2017 in Review: Robert Campbell

In general, do you think 2017 has been a good year for creative advertising?

No. Nobody likes uncertainty about uncertainty.

What piece or pieces of work have impressed you most over the last year? 

Not many. Creativity always takes a kicking in an uncertain market. No Marketing Director wants to get fired for taking a risk, sad as that may be. But Clowns works. Audi are always ballsy.

What have been the biggest talking points of 2017 in the production arena? 

See question 1.

In-house production, both within agencies and clients, continues to be at the forefront of production minds; how has that situation evolved in last 12 months and should ‘traditional’ production outfits still be concerned? 

Clients are still willing to accept mediocrity, a lesser product, just because it’s cheap. Luckily we offer a quality product, great service, and 25 years experience. Believe it or not these things count. If I were a client, would I really want inexperience handling my money? They wouldn’t do it in their own businesses, so why do they do it in their production? On the basis of what we offer, the production community need not be concerned. The clients should be concerned. It’s their brand value that suffers from poor quality.

Is the term ‘traditional’ now just a euphemism for ‘old fashioned’; do production companies – whether old or new – now need to be more than a company that makes great advertising films? 

There is an argument for that. Indeed we ourselves have adapted and diversified.  We have always made and will continue to make great advertising film. It’s the media that has changed. Rubbish content is still rubbish content.

The barrier of entry to becoming a director is very low, but the competition is very high; how has that affected bringing in new talent to the industry? 

There are more pieces of film content being made than ever before, which is arguably more opportunity to grow but you still have to find the best. We’ve been pretty good at it. And don’t work with arseholes.

What do you think the biggest talking points of 2018 might be? 

Brexit again. We must not underestimate how much every decision that every individual in this country makes will be determined by that. It will affect everything.

What do you think the production sector’s New Year’s resolution should be? 

Work hard, deliver good service, produce quality work in whatever form.

What will be your own New Year’s resolution, work-related or otherwise? 

Not worry about Brexit so much. If any client or agency had lied as much as Johnson and Gove have, they would be taken to the cleaners. We are an industry that is harshly criticised for not being truthful to our claims. It appears that Brexiteers in politics do not have to live to the same standards.