FOLLOW WITH VISUALS: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/11/26/episode-32-mike-nicholson

We’d heard so many good things about Mike over the years and seen his work at all the award shows, but our paths had never crossed.

Until now.

The pod was the perfect opportunity for Hugh and Dan to find out more about one of adlands most talented and nicest blokes.

And he didn’t disappoint (esp in the wardrobe department, the signature Hawaiian shirt setting a bright positive mood from the get-go)

Mike’s billboards are a masterclass in how to do great ooh.

Brilliantly simple ideas distilled down to the absolute minimum (Heg would approve) art directed with craft and wit. There’s not an inch of fat on his work. This is why it’s so awarded and still looks so fresh today.

Quick example - The Tunes 6 sheet:

No headline, no endline, no website, no logo, no hashtag bollocks.

No need.

Just a plunger - made from 3 pack shots (3 packs!!! A client’s dream!)

That’s it.

The bare minimum.

Written on placement, it’s no surprise this was the work that got Mike hired at AMV.

And set a theme of simplicity and graphic brilliance that coursed through his work ever since - either with initial partner Daryl Corps or later with Paul Pateman.

As well as billboards we discussed Mike’s various ECD jobs in the UK and abroad, his teaching work at the SCA and his bedroom wallpaper, which was up there with his Hawaiian Shirts.

Thanks again Mike. Dan and Hugh loved it.

#behindthebillboard #btb #posters #billboards #ooh #outdoor #amv #tbwa #museumofchildhood #tunes #dunloptyres #theeconomist #sca #johnsmiths