shots Iconic Covers: Tony Granger

Tony Granger is global CCO of the Y&R network and has been based in New York for over six years. Coming to the country from his native South Africa, he has seen, consumed and created work for many different forms of media over the years in different eras of technological evolution.

In December 2013, the creative chief was given a brief to come up with a portrait to accompany his feature interview in shots issue 146, and below is the resulting image.

In this latest conversation with Granger, he speaks about the thinking behind the picture that sees half of his face appear on an old TV screen in black and white with the other half of his head in presented in colour on a modern Mac monitor. Below he expands on the concept.

How did the idea for your creative portrait for issue 146 come about?

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 (the local language similar to Dutch). 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.

And what about how people view TV online now on various devices. You told us you were a fan of Netlix; 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 since the user experience is far better in the US. I really just 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?

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.