Get People Talking in 2016

How would you describe and reflect on 2015 for the industry, creatively speaking?

Doing final judging for British Arrows Craft Awards. I realised it’s been a good year for creative work here in Britain. The quality of ideas and craftsmanship was pretty impressive. It also reminded me that we have a second to none post production industry here in London and we are blessed.

What about your company’s creative performance; how much do you think you’ve grown this year?

We had a really good creative year. Our Time Traveller Sky Sports spot (below) broke Facebook’s record for most viewed UK ad launch ever, Back of the Head for Pearl & Dean won gold for Best Script at Eurobest, we made bonkers work with Keith Lemon for Carphone Warehouse and we finished the year with our Center Parcs Bears films that made lots of people cry on Twitter. It feels like we had our best year.

What has your own best personal achievement been in the past 12 months and why?

Squeezing maximum quality out of the above projects and retaining my sanity.

And looking to 2016, what are you most excited about in terms of the industry and advertising? 

I think last year, we noticed that more clients are realising that you won’t get noticed if you make quiet work. You need to stand out, be noisy, be different from other brands in your category, give people something to argue about in social media, have a big point of view, be very funny or very emotional or very exciting, tap into things that people really care about. I think there will be many more pitches this year where clients want brave work.

Give us an example of a strategy/approach from a brand you’d like to see more of in 2016... 

My favourite end line of the year was Droga5 New York’s ‘We don’t make sausage. We make family. And Sausage’ for Johnsonville. The idea of sausage as a family-bonding agent is really smart. I’d like to see more simple insights turned into genius end lines please copywriters of the world.

Which campaign, piece of work or moment will you remember last year for and why?

I think Tena Men by AMV was one of the most memorable pieces of work this year. Brilliantly written, crafted, directed, and just very, very funny. Funny work gets shared so there will always be funny work.

What’s your New Year’s resolution, workwise or other?

To build a shed in my garden where I can play records.

What one piece of advice would you give to the industry to take with it into 2016?

If you don’t think people are going to talk about the work you make, don’t bother making it. There’s so much average work no one ever notices. Save your money and have a big party or give it to charity.

What do you hope you’ve achieved by this time next year in terms of work?

I hope we’ve made some of the most talked about work in the world. That’s why we get out of bed every morning.