Why do we work in advertising and communications? Why do we care about it? Why does any of it matter?
Jessica Stanley and Victoria Hannan are at Cannes Lions to find out.
Additional photography by Andrew Braithwaite.
A Nextness project.
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Andy Taylor, Associate Design Director, DT Melbourne | @andytlr
At first, Andy loved the web, but the idea of designing for it frustrated him. There were so many inconsistencies — he couldn’t ensure things would end up as he’d intended. But eventually, he realised that there were bigger challenges in making things that people use, and that inconsistency is something best embraced. Every new client brings a new challenge and new things to learn. Some people could call what Andy does “advertising.” But to him, that conjures up thoughts of press ads making your magazine twice as heavy, and TV ads that interrupt your show. He’d much prefer to be making things people want to use. That seems to matter a lot more.
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Tom Moult, Executive Chairman, Ogilvy Australia | @tommoult_ogilvy
Growing up, young Tom wrote to manufacturers and asked them for ‘stuff.’ Some sent him whole packs of goodies and advertising material; to this day, he still prefers those brands. That taught him something about perceived difference, and now marketing communications is the only thing he knows how to do. Cleverer people than he can explain the importance of choice and competition for our economy, he says. And without advertising, life would simply be a little duller.
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Tim Devine, Creative Technologist, OgilvyOne Melbourne | @timothydevine
Tim specialise in technology, science and culture, and he firmly believes that our digital lives are leaping into the real space. How and why do we ask people to engage with anything digital? Tim wants to add his own piece to this great puzzle. Advertising challenges him to innovate on a grand scale; in fact, it’s fast becoming the greatest source of innovation at the intersection of real and digital life. For Tim, that matters.
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Josie Brown, Director of Digital, JWT Melbourne. | @JBro
Young Josie studied languages at school because she wanted nothing more than to understand people and join in their conversations. Now she loves the act of communicating: persuading people to make choices or take action in a way that’s relevant to them and makes them take notice. Technology adds a new layer to that dynamic, and opens up new possibilities. She loves coming to to work because she gets to generate creative ideas that bring those tools to life. Young Josie would be proud.
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Ella Campbell, Analyst, STW Group | @ella__campbell
Ella was a twenty year old uni student with stars her eyes and a decision to make. Artist or musician? Neither worked out. With a partner in advertising, it didn’t take long to turn to turn to agency-land. A short internship later, she’d found a job she loved. A lot of people say communication’s job is to stay at the forefront of change. But Ella thinks the thrill, and opportunity, lies in creating it. To influence culture, which spans countries, and connects nations. She can’t imagine many other industries where you’d get that chance.
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Chris Savage, COO STW Group | @chrisjohnsavage
Chris studied journalism, and was dismayed to find his first job would not be on 60 Minutes. Unwilling to present the shipping news in a remote town, he got an internship at a PR agency. He stayed there fifteen years. It is fair to say he is obsessed with learning and growing. He loves the creative industries. He loves to make a difference. He loves work. He loves challenges. His work gives him purpose, and he knows he inspires and helps others grow, too.
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Tim Evans, Digital Strategy Director, Ogilvy Group Melbourne/DTDigital | @tim__evans
What’s the difference between one tshirt and another? Only emotional value. In other words, the brand. That’s what Tim discovered running an independent fashion label. Now he thinks consumers have subverted media models and mastered the means of production; the industry has to redefine its value offering. The same disruption is happening in almost every category and market, and the global economy is dazed and confused. This means getting paid decent money to answer questions that have never been asked - a pretty attractive proposition for a young creative person. Back when he started, he remembers Brian Vella flipping through his fashion folio and asking why he wanted the job. “It’s the best way to monetise your creativity,” Tim replied. Looking back, he thinks he was probably confusing ‘best’ with quickest. Still, he gets to make things people love to use.
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Emma Park, Senior Copywriter, DTDigital | @emma_park
He said no to cowboy, palaeontologist and even lawyer - advertising was the first career choice of which Emma’s dad approved. So she ran with it. Bakers drop wedding cakes, doctors lose patients. When you love what you do, it hurts when things go wrong. But she loves advertising because everyday is different. One day she’s driving a sports car around a racetrack and the next she’s meeting with CEOs. Advertising has the power to change what humans do. There have been times when that power has been abused, but campaigns for equality, human rights, the environment, and animal welfare – it’s all advertising, and it’s brought about a lot of positive change. She still doesn’t think her Dad actually understands what she does. It makes his enthusiasm for the industry even stranger.
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Brett de Niese Senior Account Director DTDigital | @brettdeniese
When did Brett realise he was “digitally-inclined”? It was when he heard the midi music Matt Gray composed for the Last Ninja 2 on the Commodore64. Inevitable change keeps him on his toes. Digital media gives Brett and his colleagues the power to go beyond one way messaging. When done well, it can blur line between pure advertising and enriching the customer experience. Year on year he’s seen new discipline leads surface as digital touch points emerge and converge; getting these experts in the same room to share their thoughts and ideas is awesome. Boozing with them can be even better.
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Brian Vella, Managing Director, DT Digital and OgilvyOne | @brian_vella
It was in Brian’s late teens that mainstream technology emerged; when combined with his appreciation for design and communication, it felt revolutionary then and still does. Now he believes the term advertising is redundant, and so is much of what comprised “traditional” advertising. People who engage with brands are willing to share in a value exchange; Brian and his company’s role in the marketing equation is to aid that, making people’s lives easier and offering new and interesting ways to connect. What drives him is the constant technological change - and anticipation of what’s next.
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David Trewern, Founder of DT Digital and Chief Digital Officer, STW Group. | @davidtrewern
David, or DT, never set out to work in advertising. Creative his whole life, he started in graphic design, then became fascinated with technology. Soon his pioneering digital agency DTDigital collided with the advertising world through STW Group and then Ogilvy. Now he sees advertising as important because it humanises corporations and brings creativity to business. In fact, he thinks this is the most exciting time in history for advertising. The industry’s a diverse melting pot of people and ideas. There are more ways than ever to use creativity and technology to solve problems. Everything can be reinvented. The world is changing faster than ever. And DT thinks we’re at the centre of the change.
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Simon Bloomfield, Creative Group Head American Express, OgilvyOne, Sydney | @dekkard42
A year of law studies at university nearly killed all the creativity in Simon. When he forgot to attend one of his end-of-year exams, he took that as a sign and changed path. Now he thinks that ads need to say more than just “buy our product.” There needs to be a ‘Big Ideal’ - something which demonstrates what the brand stands for, and how that can make the consumer’s own world a slightly better place. Advertising’s not art, that’s for sure - but it can be worthwhile. While there are disappointments, Simon thinks the longer you work in the business, the less they really get to you. His job is as compelling today as it was when, just a young writer, he went to his first women’s underwear shoot.
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Kate Lightfoot, Associate Creative Director, Ogilvy One, Melbourne.
12-year old Kate wanted to be a cartoonist or a greeting card writer. Told she couldn’t make a living out of it, she went to get a commerce degree. She hated it so much she’d hop off the train at Flinders St Station on the way to uni, walk across the platform and hop on the next train home. Everything changed when she switched to studying advertising. It felt right, and it still does. The bottom line is that she loves coming up with ideas more than she hates seeing them die the death of a thousand cuts. And she gets to make things up for a living. How cool is that?
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