Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Awards, Birthday, Bonnie, Cannes, Cliches, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Jill, Otis, Paul, Paula, WARC
So, I’m back.
And I survived.
Better yet, the family … pooch … and my colleagues seemed relatively happy to see me, which is a massive win.
Plus the people with the birthdays, had good ones. Albeit maybe because I didn’t get to share it with them.
Anyway, Cannes was interesting.
I have a very weird relationship with it because while I love hearing great people talk … looking at some incredible work and seeing old friends, I do hate a lot of ‘the scene’.
The indulgence.
The egotism.
The excess.
That said, so much of that is now coming from people and companies who work in consultancies, tech, research or big multinationals – rather than ad agencies or companies who practice creativity in the truest sense of the word. Part of that is because they’re the only ones who can afford it … but it also reveals a chink in their ‘armor of confidence’. Evidence that for all their smarts, they’re desperate to feel admired, liked, wanted … without ever realizing their American Psycho approach to life attracts derision more than attraction.
At least for me.
I often wonder if all industry conference get-togethers create this sort of energy.
Do dentists/analysts/publishers [delete as appropriate] start to convince themselves they’re the Masters-Of-The-Universe when all packed tightly into one room?
As I said, Cannes is brilliant for the talks, the creativity and the ability to reconnect with old friends.
It’s nice to see a celebration of what we do when so often it faces a barrage of abuse from people who wouldn’t know creativity if it smashed them in the face.
But the vulgar displays of excess are less attractive to me.
As are the giant ads from tech/consultancy companies which are trying to position themselves as creative but end up demonstrating they’re the total opposite.
At least that’s slightly amusing, especially because you know it took them 6 months of board approval/design to make it happen.
But I digress …
I’m back.
I had a good time.
I’m thankful to WARC and Paula for making it happen.
I’m very happy to have seen some old friends after years.
But – unfortunately for you – I’m ready to write more blog bollocks.
Filed under: Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Consultants, Contribution, Creative Development, Creativity, Dance, Devious Strategy
After the relatively heavy post of yesterday, let’s go on a tangent that I am pretty certain even a protractor wouldn’t be able to measure.
This is a post about dance.
That’s 6 words I am pretty sure you never thought you’d read on here.
But the reality is, I am pretty besotted with dance, just like I am pretty besotted with anything when the person doing it is not only good at it, but is committed to being their best at it, in the moment they are doing it.
That’s more than just talent, that’s a commitment to your own representation and recently I saw the incredible Farrah Ozuuna Wilson, perform a masterclass in giving your all.
It was this.
Now it is pretty obvious Farrah Ozuuna Wilson is – among other things – a professional dancer, but my god, I must have watched this clip of her a hundred times.
I love it.
I love the moment she ‘switches’ from casual to fully committed.
She’s all in, take-no-prisoners, fierce as absolute fuck.
It’s beautiful, frightening, inspiring and exhausting all at the same time.
And yet you come away from it in awe …
Not just at her obvious talent, nor to the obvious hours, months and years she has put into being brilliant at her art … but to her dedication to ensuring when she performs, she will leave nothing to be second guessed or misinterpreted.
You may not like it.
You may not understand it.
But you sure-as-shit are going to know everything she did was her choice and decision.
And yet, you are in absolute no doubt she is enjoying herself.
Both in terms of the control she has over her entire body and the power she can create, generate and express with every part of it.
This is an athlete performing at the peak of their powers.
Unstoppable.
Unquestionable.
Playing to win, never to just get by.
Michael Jordan was the same.
A relentless desire to be great at all costs.
Never phoning it in. Never accepting good enough. Never just being interested.
And while that didn’t guarantee he’d always win, it did guarantee he was always committed to the core. And demanded that of those who were around him – because as amazing as he was, he still knew he needed them to raise their game to stand a chance of getting the result his standards and ambition needed.
And that’s why I love how Farrah dances, because we are witnessing seeing someone who respects their art and themselves enough to always go all in on all they do.
So if a bald, white, 54 year old – who has no dancing talent or experience – can see it, you can be sure people can tell the difference between a brand who means what they say or is spouting ‘purpose bollocks’ in the mistaken belief people can’t tell the difference or worse, their marketing team don’t know the difference.
The reality is truth is more than just what you say.
It’s also more than just what you do … even if it is following the rules someone else has said needs to be adhered to.
It is – as in most things in life – always about how you do it and that is never impacted by place, time or occasion.
There’s a lot we can learn from Farrah, and it’s transcends her incredible ability in dance.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Education, Government, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Zealand
After the recent emotional rollercoaster of posts – with the wonderful Fergus coming and the brilliant Martin going – let’s get back to some cynical musings, as the name of this blog supposedly ‘promises’. Or something …
So I was going for my daily walk when I passed a school in a posh part of Auckland.
By the gates, I saw this ad …
Now on one hand, I was quite impressed by the smarts of the real estate agents.
Putting an ad for a pricey home by the gates of the school pick-up zone is clever thinking.
As rich parents wait for their lucky kids, they have a captive audience to try and flog them another symbol of success.
But it’s also pretty appalling.
Not by the school – because even though it’s located in one of Auckland’s richest locations, its state run so likely needs the money like every other state school – but by the real estate agents.
Now I appreciate this may be a an ‘added benefit’ of them already donating money to the school. Plus, I acknowledge if they think the parents of the kids there can afford a piece of land – like the one on Waiheke Island – then maybe the school should be asking parents to contribute more to the education of their kids. But the fact Martin and Charles at Kellands Real Estate obviously negotiated this shows they don’t really care about the education of the kids, just the wallets of their parents.
I get this is how business operates these days.
I get it’s a very competitive market.
But just because you can, doesn’t always mean you should.
But this is how we operate … where everyone and everything is seen as a commodity waiting to be exploited by someone for personal gain.
No where demonstrates this as much as Linkedin with its endless unrequested ‘messages’ from strangers offering services that have nothing to do with what you do … but you kind-of expect that now, whereas this school ad caught me off guard.
Of course, the real people we should be aiming our anger at are the governments who continually under-invest in state education.
Conveniently forgetting that a smart nation is a strong nation … though some will claim that’s a very conscious reason why politicians do it.
Education and health are two of the most important things a nation can do for its people … that it’s become a pawn in the battle of politics is everything wrong with politics.
Which reminds me of the time someone said, “Democratic governments should be scared of its people. Ensuring they never forget who they represent and serve. When is the other way round, that’s when a nation has a problem”
While a real estate ad at a school in Auckland is something – in the big scheme of things – very small, in many ways it reveals, we have a problem.
Not an end-of-the World problem.
Not a call for revolution kind of a problem.
But a problem … because the focus is far more making a few people rich today, rather than helping an entire nation be better off tomorrow.
God, that’s waaaaaaaay too political for this blog. And on a Tuesday, no less.
I can assure you that tomorrow, things will be back to their bollocks best. Sorry.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Auckland, Bassot, Career, China, Colenso, Colleagues, Comment, Contribution, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Emotion, Empathy, England, Experience, Friendship, London, Management, Planners, Planning, R/GA, Wieden+Kennedy
I have always taken hiring people very seriously.
For me, it’s more than professional … it’s personal.
A sense of responsibility to help whoever comes on board discover who they can become, rather than just do the job that needs to be done.
Part of this is because – as I’ve written many times – I believe my role is to ensure than when they leave [as all people eventually do] they go to a job they never thought they could get.
Where they’re hired for who they are, not just what they do.
For what they’ve made, rather than just what they know.
For how they see the world, not just for how they do their job.
And how do I do that?
By helping create the conditions and the opportunities for them to be great.
That’s it.
My attitude is that the talent is already inside of them – otherwise they wouldn’t be hired in the first place – and my job is to help them see it, believe it and do things with it.
That said, talent is only half the equation … the other is character.
Who they are.
How they act.
How they interact.
As I’ve also written before, I believe in having a gang rather than a department.
A team full of different experiences, mindsets, backgrounds and ideas … but united through their values, standards and love of the work.
Because of that, it is important that anyone who joins has the character to add to the identity of the team rather than just duplicate it.
Or said another way: they need to be someone people enjoy being in a room with, even when we’re discussing, debating and arguing.
Which we do, a lot.
I suppose this is why I feel such a genuine sense of gratitude when someone agrees to be part of our team.
For me, it’s a big demonstration of faith in me/us and I don’t take lightly … which is why the only thing that beats it is when someone agrees to join me for a second time – even though I then worry about their sanity.
What is this all about?
Well, it’s a very convoluted way to write about Martin Bassot.
Back in 2017, I worked with Martin at R/GA London.
In fact, he was the very first person there to tell me to “fuck off”.
I should point out he didn’t say it aggressively, more a response to some cheeky-shit thing I probably did/said, but the moment he said it, I was in ‘HR appropriate’ love.
I know that makes me sound slightly unhinged, but it meant he was comfortable enough with me that we could debate freely and never let it get personal … and that’s a big thing for me.
But it only got better … because over the following months, I got to see someone with real talent and character … someone who could make a real difference to the ideas and craft, which is why I was both proud and sad when he told me he was off to join my ‘other family’, W+K London.
Zoom forward a few years and I’m in New Zealand at Colenso and rang him up.
“Hey …” I said, “… you know how you talked about always wanting to live overseas, how about coming to NZ?”
There was a pause before he replied, “I was thinking somewhere more like Amsterdam”
But he still came.
Uprooted his – and his partners life – to come to the other side of the World.
For me.
Well, not FOR me, but also not excluding me.
And he has been brilliant. Even better than I knew he would be … and I knew he’d be great.
He developed into a really great number 2 for me … helping lead some really great work, develop some really great people in the team and help achieve some really great results for the clients we work with.
I use the past tense because after 2½ years, he is going home. Again.
I was tempted to use the same post I wrote about him last time he left me, but he deserves more than that. Probably. At a push.
In all seriousness – and without wishing to sound an old, old bastard – I am very proud of him.
What he’s done.
How he’s done it.
And most importantly, who he is.
He’s left an indelible mark on the team, the agency and the work.
And in the time he’s been here, we’ve hopefully done the same for him because he leaves with memories, experience, fans, work, Cannes Grand Prix’s, LBB Immortal Awards and Agency of the Year titles and a lot of empty crisp packets.
And I mean, A LOT of empty crisp packets.
So all in all, it’s not a bad set of achievements for little over two years.
Back when I pitched the idea of NZ to him, I said “Come for an adventure and go back better and more experienced than you’d be if you stayed in London”.
I think it’s fair to say we both did what we hoped and promised each other.
And while I’m obviously sad he’s going, I’m very excited about his next adventure.
The agency who has hired him – and there were many who wanted to – are very lucky, but they’re also very smart … because they saw him for who he is today rather than who he was 2+ years ago. What that means is they not only took the time to properly understand who he is and what he can – and wants – to do, they shaped the role to enable it rather than just hire him and then ask him to fit in with what they have.
For someone who will always deeply care about Martin, it makes me very happy that is the environment he’s heading into.
Doesn’t mean it will be easy.
Doesn’t mean he won’t have to work fucking hard.
But it does mean he’s been set up to win not just to fit in.
I suppose the best compliment I can give Martin is this.
Despite working together twice before, I really hope I get to work with him again.
Even if next time, it’s far more likely I’ll be working for him rather than the other way around.
But even then it would be a pleasure.
So thank you Martin, for everything.
At the end of the day, the best thing you can hope you can do in a job is make a difference and you did that and some. [Though I must admit, one of the things I’ll remember most about your time here is the lunch we had in some weird Chinese restaurant in the middle of Canada, as we listened to Forest beat Palace in the last minute. That and Colenzob-do, of course]
So know you’re going to be missed, respected and always adored.
And with that, it just leaves me to say, fuck off Martin.
Said with love. Always and forever.
[There’s no more posts for over a week, not just because I need to get over Martin’s departure, but it’s a holiday and then I’m off to China … so see you in a week and please pray with me that Martin’s plane home gets delayed for about 12 more months, haha.]
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Anniversary, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture
Bloody hell, it’s the 1st September. Already.
This year has gone so quickly, which takes me back to this post I wrote about ‘the speed our kids grow up‘ and I am close to begrudging September before it’s even begun.
But hey, it’s Monday and no one needs more shit to deal with than that, so instead I’m going to swiftly move on before we all reach for the kitchen drawer and look for the sharpest knife.
Or maybe that’s just me.
So this post is about birthday cards.
No … it’s not April Fools, it really is.
I swear there have only been 2 sorts of birthday cards ever created: The sincere ones and the ‘sarcastic’ ones.
The former is an expression of how much someone means to you and the best wishes you have for their special day. The latter basically takes the piss about how fucking old you are.
That’s it.
A tried and tested formula through the ages.
Which is why I was pretty surprised when I saw this:
Sure, it’s funny.
Sure, it’s original.
But it’s also something else …
Validation.
Validation for the members of society who are saying the economy is bad while too many politicians try to claim it isn’t.
It may seem a small thing, but it’s also big … because the only reason the card industry would step away from their tried and tested birthday formula is when they see a big enough commercial reason to do it.
And it appears that the harshness of the economy is – apparently – a big enough reason.
So while I wouldn’t base all my argument on this fact, sometimes its the circumstantial evidence that is the most damning.
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One last thing:
Today is my 18th wedding anniversary and I GUARANTEE my wife has – consciously or subconsciously – forgotten about it.
So … as she never reads this blog, I will show her this post to prove I remembered and she didn’t, allowing me to ‘lord it’ over her in a rare moment of triumph and glee.
Oh who am I kidding, but it’s worth a try … it can’t be any more stupid than when we decided to have a ‘Diet Coke’ fountain at our wedding that turned into one giant, bubble of stupidity – as captured in the photo below, with my wonderful Mum peering over, ready to capture the idiocy with her camera.
Happy anniversary Jill. At least its important enough for one of us to remember ; )