for a situation where, if a male creative misses a pitch or board meeting because little Timmy’s got runny poo, or Cassandra’s playing triangle in the school play, nobody bats an eyelid. At present, however, it’s still more likely that Timmy’s mum will prioritise a poo- or school-based issue over work (or drive herself mad trying to manage both), lest she feels like, and is possibly seen as, an unmaternal monster. Today’s modern dad needs also to be honestly content to take his turn staying home re-reading The Hungry Caterpillar to a tiny tyrannical bedtime refusenik while it’s mum who’s away downing rosé on the Croisette.
Stark Akman says flexible hours and remote working should be achievable. “There’s this unspoken assumption in advertising that working late is necessary to do great work – not only is this a ridiculous notion, it also discourages talented female – and male – creatives who also happen to be parents.” HeyHuman’s Weisinger says agencies she’s worked for have been supportive: “TBWA hired me as a pregnant woman. Fallon hired me knowing that I was planning more children and HeyHuman accommodated a daily late-morning start so I can take my three kids to school. But part of that was because I was honest about my needs before they hired me. Too often I think people approach it in the wrong way – it’s not about throwing out legal babble and stating rights, but having an honest conversation about how can we manage this in a way that works for both sides.”
Agencies might be moving in the right direction, but what about elsewhere in the industry? Earlier this year Somesuch London’s Sally Campbell bemoaned the lack of female directors in the industry to shots “The bee in my bonnet is why do women not return from maternity leave? It’s an inflexible industry as far as hours and weekends go, so for a mother there is a lot of heartache and guilt associated with it.” Some might argue that the predominantly male-dominated ad industry doesn’t wish to change. Falusi notes that: “Change only happens when people are affected by a particular problem and force change. When conditions for women in advertising get better, it won’t be because male CEOs decide to be nice to women out of the goodness of their hearts.”
Another barrier to female advancement, in all sectors, is something Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg highlights in her much debated 2013 book
“I learned from a young age you have to find your own way, your own style and you have to fight your own battles.”
Helen Weisinger, managing partner, HeyHuman & Brave
“Women share. We are the chatters, the talkers, the recommenders, the advocates. Women will influence men.”
“Speak up! Call out bias when you see it. Ask: ‘Did you notice we only have men speaking on this panel?’”
Laurel Stark Akman, associate creative director, Razorfish
“You’ve got to not worry what anyone thinks… the more you see your point of view as valid, the easier it gets to succeed.”
Laura Jordan Bambach, creative partner, Mr President
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, that is the research exposing how “success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women. When a man is successful, he is liked by both men and women. When a woman is successful, people of both genders like her less.” This unconscious bias against successful women is gradually getting discussed. The website banbossy.com states: “When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a ‘leader’. Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded ‘bossy’, discouraging girls from asserting themselves – a trend that continues into adulthood.” Jordan Bambach says: “There’s a huge, hard-to-spot, malevolence against successful women in culture that we’re just going to have to get through, by calling it out, questioning what we see and hear and speaking up against it. Not just women, but all enlightened souls.”
So how have the women I interviewed succeeded despite such barriers? “You’ve got to not worry what anyone thinks about you and your ideas. The less you care and the more you see your point of view as valid (and express
it openly – something often harder for women because of how we’ve been brought up to please others) the easier it gets to succeed,” says Jordan Bambach. Weisinger says, “Yes, I’ve encountered hurdles and sexual harassment in my time at work and yes, at times I’ve had to be outspoken but, as I learned from a young age, you have to find your own way, your own style and you have to fight your own battles. That’s a life lesson, not a gender specific one.” Cassavetes acknowledges the struggle but is optimistic about the future, “Hopefully, the new generation of filmmakers will be more advanced than us and not have to think about gender equality. It’s a new world for them. Kids today are not so obsessed with my generation’s concerns.” Cindy Gallop is also optimistic: “We’re marching ahead, we need to take away what we have learned and act on it and make what The 3% Conference stands for happen. One day, we’ll be The 50% Conference.” Gallop points out that having a higher ratio of female creatives making women-friendly ads also makes sound business sense: “Firstly, because women are the buyers, the primary purchasers in every sector, and the primary influencers of purchases in every sector, including sectors that were traditionally thought to be male. In the US, more women now hold driving licences than men and 53 per cent of all new car purchasers are women. Yet who is the automotive industry still targeting their advertising and their product design at? Secondly,” she goes on, “women share the shit out of everything. We are the chatters, the talkers, the recommenders, the advocates. I say to brands that think their target audience is men, ‘talk to women’, because women will influence men more than men will influence other men.”
Shock horror! Flaw spotted on Flawless singer’s skin
Speaking at 2013’s 3% Conference, Gallop asserted that everyone, men and women, undertaking ‘micro-actions’ will cumulatively add up to a macro change. These actions include ways of drawing attention to bias. Stark Akman summarises: “Speak up! Call out bias when you see it. Ask: ‘Did you notice we only have men speaking on this panel?’, ‘Did you notice there’s only one woman involved in this discussion?’, ‘Did you notice the recruiters are primarily sending us male candidates?’” Such micro-actions not only need to be taken by ad industry workers but other role models too. Though it was heartening to see teen girls’ icon Beyoncé contribute to the banbossy website with her video ‘I’m not bossy, I’m the boss’, it would have been cool if she’d spoken up when a bunch of unretouched pics of her from a 2013 L’Oréal photo shoot revealed… gasp… a few pimples. This prompted the usual Twittersphere twattery with shocked fans claiming “The pics must be faked!” Beyoncé said nothing. So what did that silence convey? That today’s empowered woman must have flawless skin? The teen girl with acne asks, “I’ll never be like you Bey, I’ll never be the boss? Cos I’m not worth it?” Beyoncé could have ’fessed up, “Yes, I’m just like you, I’ve got a couple of spots, but I still succeeded.”
Advertising’s current clamour of confusing missives needs to be replaced with clearer communiqués about what it is to be a woman – cellulite, pimples and all. A diverse range of creatives need to be directing marketing that sells to women without demeaning them.
Consider again the Clinique film. Rather than mixed messages, the film conveys a double meaning in the title
Read My Lips – ‘Look at my flattering lippy, but also listen to me, I have something to say worth listening to.’ This should surely be the mantra of the modern woman everywhere –especially in agency boardrooms.
Beyoncé unretouched and still worth it…
Sis for X-RATED
ome ads from decades past seem so outdated in their sexual politics that they beggar belief, such as these lines from the 50s for the Kenwood Chef food mixer, “[it] does everything but cook – that’s what wives are for” and for Drummond climbing sweaters, the rather bald, “Men are better than women.”
Other, more recent examples, such as Protein World’s now infamous ‘Beach Body Ready’ poster, show that while attitudes to women, and the way they are portrayed, may have changed in the succeeding decades, they are also, in many ways, still the same [for more on this issue see W is for women in advertising, page 104].
Outmoded sexual politics aside, some campaigns simply push boundaries to see what the censors, and indeed the public, might find acceptable. Wonderbra’s famously iconic ‘Hello Boys’ poster of supermodel Eva Herzigova might not seem too provocative now, but in 1994 it caused some furore as many thought it was degrading to women.
So, this list of six campaigns isn’t necessarily a collection of ads that were banned, though many were, but a reflection of how the industry has continually pushed the envelope of controversy and, whether planned or not, caused varying levels of outrage along the way.
Outpost.com Cannon
Back in 1999 the internet, or the world wide web as we seemed intent on saying back then, was a surging tidal wave of momentum. And, before the first dot-com crash washed over the globe, many online companies were attempting to make a splash. One such company was Outpost.com. Its campaign, created by Cliff Freeman and Partners NYC and aired during the Super Bowl of 1999, featured a distinguished looking gent in a Chesterfield armchair calmly explaining why they were about to fire gerbils from a cannon. “We want you to remember our name, Outpost.com. That’s why we’ve decided to fire gerbils out of this
cannon through the ‘o’ in Outpost.” While the company stated that no actual gerbils were harmed in the making of the spot, gerbil-lovers everywhere were up in arms about the treatment of the furry little critters and the ad was pulled. If you can tell me what Outpost.com actually was, well, you’re a better man than me.
Yves Saint Laurent Opium
Sex sells. We all know that. Controversy also sells. Combine the two and what do you get? You get what, today, the industry would define as ‘earned media’. And this poster for a YSL perfume, featuring an alabaster-skinned, artfully naked
1 Wrigley’s, Dog Breath
2 Yves Saint Laurent, Opium
3 Agent Provocateur, Proof
4 Outpost.com, Cannon
5 Agent Provocateur, Fleurs Du Mal
6 Benetton, UNHATE
Sophie Dahl reclining somewhat provocatively on velvet cloth, earned a lot of media. The 2000 ad saw the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority receive over 900 complaints, which it eventually upheld, saying, “We agreed with public complaints that a poster ad for Opium perfume featuring a naked Sophie Dahl was sexually suggestive and, in an untargeted medium, likely to cause serious or widespread offence.”
Wrigley’s Dog Breath
We’ve had gerbils being fired from a cannon, now we’ve got a dog being vomited from a man. Yes, you read that right. In 2003 this AMV BBDO
X marks the spot in this section of our 25th anniversary retrospective. And there was a lot of choice when it came to campaigns that were, shall we say, rather economical with clothing and/or perceived good taste. Since advertising began there have been commercial messages which flirted with common decency. Danny Edwards takes a closer look
“If you’re
looking for political controversy then a 2011 spot for Nando’s, Last Dictator Standing, pokes fun at Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe.”
1
“Kylie Minogue, dressed in high heels, bra, knickers and suspenders, rode a mechanical bull in a blood red, Twin Peaks-esque setting. Originally a cinema ad, the
commercial went viral before viral was even a thing.”
London spot for Wrigley’s X-cite mints got people’s hackles (and dinner) up by showing a man, looking somewhat worse-for-wear the morning after the night before, realising he’s got very bad breath. Said man then retches, before vomming up a grubby-looking dog. The special effects are actually pretty impressive, even after 12 years, but many people thought the ad was, ironically, tasteless and also complained that it scared their kids. The powers that be agreed with them and promptly banned the spot.
Agent Provocateur
We’ve already established that sex sells, and if you’re talking X-rated content then Agent Provocateur knows what it’s doing. The brand has continually added controversy to its commercials almost as steadily as it’s taken away the clothing budget. Of course, they’re ads for lingerie, so there’s a certain amount of flesh to be expected but, you know…
The first AP spot to cause a stir, Proof, is from 2001 when diminutive Aussie songstress Kylie Minogue, dressed in high heels, bra, knickers and suspenders, rode a mechanical bull to the sound of The Hives’ Main Offender in a blood red,
1 Nando’s, Last Dictator Standing
Twin Peaks-esque setting. Originally a cinema commercial, the ad went viral before viral was even a thing.
Since then we’ve had, in 2011, Mark Ronson’s then girlfriend, now wife, Josephine de la Baume, starring in a voyeuristic ‘leaked’ video which shows her relaxing in full AP get-up. As one does. In 2012 came probably the most unforgettable spot, Fleurs Du Mal, which is sort of a cross between a horror film and a porn flick, in which one pretty-much naked model is attacked by four other pretty-much naked models.
Then, in 2013, actress Penelope Cruz wrote and directed L’Agent, a film featuring the kind of party most teenage boys (and even the actor starring in the spot, for that matter) could only dream of.
Nando’s Last Dictator Standing
We’ve had nudity and perceived animal cruelty, but if you’re looking for some political controversy then one spot that definitely has extra hot flavouring is a 2011 ad for Nando’s. Called Last Dictator Standing, the film pokes fun at Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, who, played by a lookalike, reminisces about the fun times he had singing karaoke with Mao Tse-Tung,
making sand angels with Saddam Hussein, riding tanks with Idi Amin and having water pistol fights with Colonel Gaddafi. All set to the sound of Mary Hopkin’s Those Were the Days. The spot was a big hit in South Africa, but Mugabe loyalists in Zimbabwe called for a boycott of the chicken chain and some threatened staff at Zimbabwean outlets. Eventually the spot was pulled.
Benetton
Italian fashion brand Benetton has a history o f provocative advertising under its handmade, finest leather belt. In 1990, to raise awareness of AIDS, they used a famous image of AIDS sufferer and activist David Kirby on his deathbed, which caused a wave of controversy.
Renowned photographer Oliviero Toscani, who suggested the use of the David Kirby image, helped push the brand and its equality awareness-raising United Colors of Benetton campaign further into the public’s consciousness with challenging images such as the moment of birth of a baby girl, a black man and a white man handcuffed together and three human hearts lined up, with ‘white’, ‘black’ and ‘yellow’ printed over them to illustrate the lack of difference between each organ.
Most recently, in 2011, the company’s UNHATE initiative saw it create highly controversial – and highly Photoshopped – posters which showed famous world leaders kissing: Barack Obama kissing Chinese president Hu Jintao, French president Nicolas Sarkozy kissing German chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Benedict XVI kissing Egyptian imam Ahmed el-Tayeb. After widespread criticism, not least from the Vatican, the image of the Pope was pulled.
Yis indeed for the Young Director Award but we could just as easily have put this feature under F or C because the Young Director Award would not have been born, nor would it continue to exist, without its creator and president, Francois Chilot. The Young Director Award is an occasion close to shots’ heart as we’ve been partners with the event since its inception in 1999 and have, we like to think, helped to spread the good news of the YDA among shots’ international audience. Not that it wouldn’t have been a success anyway, Chilot’s tenacity and sheer enthusiasm for promoting and nurturing new talent would have seen to that.
Many of you reading this have probably attended one of the YDA’s ceremonies at one of the last 17 Cannes Lions festivals, where the competition winners are announced. At the first event you would have been standing in the large room to the left of the Carlton Hotel (probably quite hot, looking for a spare section of floor to sit on). After a few years it moved to bigger, more comfortable surroundings at the Palais Stéphanie. This year, its ‘transitional’ year, the event was held solely on the beach while Chilot looks to
reinvigorate the competition – more of which later. But wherever it’s been held, the defining element of the YDA is the spotlight shone on an array of talented directors from across the globe. Names such as Kosei Sekine, Aleksander Bach, Hanna Maria Heidrich, Andreas Roth, Josh Cole, Kibwe Tavares, Christian Werner and, probably most famously, Ringan Ledwidge, have all been garlanded at the YDA and are testament to both the directorial talent that’s out there, and the YDA’s ability to find it.
Letting the producers lead the way
There are, of course, numerous international award shows and festivals, many of which recognise and reward new directing talent but, says Chilot, the element of the YDA of which he is most proud is the fact that it is the only event which is created by, led by and awarded by producers, the people, he says, whose purpose is to find and nurture new talent.
Chilot has always been of the opinion that a production company has a duty to the industry, and to itself and its fellow companies, to seek out directing talent and he is acutely aware of the rise in prominence of the in-house production model, where agencies take control of production from within their own walls. This has always happened but, with the continued blurring of boundaries between agency/production and post, it is an increasingly widespread approach and Chilot believes that,
YOUNG DIRECTOR AWARD
Danny Edwards talks –and listens – to the brilliant raconteur that is Francois Chilot, founder of the Young Director Award. It’s a story of a father with four wives, landing in London in the Swinging Sixties, graduating from a Cardiff business school, working with the W and the T of TBWA, hooking up with JFK’s photographer and harnessing a passion for producing and helping other producers find, nurture and celebrate the new directing talent that the advertising industry thrives on
“My goal was to make it not just a singular thing, happening at one point in the year, but something that works throughout the year, and to also make it more global.”
“When I joined, in 1971, it was just TBWA\Paris but they pretty much opened a different office every year. I worked for the Group and so I grew with the agency, always with a very broad remit and outlook on the world.”
however well-intentioned an agency’s motives are, it will never nurture and promote new talent to the degree that a production company will.
Chilot founded his own production company in his native France in 1984. Called Les Producers (named after the famous Mel Brooks film) it started with just him and the then-unknown director Bruno Decharme, now one of the world’s leading collectors of art brut. “When I opened the company,” says Chilot, “I looked at a lot of directors but I already had in mind to only have one director, and for him to be a beginner. It wasn’t, to me, so crazy as it might seem today. I wanted to start with somebody, and this somebody had to want to start with me. And I found Bruno. I felt, straight away, that it was the right thing to have done.”
Let me tell you a story...
Les Producers wasn’t Chilot’s first foray into the advertising arena though. He spent 13 years working at TBWA, based in Paris but travelling the world to the company’s various international offices. But Francois, I asked, how did that job come about? The answer, it turned out, was not short. Chilot, by his own admission, is a talker, and also a great storyteller so here goes:
“My father was married four times and at one point had an English partner, she was really nice and gave me the notion to carry on my studies in the UK. London was really attractive at the time, it was the Swinging Sixties and though that was costly, my father agreed to pay, so I came to London at the age of 18 and went to school to learn English. My goal was to learn the language, which I did, and then I moved to Cardiff, to a business school there, and got a business diploma after two years.
After business school I went back to Paris. At the time I had a serious girlfriend who was from England who, four or five years later, I married. (My first wife. I have only two. I have a bit of catching up to do with my father).
In Paris I met an American photographer, Jacques Lowe, [JFK’s former personal photographer], who was working in Paris as a photojournalist for the Washington Post and Playboy. He was totally mad but fantastic to be around. We became friends and he told me one day that he’d been offered a job in Geneva, at a big financial company, as creative director. He said he’d
have a lot of money to open a creative department and because I had a business degree and he had no interest in that side of things, he asked me to be his assistant. So off I went.
That was almost three years of my life. The company was called Investor Overseas Services [IOS] and the story of the company is amazing. The man who founded the company in the 50s – Bernard Cornfeld – specialised in mutual funds. Cornfeld was crazy about filmmaking and he wanted a team who would make films and take photos of all the productivity in the company. In the space of a year-and-a-half the department was 150 people. We had built a sound studio, we had still as well as moving image cameras, editing equipment, everything. It was an incredible experience and that’s when I started to learn about film. I worked there until it all collapsed. Which is another story.
I had met art directors and copywriters at IOS and while still working there I heard from an art director who had decided to move before the collapse to work for the W of TBWA [Uli Wiesendanger]. He called me and asked me to join him at this young advertising agency in Paris. So, once I returned to Paris, I had an interview with the T in TBWA [William Tragos]. I was at TBWA for 13 years, first in traffic, then 10 years as a producer. When I joined, in 1971, it was just TBWA\Paris but they pretty much opened a different office every year. I worked for the Group and so I grew with the agency, always with a very broad remit and outlook on the world. They gave me this global outlook at a time when advertising was moving on and exploding. It was a fun job, crazy and very demanding at times but everything was aimed at creativity and aiming to always do the best. I remember one of the very first films that the company did was with Alan Parker and I learned on the job.”
15 years after opening Les Producers, Chilot was voted in as president of the Commercial Film Producers of Europe (for football fans, it’s sort of like the UEFA of advertising) and almost immediately set about creating the YDA. “I told the guys that we have to find a way to send a message to our members,” explains Chilot, “as well as the clients and advertisers, about what it is we do. And that’s how the YDA came to be; we discover, promote and nurture young directors.”
A new formula for young directors
Les Producers still exists but its main focus is as the company behind the YDA and Chilot, now a sprightly 70, remains president of the CFP-E, as well as advisor to production film gallery, Superette, which was co-founded by his Danish wife. He’s still as dedicated to the YDA as he was at its launch, though he realises that the event, after more than a decade-and-a-half, needs to move with the industry. “It has evolved in a sense that it’s not just an award,” he says. “My goal was to make it not just a singular thing, happening at one point in the year, but something that works throughout the year, and to also make it more global, both of which we have achieved with the YDA blog and the various shows we put on. [But] we have to move on, we will, within the next six months, develop the new formula of the YDA.”
What that new formula will be is yet to be officially announced, but Chilot stresses the YDA’s not-for-profit mandate and also highlights the industry’s move towards longer-form content. What is in no doubt is Chilot’s commitment to an event that’s benefitted the industry’s creativity for 17 years and which has also been an important part of shots’ history since 1999. S
is for ZEBRAS… & OTHER ANIMALS
Noah stuffed his ark full of them, their fluffy facsimiles fill cots and Clinton Cards, while anthropomorphised versions ‘people’ our cartoons and books – there’s no denying the allure of animals. Selena Schleh takes a safari in adland to spot the coolest critters the creatives have cast
bantered around the table and occasionally dropped pianos on their hapless offspring (“You hum it, I’ll play it son!”) in a staggering 45-year-long campaign.
But in recent years, stringent ASA guidelines and growing animal rights awareness has forced brands to tread more carefully when it comes to using real-life animals, especially where man’s best friend is concerned. Just ask Volkswagen, whose 2008 spot for Polo, Confidence, attracted nearly 743 complaints for its cowering canine, despite the brand claiming the dog was simply a brilliant actor.
We’ve got a confession to make: we couldn’t find a zebra character iconic enough for this list, but since a) there wasn’t really another theme beginning with ‘z’ and b) we figured animals in ads are a surefire crowd-pleaser, we’ve opted for a large dollop of poetic licence.
Whether it’s the wild-eyed white chargers in Guinness’ Surfer that made you think twice about getting into the water, or the saccharine sweetness of Andrex’s Labrador puppy unravelling a roll of loo paper, animals in adverts have proved a winning formula since the very beginning.
From the 1950s to the early noughties, tea brand PG Tips dominated TV screens with its family of Cockney chimps, who supped tea,
Unsurprisingly then, most brands have turned to CGI in recent years, with memorable results, from the humorous – Three’s moonwalking pony and Comparethemarket’s meerkats – to the heartbreakingly realistic orang-utang in PETA’s 98% Human. But it was confectionery brand McVitie’s that really took the, ahem, biscuit with a CGI creation: not content with fluffy puppies, kittens and rabbits, their 2014 Christmas campaign saw a baby narwhal surface in a bowl of festive punch. Try explaining that to the RSPCA…
Gorilla from Cadbury’s Dairy Milk: Gorilla
At the risk of mixing animal metaphors, we’d have loved to be a fly on the wall when Fallon first presented Gorilla to confectionery company Cadbury in 2007. An ad for a chocolate bar without
a single shot of the product itself and 90 seconds of epic drumming to Phil Collins’ 1981 hit In The Air Tonight by a man in a monkey suit? On paper, it must have sounded utterly bananas. But for director Juan Cabral using an ape was a fairly logical proposition: “[The song] has a very powerful drum solo… so a gorilla has to play it.” Thankfully, Cadbury took a gamble, Cabral went out and sourced a Hollywood-calibre gorilla suit (which had done duty in Gorillas In The Mist and Congo) and the world went ape for the result. As well as picking up practically every creative award going, sales of Dairy Milk went up by five per cent, proving that truly creative advertising can be incredibly effective, too.
Monty the penguin from John Lewis: Monty’s Christmas
adam&eveDDB’s festive commercials for British department store John Lewis are certified lump-in-the-throat generators that shamelessly leverage the appeal of cute critters, be that the snowbound dog in 2010’s A Tribute To Givers or the cartoon protagonists of 2013’s The Bear And The Hare. Last year’s offering, Monty’s Christmas, upped the emotional ante with the story of a little boy and his feathered friend Monty, a portly penguin who longs for love.
Although CCO Ben Priest initially worried that using a “fluffy penguin” was a mawkish step too far – “I thought it would be tugging at
people’s heartstrings in a very obvious way,” he admitted in shots 158 – MPC’s digital wizardry really brought the character to life and earned a pat on the back from PETA, who praised the brand’s decision to use CG, thereby “sparing penguins the stress of being treated as living props”. The spot cost a reported £1m to make, but Monty and love interest Mabel proved a worthwhile investment, going on to star in a range of cuddly toys, a children’s book, a hit single and an audio app, as well as a host of hilarious parodies (the brilliant mash-up of horror flick The Babadook is well worth a watch).
The meerkats from Comparethemarket.com Car insurance aggregator sites: not exactly a sector that screams creative opportunities. Kudos then to VCCP London, which captured the public’s imagination – and doubled the value of Comparethemarket.com’s business – when it made a meerkat the face of the brand. And not just any old meerkat, either, but the cravat-toting, aristocratic Russian, Aleksandr Orlov, who gets frustrated by people confusing his website – Comparethemeerkat.
“Four years down the line, Aleksandr’s catchphrase ‘Simples’ has made it into the Oxford English Dictionary.”
“PETA praised the decision to use CG, thereby “sparing penguins the stress of being treated as living props.”
com – with Comparethemarket’s. The first UK advertising character to have his own Twitter account (and 67,000 followers), Aleksandr was swiftly joined by speccy sidekick Sergei and cute foundling Oleg. Four years on, Aleksandr’s catchphrase “Simples” has made it into the Oxford English Dictionary and the meerkats have been immortalised in a line of collectable cuddly toys, something VCCP’s ECD Darren Bailes had confidently predicted from the start: “I said in the original pitch that eventually we’d be making toys and they’d be going like hotcakes, but no one believed me.” Despite repeated threats to replace the critters, Aleksandr and crew are still going strong: a recent campaign to promote the launch of Meerkat Movies saw them pop up in Tinseltown to interview action film legend Arnie.
Frank the tortoise, Carol the cat and Pablo the parrot from The Electricity Board: Heat Electric
They first hit screens in the 1989 award-winning short Creature Comforts, but Aardman’s brilliant clay animations really entered the public consciousness – and went on to be voted the nation’s favourite animated ad characters – when agency GGK cast them in a series of spots for the UK electricity board’s Heat Electric campaign.
“Cadbury took a gamble, Juan Cabral went out and sourced a Hollywood-calibre gorilla suit and the world went ape for the result.”
“Frank, a sweatband-toting, fitness fanatic tortoise, whose bobbing Adam’s apple frequently belied his on-camera nerves.”
“A cautionary tale that nothing is worth swapping your Skittles for – not even a rabbit that can sing a chorus from La Traviata.”
The campaign, which ran for three years, saw the animated clay critters being interviewed at home about their heating arrangements and electrical appliances, using extracts from real-life recordings. From the garrulous Liverpudlian cat Carol, to Pablo the parrot, a Brazilian émigré who was able to live in England thanks to central heating, the anthropomorphic cast was full of memorable characters. By far and away the best was Frank, a sweatband-toting, fitness fanatic tortoise, whose bobbing Adam’s apple frequently belied his on-camera nerves. Sadly, the mascots proved more memorable than the brand itself, with many people ultimately misattributing the ads to British Gas.
Singing rabbit from Skittles: Trade
Part of a Yellow Pencil-winning trio of ads from TBWA\Chiat\Day, this brilliantly offbeat spot is a cautionary tale that nothing’s worth swapping your Skittles for, not even a rabbit that can sing a chorus from La Traviata. A teenager hands over his bag of sweets in return for a warbling white bunny, but the trade soon turns sour when it turns out Thumper’s repertoire is not only limited but delivered at an earsplitting volume. Incessantly. Cut to the Skittles recipient savouring his saccharine treats, while his friend stands outside in the rain, bitterly clutching his yodelling pet… which then bites him on the arm and scarpers. Yes, it lacks the cute factor of many of the creatures on this list (and brings back the Watership Downinspired nightmares of childhood) but come on, it’s an opera-singing rabbit. That’s creative genius.
