If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

We now reach the AMV years, a time at which Dave and I worked in the same agency.

That time was part of a golden era for AMV, where incredible work seemed to flow from it much like yummy gin flows from a bottle of gin.

Unsurprisingly it was much harder than that.

It’s great to get Dave’s perspective as a new person coming into the agency and tackling some of the most iconic accounts in the country.

Among other things, we discuss…

What it was like for young teams in such a grown up agency.

Why self-generated kicks up the arse can be very useful.

And are those kicks still appreciated?

Are more D&AD Pencils a good thing?

The terrible misery of having to work on the Royal Academy in Soho House.

Judging the Economist work.

Changing the Economist work.

Making things look like a pint of Guinness.

The Volvo campaign that wasn’t a campaign.

Refreshing the RSPCA.

‘Crap at ideas?’.

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link, the Soundcloud link and lots of the work:

James is ITIAPTWC’s first owner/founder of a production company.

Fortunately a robust case could be made that he’s the best around.

Blink was British Arrows Production Company of the Year in 2015, having already received the title at both 2014 Creative Circles and the Shots Awards in 2014 and 2015, as well as by Campaign in 2012.

And that’s about thirty years after Blink was formed.

He’s discovered and/or nurtured some great directors, including Dougal Wilson, Ivan Zacharias, Mark Denton, Blue Source, Doug Foster and many more.

And he’s kept his company fresh, but always of the highest quality.

We discuss…

Starting in music videos.

Getting fired for ‘indifference’.

Challenging fun with Tony Kaye and other provocative directors.

Making progress through animation.

Moving to live action.

Winning awards.

What James looks for in a creative who wants to become a director.

What happens when a script arrives at a production company,

What makes a director want to do a script.

Squad age.

The importance of diversification.

What it’s like having the best director in town.

How less money has affected commercial production.

The pros and cons of being Production Company of the Year.

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

And here’s Blink’s website, along with a somewhat random selection of some of its best commercials (here’s a link to the great Terrence Higgins Trust ad that put Blink on the award map):

Dave Buonaguidi is an advertising creative, but not in the conventional definition of that adjective and noun.

Have a listen to our chat and you’ll hear the story of a man who followed the work and the excitement, even when (especially when?) the alternative was much easier and more lucrative.

As much as anyone else I’ve spoken to, Dave just wants to do what is new and different and interesting. And although that applies to his work, it applies even more to the companies he set up. Creating a brilliant ad is one thing, but creating a brilliant ad agency (and leaving one when it doesn’t fit that description anymore) is a million times harder and braver.

So there’s much to learn from his attitude to being risky, and why it’s actually the least risky thing you can do:

Some things we discuss…

Get a break by having your dad run an Italian restaurant.

90% of the people in the business are donkeys; 10% are lions.

Give the client 7-8 solutions but tell them they’re not for sale.

Awards don’t award creativity.

Take on a ‘suicide mission’.

How to out-pirate the pirates.

Why St Luke’s worked ‘for a very short period’.

‘The problem with people is when they’re given a choice they will always default to being a selfish shit.’

Taking a job when you don’t even know what it is.

Building 4 Creative.

Dave will always buy a house that’s a mess of rubble before buying a swanky duplex.

Why this is the advertising industry:

Don’t be frightened of data.

‘I get a kick out of the harrowing nature of start-ups.’

Build an agency in the middle of nowhere so the people you hire are really committed.

If you can work with people you like and have a laugh with them, good work will come.

‘I want to learn to screenprint, sculpt and save someone’s life.’

‘We are at a crossroads. What the industry becomes in ten years’ time will be determined by what is happening now.’

Current job: transforming an orange into a pineapple.

We didn’t get round to discussing this, but Dave once hit a burglar on the head with a shovel.

Here are his Instagram and Twitter feeds.

And here’s the chat, the iTunes feed and the Soundcloud link.

Maybe you know who Josh Weltman is; maybe you don’t. But I’ll bet you all the money in my pocket ($67.75) that you’ve enjoyed, possibly even loved, his work.

He was the advertising consultant on Mad Men.

So he wrote ALL the ads – Don’s, Peggy’s, Sal’s… The work from competing agencies. Then he consulted on all the agency stuff to make it all as authentic as possible.

And that was obviously a big part in it becoming one of the greatest TV series of all time.

He started drawing cartoons for the LA Weekly, where his colleagues were Matt Groening and David Lynch.

Then he had a splendid career in advertising in LA and San Francisco.

Then he joined Mad Men.

So here’s what we discussed…

“When you decide to shake your career up that’s the last decision you get to make. After that you’re reacting.”

How Matthew Weiner asked him to join Mad Men.

Michelangelo.

The difference between advising on an advertising show and advising on a cop/medical show.

The difference between a creative department and a writers room.

Writing ads from the minds of different people.

Writing ads that sounded like ‘fuck you’.

Writing ads for a fictional so-so creative agency.

What was behind this scene:

“We’re not going to make history, make art or make a revolution. We’re just going to make a living.”

The secret code of a good partnership.

Fuck advertising awards – what’s it like making something as great as Mad men?

Difficult episode 9.

Men who invent their own identity (why Don is like Trump).

It’s good to be part of anything that succeeds.

Josh’s book (here’s a link to that on Josh’s site).

Here’s an article comparing Don Draper’s ads to the real ads of the time.

So here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link.

Here’s the second part of my chat with Richard Russell.

Those of you who checked out part one of our chat will know that we ended that on the precipice of Richard’s time at Wieden and Kennedy.

It’s a fascinating look into how W&K started to succeed after a couple of abortive non-starts.

We also discuss…

ECD teams.

Tony and Kim.

How and why Honda (and its advertising) became so brilliant.

This ad:

The power of dreams (and questions) (and Garrison Keilor).

The quest for utter originality, both in concept and construct.

This ad:

And this ad:

Being brilliant ‘every single day’.

Global Uber-CD-type stuff.

Matt Le Tissier (and this goal):

Richard’s golf book.

First thoughts vs a longer process.

Huge thanks to Richard for 2 1/2 hours of excellent stories and sage words

Here’s the chat, the iTunes link and the Soundcloud link. And another link to Richard’s excellent site.

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Richard Russell. You know, one of the fellas behind Grrr…

But how did that happen almost twenty years into his career?

Well, that’s an interesting story that he and I cover in this first part of our chat.

The Grrr stuff will be in part two…

In this hour, we discuss the following:

Why you have to be prepared to lose your job.

Why Frank Budgen was a diamond.

How to beat the strictures of Proctor and Gamble.

Why the toilet is a very good place to have ideas.

If you’re a lucky creative, you find a client that shares your vision.

Did I call up Richard twenty years ago?

If something goes wrong it’s always the agency’s fault.

The value (or lack thereof) of awards.

Be prepared to leave your job (even if that means a year in the wilderness).

How Richard joined W&K.

All the work we discuss is on Richard’s site, along with lots of additional info and context.

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

A slightly different subject this week:

The legendary director Mark Romanek has shot many great commercials and music videos, and two excellent movies.

Fortunately for you and me he gave up an hour of his time to talk about his career and how he became so darn good at what he does.

Topics we covered include…

How Mary Poppins and 2001 were formative cinematic influences.

What made him know at an early age that filmmaking was his calling.

How he got an early job on a film set with Brian DePalma.

Whether or not directing is ‘crisis management’.

How to make a feature film at 23.

…And why he’s happy it’s not easy to find (despite it being a cult hit).

Why music videos became the next stage.

And how he chose which ones to take on.

All about ‘Closer’.

How eclecticism brought him longevity.

The transition into commercials.

Why ‘daring and sincere’ is what makes something good.

Working with Apple.

Concept vs execution.

How he wouldn’t let ‘Never Let Me Go’ go.

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

I started in advertising in 1996.

At that time there was this bloke who was very well known, both for doing great work, but also for being a ridiculously young CD and Chairman.

He had this iconic Marc Bolan haircut and you’d often see his name in the proper papers (not just Campaign).

Whenever the public talked about an ad, it seemed to be something one of his.

All very impressive.

Years later I was fortunate enough to meet him and work with him on a campaign to get D-Day veterans over to the beaches to commemorate the 65th anniversary. He was a really lovely guy, and his passion was infectious and inspiring.

He’s produced a movie, met Nelson Mandela and gone to Muhammad Ali’s funeral.

And now he’s done ITIAPTWC.

Thanks, Trevor.

In this chat I bring up a bunch of the things he’s known for (and some other stuff):

Fame

Wonderbra.

Weetabix.

R Whites.

Get the name out.

Campaign.

FCUK.

BMBeginning.

Bill.

Space.

Bowie.

Fight.

Ali.

Selfridges.

Awards.

Playstation.

Chairman.

D-Day.

Burlesque.

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

And here’s a few of Trevor’s most iconic ads, some of the other stuff we discussed, a link to the Jack and Ada Beattie foundation, and his twitter feed:

In this episode Paul and I cover the one subject we avoided in our previous chat: writing books.

Maybe you want to write a book. Maybe you’ve written half of one and you’re not sure whether to finish it. Maybe you’ve finished one and don’t know what to do next.

Maybe you just want to hear me and Paul having a chat.

All of the above are great reasons to have a listen.

We discuss…

Why we wrote our books in the first place (holidays and frustration were involved).

The fact that you can write WHATEVER YOU WANT! Including the word ‘FUCK’!

How lonely it can be.

Agent-finding fun.

The importance of persistence.

Other people’s opinions.

Literary vs commercial fiction.

Getting research right.

The money side of things.

If the money side of things is so shit, why do it?

The publishing industry vs the advertising industry.

Reverse sexism?

How to sell your book.

Contractual bollocks/not giving up your day job.

If, for some inexplicable reason, our chat is not enough for you, try this interview with Cheryl Strayed (author of Wild, amongst others), where she covers similar things from a much more successful point of view.

Paul’s books are available here (along with all the other great things he does). Mine is available here.

Here’s the chat, the Soundcloud link and the iTunes link. And I didn’t have to split the episode in half! Hooray!