On My Radar: Hughie Phillips

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

I saw this great spot from Pepsi with Kendall Jenner in it but I can’t seem to find it anywhere now… strange!

"To take one of my all time favourite movies and translate it on to TV without mortally offending me is quite an accomplishment."

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

I’m a news junkie, so anything current affairs related. Though at the moment, news websites are pretty terrifying, so I’d advise giving them a wide berth.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

An Apple Watch. Well, I won it in a business card raffle and now it buzzes every time I get an email. So I constantly look at my watch and people think I’m rude and am bored of their company which is, 99 per cent of the time, definitely not the case. So, now I have taken to keeping it in my bag, which sort of defeats the point of having a watch.

What’s your favoured social media platform?

Instagram. I yearn for the days when Facebook was full of photos of people having an amazing time in some far-flung corner of the world. Sadly, nowadays it’s mostly full of political vitriol and people being unnecessarily mean to each other, whereas Instagram is full of people having fun and being happy. So there you go.

What’s your favourite app on your phone?

As above; so I can spam my followers with photos of my (in my mind) adorably cute, two year-old son.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

*weeps* Too many to choose from.

This year the top slot would be fought for by Big Little Lies and Fargo. Big Little Lies because it was so incredibly layered and full of beautifully complex characters. The toxic relationship between Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard featured some of the most spellbinding acting I have ever seen on TV.

As for Fargo, to take one of my all time favourite movies and translate it on to TV without mortally offending me is quite an accomplishment. Then to take it on in the way they have as truly stand-out television, is something that deserves huge recognition in my mind.

I also can’t leave this answer without a brief mention of the amazing show Catastrophe, from our director Ben Taylor. The show has been a huge crossover success from the UK to America. And it’s off the back of this that Ben has just been signed on to direct The Rosie Project feature film, through Tristar in LA. The film previously had Richard Linklater attached. Not a bad name to follow for your first feature, eh?

What film do you think everyone should have seen and why?

I guess most people will answer this with a very well-respected and critically admired movie. So instead, I’m going to go for Lethal Weapon. No, it’s not the greatest movie of all time, but it is everything an action movie comedy should be: great characters, full of conflict and even more full of fun.

I read in Powerhouse: CAA – (The untold story of Creative Artists Agency) that Shane Black, the writer, went into CAA to hand his first draft in and the agent says that, to this day, it was the best first draft of a script he has ever read. Three days later the agent had offers from all of the major studios to buy the script. Before that, Shane Black was sleeping on his mate’s sofa. So watch Lethal Weapon and read that book if you get the chance.

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Always on my scooter. It seems to be the only place where I am not staring at a screen.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

Not sure I would class it as most significant, but having to make square and vertical videos has been  pretty big over the past year. And the word on the street from brands is that it’s only going to get more common. Luckily our directors are so into the idea. Oh no, wait. They hate it.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

Very simple. I wish directors were paid to pitch. A crazy amount of effort and time can go into pitching. Production companies can take this burden while directors can’t, or shouldn’t have to in my mind.

So there you go. Pay the directors a pitch fee! (please)

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

My dad. He was the first person to introduce me to the film world when I starred in one of his BBC films as an 11-year old. He worked up through the BBC in its heyday. Starting out in Bush House working in radio before graduating to be a director. He worked a lot on operas and ballets and I remember, at a very young age, being introduced to Placido Domingo [below] backstage at the Covent Garden Opera House. He ruffled my hair, and I haven’t washed it since.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.

I once toured Holland singing and there are a few CDs of me lying about in shops somewhere (does Our Price still exist?).

So whenever we produce an advert with singing in it, I usually have a cameo, of sorts. Better not get me too drunk at the APA Show.