Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-104-gavin-lester

Podcast #104 features the funny and super talented Gavin Lester, partner and CCO at Zambezi advertising.

Gavin is the fourth in our series of America specials and brought not just great stories, but as the episode progressed, we realised he and Dan had been to school together which was hilarious. What’s more, he and Hugh knew each other from BBH days in London when Gavin and Ant (his partner at the time) were running through walls with Jonathan Glazer for Levi’s.

The bulk of our chat was around Liquid I.V. and the Times Square takeover - one of the most audacious stunts ever attempted in this iconic space. Every digital billboard was synced to displayed an ‘error’ message to mimic a dehydration ‘glitch’. And then at exactly 4:00 p.m.—rebranded as ‘I.V. O’Clock’ —the screens refreshed to a vibrant brand display while 50 Kiwibot robots distributed samples to the crowd.

We also discussed the Traeger Wood Fired Grills campaign, which turned a billboard into a ‘Grillboard’, (vegetarians may want to skip this bit) Each day, an animal disappeared from the farm below the billboard and showed up in all its delicious glory on the ‘Grillboard.’ Amplified on social media and with tonnes of pr, this single Grillboard pulled nearly every marketing lever and won a shit ton of awards.

We talked about Gavin’s art too, which is f***ing cool. Highly conceptual, witty, provocative - much like the man himself - we hope one day to own ‘A Lester’. For now we managed a selfie with the artist, adman and lovable chap.

Thanks so much Gav for coming on, it was a blast. Look us up next time you’re over.

And as ever, huge thanks to all our sponsors, who make the show possible:

Bauer Media Outdoor

View2Fill

Super Optimal

GAS Music