ADVERTISING – Junior - Celebrating life at the bottom

Aug 25, 10

The Interview Series // 34

For this interview we managed to get our grubby junior mitts on one of the most successful creatives this side of the planetoid — Matt Eastwood. This esteemed dude is so good at being successful, in the time between our chat and having our transcribing monkey do the typing dance, he was promoted from National Executive Creative Director and Deputy Chairman of DDB Australia, to Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York! It’s got a nice ring to it – don’t you think? We sat down with Matt and got the low-down on his career, and all the ins and outs between. If you’ve ever wondered how one goes about becoming a successful CD then you better keep on a-readin’ below.

Junior: So you’re a Sydney boy?

Matt Eastwood: I’m originally from Perth, but I went to Sydney at about 23. Stayed there, spent four years in Melbourne, London, New York, and back to Sydney.

Jr: So you started your career in Perth? How was that?

M: There were good agencies there. The reason I left was kind of weird. I was working for Ogilvy & Mather, and we were agency of the year two years in a row, and the agency went broke. Just announced bankruptcy and shut down. I lost my job. But I was already working for the best agency in town so I didn’t know what to do. Luckily, I’d recently won Writer of the Year and I was offered a job in Sydney at Foster Nunn Loveder, so I headed East. I only spent three or four working years in Perth, but when I came to Sydney I had produced dozens of TV ads, because everyone gets to do TV in Perth no matter what level you are.

Jr: That’s quite a start.

M: Perth is a real retail city, not all of it, but a big chunk of it. So you learn to work quickly. When I got to Sydney I thought, hang on, I’m pretty quick at this! It held me in good stead, as I was more accomplished and quicker than other juniors my age. And, it helped me progress quite quickly. It was a good foundation to get started. From there in Sydney I worked with some great agencies, Foster Nunn Loveder, and DDB – for the first time.

Jr: Did you have a lot of retail work in your book when you arrived in Sydney?

M: Yeah I did, but I had my fair share of brand work as well. When I was at Ogilvy & Mather, Ansett Airlines was still around, and I had done their brand campaign. Even though I’d made the spots for $60,000 each, they were pretty good I think. I got to work on some pretty big accounts – I’d done campaigns for the WA Tourism Commission, at the same time as doing work for shopping centers and that kind of stuff. It’s definitely possible to do great work in Perth. Just look at some of the agencies there, like The Brand Agency (http://www NULL.brandagency NULL.com NULL.au/), 303 (http://www NULL.303 NULL.com NULL.au/) and Marketforce (http://www NULL.marketforce NULL.com NULL.au/), they’re really, really good agencies. I don’t think the ambition is any less, but the budgets are less. You’re making stuff with nothing.

Jr: That’s the challenge, to make more with less.

M: And you do. You don’t have the luxury of big crews, so everyone bulks in and does a bit more, and you get used to it and that’s the way it is. It’s funny when I look back now on the first four years of my career, we didn’t even have an agency TV producer. So the creatives had to produce their own ads. I remember preparing estimates and calculating markups. Now I don’t know how I took on that responsibility. There’s no way I could do that now. But I guess now I know my way around production so much better.

Jr: As a junior, were you working in a solid team or did you move around on your own?

M: I did have a few good partners, but none of them lasted more than a year or so. Not because we didn’t get on or anything, things just change and people move around. When I got to Sydney I teamed up with a guy called Shane Gibson, who is currently at M&C Saatchi in Sydney, and we worked together for about 12 years. We traveled everywhere together, we moved to Melbourne to open M&C together, and then went to London. We both found something that worked and stuck with it. Eventually I was the Creative Director and he was the Deputy, and he was offered a job within M&C Saatchi to go and run the Singapore office as Creative Director. I stayed in London, and he went off to do that.

Jr: Do you think, now that you are a Creative Director, for juniors out there wanting to get into the industry, that not being in a team is less favourable?

M: I think it’s definitely easier in a team. Maybe 80% of the time when I’m looking for someone, I’m looking for a team. I was recently looking for a junior writer, because I already had the art director, but that’s probably the first time in about 10 years that I’ve done that. It just doesn’t happen that often. It’s much better if you can pre-package yourself as a team. Or even if you don’t team up, if you can find someone who you can put yourself in front of a CD with, tell them you haven’t worked together but you get on, it definitely makes things simpler. The natural way into our agency for first time juniors is through our LaunchPad program. We look for teams, but we also put teams together. But it’s much easier already if you’re pre-teamed.

Jr: At what stage in your career did you go overseas?

M: I think I was about 32. I’d been running M&C Saatchi in Melbourne for about four years. And we’d done really well. Back then we won Agency of the Year four years in a row. It was ridiculous. It was good; it was a really successful time. I got a call from Maurice Saatchi, who asked me to be the ECD of the London office, which was amazing. The weird thing was I was packing up my house to move to London, and about a week before I was due to leave he rang again and told me that the Creative Director of the New York office had resigned, and how would I feel about going to our New York office to fill in for three months while they found someone permanent? It was like a dream! So I went via New York and fell completely in love with it, I got on well with the CEO, and ended up staying. The London office didn’t need me to go there straight away, so they let me stay in New York. The sad thing was that “September 11” happened in 2001, and that completely destroyed our business. Our biggest client was British Airways. They were obviously having a hard time and couldn’t afford to pay us for the next eighteen months. Everything went from amazing to nothing. We put the agency on ice, let a lot of people go, and that’s when the London office asked me to come and do the London ECD gig. So I moved to London, stayed there for about four years, and eventually when New York started to get going again, they sent me back to renew the office there.

Jr: Did you work with Maurice Saatchi in London? How was that?

M: It was amazing. It’s weird, you really don’t get to meet icons of the industry that often. I remember there was two great moments for me. I’d already met Maurice, but I didn’t know him that well. There was one time when he took the management board out for dinner to celebrate my new role, and he did a champagne toast to me. And I was like, wow, Maurice Saatchi is doing a toast to me. The next moment was my first pitch in London, and I was sitting next to Maurice – him being the suit, me as the Creative Director. I thought – this is just awesome, seeing one of the world’s greatest ad guys pitching, and I’m next to him. It was pretty cool. A few words from him could make you feel three inches taller. He was very, very good, and incredibly smart obviously as he started two amazing agencies. It was an incredible time.

Jr: That’s pretty darn amazing! Is he still involved?

M: He’s still there, he’s still on the board. I haven’t worked for M&C now for about six years, but I imagine he’s probably winding right back and not so involved. When I was there he was at the office every day, and that was amazing. The five partners of the M&C London office all sat together in one room as they had done for 30 years through Saatchi’s and M&C. They had all the stories that we’ve all heard, but they were all the stories. They were the ones that did it. It was fantastic going out to dinner or travelling with those guys, and hearing the stories that go back 20 years. It was a great time. But in the end, I didn’t love working in London as much as I thought I would. I find New York to be a global city where I find London to be, London. There’s definitely a view that ‘we’re the best in the world and no one else matters’. Whereas I think New York is the complete opposite. Everyone in New York is from somewhere else. It’s rare to meet a true New Yorker. They’ve all come from all over the world, or all over America. It’s a melting pot of global ideas. I found them much more open to new thinking.

Jr: Did you notice much of a difference coming back from overseas to Australia in terms of digital thinking and capabilities?

M: The thing I loved about DDB is that it was a lot more possible to integrate digital thinking. I think it had a lot to do with scale. The last job I had in New York was at Y&R, and we had two floors of above-the-line creatives, and a whole floor of digital creatives. But they were all separate. I think if I had stayed longer I would have brought them together more, but it was difficult to get people working and thinking together. People were still seeing the two as separate roles, whereas now I think it’s seen as one person or one team can do it all together. The thing I found here was that because of the size and the scale of it, it is much easier to get people working together. We have Tribal DDB within our office but we don’t really run Tribal as a separate company. We run it as one creative department. Everyone reports to me, they all work together as one team.

Jr: A lot of people at a more junior career level and age group see the overseas thing as the pinnacle of making it, or getting somewhere. Do you think that helped you in your career moving overseas?

M: The tough thing is, if you only had five years’ experience and went to London it would be hard. It’s a tough, tough city to break into, especially if you’re junior-ish. The money is shit. I was shocked when I got there at how little we were paying our juniors, but it was industry standard. I don’t know how they could afford to live on it — it was frightening. The best thing is to get yourself some fame first because it’s a hard road if you don’t have it. At M&C I had these two students, who had been interning for two years. They had two silver D&AD pencils. They were really good, and they were working for nothing. I asked them how they did it, how they kept motivating themselves to keep trying. I remember being in awe of their tenacity to keep going. They had to fund their careers through weekend jobs and parental support, but they had two silver pencils to show for it. We eventually gave them a job, but I think that’s such a hard position to be in as a junior. It was definitely easier for me to go in at the ECD level, rather than as a struggling creative.

Jr: So with LaunchPad at DDB (http://www NULL.ddbcareers NULL.com NULL.au/User/LaunchPad/), how does it work? Do you get a few teams in?

M: We have six people at once – four creatives and two craft people – web department, designers, etc. They don’t all start together, but they’re all there for three months at a time. We also host a team from Miami Ad School once a year. It’s great fun. We’ve seen a lot of people come and go, and I think we’ve hired about 10 of them over the last four years, so a lot of people have gotten jobs. Even if they don’t get a job we’ve stayed friends. A few LaunchPadders have sold campaigns that have gone on to win Lions, which is ultimately why we do it for them. It’s so much easier if you’ve got something in your book that’s been published, especially when you’re competing against all the other juniors.

Jr: What do you look for in a good junior?

M: At the start of LaunchPad I say to the juniors not to let the three months slip by. A lot of them come in and have a lot of fun, and then the three months are up and they haven’t really made anything, and find it disappointing. I look for a hunger and tenacity, that ‘whatever it takes I’m going to make myself famous’ attitude. We push them, we give them lots of briefs, but ultimately as a junior you have to really want to be famous, and you have to want to make great ads. You need to give over a couple of years of your life but, if you do, it will set you up for life. So I guess I look for that spark. We get a lot of applications, and we only take a tenth of those that apply. I look for juniors whose books are well thought out in terms of campaign ideas. I definitely get bored at seeing a book of just print ads. I want at least half a dozen campaigns in a book, and at least half of which are blown out into different areas, from social media to digital to TV to whatever. And then I look for the equivalent in one off thoughts. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a campaign. You need to have a body of work that gives whomever is looking at your book a sense of what you are capable of doing. I think the most important thing though is tenacity.

Jr: So you’re a writer. Did you come out of an arts course?

M: Yeah. Weirdly, I’m a writer but my degree is in Design. I studied Graphic Design at Curtin University in WA. In my last year I also did AWARD school – I graduated from both at the same time. I had planned to work as an art director, but I saw a job advertised for a writer. And I thought, I can do that. I got a job as a junior copywriter with no real writing experience.

Jr: How did you learn your craft then?

M: I had a really good first boss. A guy called Gordon Dawson, he’s retired now, but he was amazing. He could see that I could write a headline but knew I didn’t have any writing training. In my first week he walked up to me with a stack of twenty novels, and said, ‘have you read Slaughterhouse Five (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Slaughterhouse-Five)’? ‘No’ ‘Have you read Catch-22 (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Catch_22)?’ ‘Nup’, and he kept going. He said read those, and gave me the Oxford Dictionary, and the Elements of Style (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Elements_of_style). He was great, and he used to really push me to be better. The criticism I have with a lot of young writers is that they don’t appreciate the craft of writing. They don’t read classic novels, or any novels, and that’s how you get better at what you do, Gordon drummed that into me. English was always one of my top subjects, but he made me better at it.

Jr: Seems like being versatile – knowing about Art Direction and Copywriting is a handy thing.

M: It’s so true. Its fantastic for me to be able to have a degree in design, I can get on a computer and do artwork, and I do my own blog (http://thingsihaveseen NULL.squarespace NULL.com/), I have always had that visual side to me. That’s part of the job as an ECD — you’ve got to advise on all aspects.

Jr: That said, do you think the craft or writing is a bit lost on many up and coming Copywriters?

M: You don’t really meet that many people who are passionate about writing. We have a CD in our Melbourne office, Brendan Guthrie, and he’s just into writing. He writes stories and screenplays and you don’t meet people like that very often. We’re living in an age where writing and long copy isn’t popular. It’s not like it’s unwelcome, it’s just that no one does it. It’s been like that for a long time. I remember in my own career having to make the specific decision to do a long copy campaign. No one tells you to do long copy; you have to make the choice. If you don’t make that decision in your career at some point to try to write one, you can get to ten years in your career and you’ve still never done a long copy ad. I say to a lot of juniors that at some point make yourself write a long copy ad. Because you can easily avoid it. But try it, it’s fun, you get to be more like a journalist than a creative. But it’s not always going to fly because clients don’t always want long copy or CD’s don’t like it, but you’ve just got to give it a go.

Jr: Fast forward five years – what sort of skills do you think juniors will need as they progress up the chain?

M: I think there’s definitely a challenge in deciding what your goal is. There’s a lot of pressure on creatives to become Creative Directors. But I think there are a lot of people who head towards that goal that don’t really want it, or aren’t really good at it. It’s deciding which way you want to go and manipulating your career to go that way, and getting the appropriate skills. A lot of what differentiates good creatives from great creatives is not just ideas, it’s the ability to present those ideas and lead a client. I put all my team through presentation and negotiation skills training. To me that is the thing that has stood me out from many of my peers — I’m very comfortable getting up in front of a CEO talking to them about ideas. When I moved to London, I was like a freak over there, because Creative Directors had been protected from clients. They literally didn’t go to meetings. But clients had started to want to develop a relationship with Creative Directors, and I had no problem with that as I had done it all my life. And they were like wow, who is this guy?

Jr: So it was just account service that went to presentations?

M: Yep. It was an easy blame game. If account management come back with unsold work you can either complain, or just sell it yourself. So that’s what I always did. That ability and that comfortableness in front of clients — I reckon that is probably the one thing that we don’t spend enough time on when training juniors. Or on how to be leaders within the department. When I was 26, I made the decision that I wanted to be a CD. I changed my behaviours, and even started dressing differently.

Jr: That’s what Mum used to say – “dress for the job you want.”

M: One team I worked with started their “3 buttoned shirts a week” rule, and it worked. From the time they joined me to the time they left they easily doubled their salary and their award list. I think people just started to see them as serious and professional. It’s not the be all and end all, but it’s important. When I was 26 I just started taking responsibility for looking after the juniors in the agency. I rallied them all together and helped them with their work, and that experience was like being a mini Creative Director. It kind of got me better at knowing what it would be like in front of senior people doing that same thing. It’s giving yourself opportunities to try out your skills. I say to all our guys, once they’ve been in the business for 4-5 years, to be an AWARD school tutor. It’s the best thing you can do, it’s a big commitment but you learn to give advice. And almost all of them tell me that they are better at judging their own work as a result.

Jr: You actually learn a lot about your own thinking when you have to put it into words and explain it to someone else.

M: Yes, and it makes you quicker. When you’re a Creative Director you get presented work all day. And creatives want a response right then, they want to know what you think, right now. And sometimes you don’t know, sometimes you need to think about it, but you can’t just keep putting everything off. Teaching AWARD School puts you under that same pressure, to listen to your instincts and just to go with it, and you get better at it. It’s not necessarily a skill-based thing, but it’s really important in terms of getting your career off in the right direction. Apart from that, I think junior creatives are generally learning all the stuff that they need to learn. There was a time when you had to say to people, I think you need to embrace digital, but you don’t need to say that any more. Although I’ve definitely had creatives that don’t follow any blogs, or don’t do anything online, one didn’t even have a Facebook profile – you owe it to your clients to at least understand what the digital space is about. Even if you don’t like it, you’ve got to do it. It’s so easy to stay across new developments these days because of the online space. You can follow whoever you want on twitter, and see what’s happening everywhere. It’s so instant and easy. If anything, it’s overwhelming with how to stay abreast of everything.

Also posted in WRITING | Tags: COPYWRITING, DDB, M&C SAATCHI, MATT EASTWOOD

Jul 25, 10

Junior Event // 19

Junior last Wednesday was pretty rad. We had Jason Ross – the Executive Creative Director of CHE (http://www NULL.che NULL.com NULL.au/) give us 8 tips in 8 minutes, at the grand ol’ time of 8pm. According to the Chinese, the number 8 (http://www NULL.beijingmadeeasy NULL.com/beijing-society/china-lucky-numbers) is as lucky as it gets. So if you happened to find yourself there, be sure to think of yourself as one of the lucky ones.

It’s also pretty darn lucky we filmed the whole thing just in case you missed it.

Also posted in DRINKS | Tags: ADVERTISING, CHE, DRINKS, JASON ROSS

Jun 07, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 76

Are you planning a move to New Yawk to begin your advertising career fo’ realz? Why don’t you give Brisvegas a shot first. The opportunity to do great work is just as good, and Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) agrees.

Last week a campaign by an Australian agency picked up not one but two highly sought after Black Pencils at the D&AD Awards (http://www NULL.dandad NULL.org/) in London.

This was a first for an Australian agency.

They also picked up three yellow pencils for the same campaign. Giving creatives down under much to be proud of and plenty of cause for celebration.

I’m not going to name the campaign in question, because if you don’t already know what it is you shouldn’t even be considering a career as a creative.

What I am going to do is give you two reasons why it is such an important campaign. Especially for young people sitting at home working on ideas for their folio.

Firstly, the agency in question is in Brisbane.

Not Sydney, nor Melbourne or possibly even Perth, but goddamn Brisvegas. Proving that you don’t need to work at a fashionable hotshop in a so called international city to do great work.

Secondly, and most importantly, the campaign was centred around a classified ad (http://theinspirationroom NULL.com/daily/2009/cannes-direct-lions-winners/).

Sure there were many other elements, including a bucketload of PR, but the campaign would have been nothing without that simple classified ad.

And who among you would ever have thought that you could build a career on a classified ad?

Also posted in WHIP | Tags: D&AD AWARDS

Jun 02, 10

The Interview Series // MADC Junior Award Special

Are you a junior working in the Melbourne advertising industry? Are you still trying to figure out if awards are a waste of time or the key to success? Well here’s your answer: Who cares! Award shows are fun and winning awards will get you a better job, but not winning them doesn’t make you a loser and making ‘effective’ work isn’t such a bad thing to strive for. Now that you know the secret, ENTER OUR VERY FIRST JUNIOR SPONSORED AWARD AT THE MADC AWARDS. It’s way cool and your best chance of winning something this year.

If you’re a little unsure whether your work is up to scratch, let us introduce you to Richie Ralphsmith — el presidente of the Melbourne Advertising and Design Club (http://www NULL.madc NULL.com NULL.au/awards/), and Deputy CD of CHE (http://www NULL.che NULL.com NULL.au/). He’s pretty much THE GUY at the MAD-SEES (http://www NULL.madc NULL.com NULL.au), so listen carefully cause he’ll convince you otherwise. Then enter, enter, enter, you crazy foooools.

P.S. THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO JUNE 9! ENTRY DETAILS BELOW! HURRRRYYY

Junior: Why should anyone reading this enter the MADC Junior award?

Richie Ralphsmith: Enter it because it’s the only award in Australia that acknowledges the contributions of juniors in the industry. It’s the only award that recognizes that you guys usually get poor briefs and paltry budgets. On top of that, you’re still learning the ropes. So when entering an award you shouldn’t be pitted against a CD with 18 years’ experience.

Enter because it shows your CD that you care about great creative work and about awards. While you’re at it, remind him or her that entering the Junior category is half the price of the other categories.

Enter because it’s a good way to get your ticket to the night paid for. If you’re a finalist, the agency will fork out for you.

Enter because winning it could be your ticket to your next job.

Jr: Turning something shit into gold is a lesson that continues to appear in our interviews. And everyone knows juniors get the stuff no one else wants to work on. Do you think that’s what the junior category will be rewarding?

R: The judges will know when a piece of work has made something out of nothing. They’ll be taking that into account. Of course, juniors occasionally get great briefs as well, and do terrific jobs on them. What really matters is the end result. You guys shouldn’t be striving to produce good pieces of work, considering the brief. You should be aiming for great work, regardless of the brief. This isn’t the Special Olympics.

Jr: When you’re a junior it’s pretty easy to think your work isn’t good enough, so you don’t enter, and then miss the hell out on winning stuff you probably could have won. What would you say to someone not sure if they should enter their work?

R: I was going to say just enter it. But if you’re not sure whether your idea is good enough, ask your CD.

Jr: Got any tricks we can use to make it easier to judge our work and give us awards?

R: No tricks. Just make the entry clear and easy to understand. The judges will see through, and penalise, any overcompensation.

Jr: Now, tell us, you’re a deputy creative director and president of the MADC – did winning awards get your to where you are today? How important should winning awards be to us juniors trying to climb the ranks.

R: Awards are very important. But the thing that will build your careers is getting yourself into a position where you can do effective, award-winning work on a big client. That will get you further than winning Cannes Gold for the corner dog wash.

Jr: You guys have a student category (http://www NULL.madc NULL.com NULL.au/awards/entry NULL.php?a=catdesc&catid=39&eid=1) too – it seems pretty open – what kind of work should the kids be entering? What do you think the judges will be looking for in this category?

R: Just enter your very best ideas. The entry criteria are all the same. It’s the judging criteria that are different. The judges will make a bit more allowance for inexperience.

Good luck!

Entry details here (http://www NULL.madc NULL.com NULL.au/awards/entry NULL.php?a=catdesc&catid=84&eid=1). Don’t forget, entries to the MADC awards have been extended to Wednesday June 9.

Tags: JUNIOR AWARD, MADC, RICHIE RALPHSMITH

May 31, 10

The Monday Morning Whip // 75

Do you work in advertising? Are you supposed to be working on a brief right now? Are you trying to make it funnie? Maybe a little wackee? Thinking about making it funkee? Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) thinks you should re-think…

As I’m sure you know, the iPad went on sale in Australia last Friday. We’ve had one in the office for a couple of weeks, so I fully understand why people were queuing up at the crack of dawn to get one.

What I’m going to talk about today though, isn’t the iPad, but the iPad advertising campaign.
This has consisted primarily of posters of people reclining on couches with the iPad on their knee. No headline to be seen. And that’s it!

So what would you do if you got hold of the iPad brief?

I’m sure you’d agree that a portable tablet computer that operates with nothing more than the swipe of a finger on the screen is typical of the kind of product that you see in a student brief.

So how come the creatives who worked on the launch resisted the opportunity to do something weird and wonderful? Why do you think they didn’t write a “clever” headline?
Because they’re not students. They’re smart and experienced enough to let the product speak for itself.
Now ask yourself what you would have done with the iPad brief.

If it involves an idea that demonstrates how clever you are, rather than why someone would want to buy the product, then maybe you might want to have a think about the type of work you have in your folio.

Also posted in WHIP | Tags: BRIEF, iPAD, STUDENT

May 30, 10

Junior Event // 17 // Sydney

‘FINALLY!’ We hear you say – ‘Junior events in Sydney’. Yes that’s right, we finally got shit together. And since we kept y’all waiting so long – we got two of the most awarded creatives in the country – Matty Burton and Cam Blackley, Creative Directors at Droga5 (http://droga5 NULL.com NULL.au) to give their 10 tips. But don’t worry if you missed it, it’ll be appearing as an episode of JuniorTV (http://vimeo NULL.com/user2421636) soon.

The next Junior event is in Melbourne on June 16 at the Workers Club (http://theworkersclub NULL.com NULL.au/) in Fitzroy. Guest speaker: Jo Walker, editor at Frankie (http://www NULL.frankie NULL.com NULL.au/) magazine.

Also posted in DRINKS | Tags: CAM BLACKLEY, DRINKS, Droga5, MATTY BURTON

Apr 21, 10

The Interview Series // 31

Meet David Klein. He’s the Associate Creative Director in charge of BMF (http://www NULL.bmf NULL.com NULL.au/)’s new Melbourne office. It’s easy to see why BMF (one of Australia’s better ad agencies) put this hokey-faced bro in charge. You’ve probably seen his work for Nestle Drumstick (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=PqyiFtLnKkc) or that shining beacon of football advertising, Toyota AFL ‘Footy Moments’ (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=zqjDS9ksbRk). It’s all gold! And you know why? Cause Dave just gets it. He knows his shit. We’ve done our fair share of these interviews with advertising bros and this one takes the cake. It’s all here: How to get a job, coming up with good ideas, what to do with award annuals, how the fuck to figure this whole game out. If advertising is something you’re thinking about, then don’t just read the highlighted bits like you normally do. Read it all slacker, sheeeeeesh.

Junior: Ok Dave, give us the low-down. What do you think the main challenges are facing juniors today…

David Klein: It’s probably exactly the same as when I started. To know what to do? Who to listen to? How to get into a good agency? How to crack the brief? All that sort of stuff. One of the tricky things is to work out who you want to listen to. You have to work out who you want to take advice from because if you take everyone’s advice – you’ll go mad.

And always thinking, I have to be in a good agency to do good work. You can do good work anywhere. It sometimes is easier in a good agency but then there are other challenges. Like the fact there’s probably a whole lot of really talented people competing with you to crack the brief. At the end of the day if you’re driven to do well, you will.

Jr: So go back to the beginning – Where did you start? Did you have a career strategy when you went out and got your first job?

D: I don’t think I had any idea what a strategy was back then. I did graphic design at Swinburne University, and I had some sort of vague idea advertising could be fun. I managed to get a job just before I left Uni, at a place that did a bit of mainstream advertising, but a lot more direct marketing. It was a pretty good learning, but wasn’t quite what I was into—I wanted to be in a mainstream agency. I didn’t like coupons and reply paid envelopes that much. I worked on my folio day and night and finally cracked a job at Grey Melbourne working on the TAC. It was a great, I really felt like I’d found where I wanted to be, and importantly what I wanted to do.

I spent two years at Grey and then went to London for a couple of years. It was a good learning curve, and very different, it made me realise that Australia is a great place to make ads. There aren’t as many barriers, and things just don’t take as long. Obviously it depends on what agency you’re at, who your clients are and how much money is involved – but generally, in Australia, you can get stuff done cheaply.

Jr: Tell us your thoughts on going overseas – I think we speak from all juniors out there when I say we all want to do it at some point. But what’s the best way to go about it?

D: I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it. I know people who have had hardly any experience who have done really well and people who have been really great who haven’t. I think it’s often about your attitude. You have to be really, really hungry. Don’t expect anyone to help you, especially in London. To most Londoners you’re just another Aussie. And don’t be surprised if you’re asked to work for free. It’s pretty weird, if your folio is good enough they’ll ask you to do a placement and then if you can prove that your any good then they’ll pay you.

I reckon going over as a team is an advantage too. It means you’re easier to employ. And you’ve got someone to hang out with when it gets tough. And trust me, it will be tough.

Jr: Speaking of working for free – It seems like non-paid placements in Australian agencies are becoming common. Our parents think we’re crazy, but do you think it’s becoming more of a way in? At the same time, how do we make sure we’re not getting fucked over?

D: I think you need to recognise when you are being taken for a ride, and when you aren’t. If it is somewhere that you really want to work then you should go for it, because just getting in the door is awesome. I think over here we are less inclined to rip people off and it’s more of a test to see if you are any good and that you can fit in the work environment. As much as your folio is key for getting a job, it’s also who you are as a person and if you can work with people around you. The only way you can know is to get in an agency and test that out. If it’s where you want to go, then do it.

Jr: Do you think it’s as hard, or harder now to get a job in the industry than it was when you started?

D: It’s hard to answer that one because I’m not trying to get a job. I think it’s probably different because there are so many options now. When I started you went to a mainstream agency, or direct marketing. Now you can go into digital, sales promotion, mainstream, activation etc. But in that time one thing hasn’t changed – a good idea is still a good idea. If you have good ideas, you will get a job.

Jr: The people coming out of Uni now are the Gen Y whizzes of the internet. Do you think the folios of today should steer away from your traditional print folio?

D: If you’ve got a skill—for example, if you’re the hottest digital guy around, then use that. There’s not one mould to get a job in advertising. If you’ve got a strength, then use that to your advantage. Show those things in your book—it’s what will set you apart from others.

Jr: Because of the ad courses that are around now, Art Directors don’t necessarily come from a straight design background. What advice would you give to up and coming junior art directors that want to build their craft?

D: I was really lucky because I had four years of hard-core design behind me so I can make things look good pretty quickly. You’ve probably heard it before, but be a sponge. Look at everything that you possibly can. But don’t just look at award annuals, that’s the worst thing you can do. Be aware of them, but you shouldn’t look at them for inspiration. All you’re going to do is end up trying to make last years winning ad, and what you want is to make is next years winning ad. Look at design magazines. Go to galleries. Every week find a new designer or illustrator or photographer and make a library. I’ve got about five million bookmarks on Safari. Photographers, animators, directors, production companies, etc. Unlike when I started about four thousand years ago, all we had was annuals. Now you can employ people from all over the world. Recently I did a campaign with a Japanese illustrator who didn’t speak any English—and bizarrely it was easier than using some English speaking people I’ve worked with.

Jr: Was that something you found through one of your bookmarks?

D: Yeah, his name is Dragon76 (http://www NULL.dragon76 NULL.net). I found him in this really random way through a MySpace link, I got in contact with him through that and then discovered his agent was in London. I showed his work to the client and they really loved it. It wasn’t a problem that he wasn’t in Oz. It just goes to show that once you’ve got your reference right and your brief is really clear, you can get anyone to work with you. Our location isn’t a barrier to employ anybody. There can be an issue with time differences because it takes longer, but you can use anyone in the world now, which is amazing.

J: Do you have any recommended reading for us?

D: There’s a book that I reckon everyone should read – Hey Whipple, Squeeze This (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/0471293393). I still look at it; it’s such a perfect way of looking at advertising and very motivating. You can be a junior, or a senior, and still take out stuff from Luke Sullivan (http://twitter NULL.com/heywhipple). Just even little tips or tricks on things—for example, the client always wanting the logo bigger, his tip is to make it smaller, so then when they ask it to be bigger, it’s the size you wanted it in the first place. It’s really helpful. The other guy is Lee Clow; some of his stuff is pretty awesome on his Twitter. The guy is a genius.

Jr: Yes! ‘Lee Clow’s Beard (http://)’! Amazing! There’s some pretty inspirational stuff in there.

D: Yeah! – Look, the key thing is, never give up. If a client gives you feedback and the idea you thought was going to give you a Cannes gold is dead, don’t throw shit around the room. Look at what is wrong with the idea, or if it’s something to do with the execution. Because if it’s the execution you might just change one thing and bingo you’re back in the game. Or maybe the timing’s not right. Maybe they need to set up the campaign idea before they can unleash your great idea. If that’s the case present it later in the year. But if it’s a bad idea, then just walk away from it. Clients know the business pretty well, that’s why they’re there. Sometimes they can make silly mistakes, and it’s not from them being stupid, it’s just not knowing about how to feed back information. They haven’t done advertising degrees. They say it how they see it, sometimes they’re wrong and unfortunately for us sometimes they’re right.

Jr: It seems that getting in to the industry is one challenge, however staying in, is another. And, getting work made and getting work up is another challenge.

D: It’s a daunting thing. Once you get in, you’ve got in, and you should congratulate yourself because a lot of people don’t and it’s really hard—you’ve done what you’ve set out to do. Once you’re in, then there’s no reason why the next brief you get can’t be the one that makes you famous.

Potentially anything can win you an award but awards are a lottery. If you aren’t going to win an award then do a great job for the client’s business. Because if you do that then you get trust from the client, and the creative director, and account service, and soon things will kind of just go your way. And it’s not through doing anything different but by creating confidence in what you do and everyone else will respond to that. If you try to be bolshie and different just for the sake of it, it’s not cool. You want to be different in the work you present, but not argumentative and difficult. After a while people will get sick of you and you’ll be out of a job, or won’t get to work on the good briefs.

Learning to sell your work is really important too. The faster you do that the quicker you’re going to get ahead. Always see your work from the point of view of an idea. Work out what your idea is, put it on a piece of paper, and put your work on a wall underneath it. I always put work on a wall, four or five different ideas, and write executions from those. Don’t be afraid to have other people comment on these. You can be sitting there thinking of one idea and get stuck on how to get something to work, and someone might come along say something and open a whole new world that makes it even better. Draw on the people around you; it doesn’t have to be creative people, even the account guy or a planner. Planners are really important people. Become good friends with a planner and he or she will write the briefs you want to work on.

Jr: While we’re talking on ideas, what piece of advice would you give us as juniors to help make our work better?

You need to really learn to work out what the idea is and what the execution is, because it’s easy to get confused between the two. I’ve seen people fight for executional stuff and suddenly the client cracks the shits and throws out the whole idea. When all that needed to happen was a slight change to the execution and the idea would still be on the table.

Jr: Do you think selling in an execution-based idea is harder? How do you sell in those ideas like the Drumstick Summer Classic ad—do you just read the script or do you have to go to an extra length to sell it in?

D: Reference is key to everything in this business. For Drumstick I studied North Korean mass games and film references from Busby Berkeley. Thinking back it’s a pretty strange combination of stuff when you’re selling ice cream. But it really helped shape the vision for the way the ad should look. I guess a script is just words on a page. Not everyone can imagine it, because they’re not always as visual as you are. If you can show people what’s inside your head it’ll be a lot easier for them and for you.

Jr: You’ve just been made Associate Creative Director of BMF. Do you reckon it’s harder to do that as an Art Director?

D: No way. If you think in ideas it doesn’t matter if you’re an art director or a writer.

Jr: How did it all work out for you—has it all happened pretty organically?

D: It happened organically; there’s no way you can plot it out. I think luck plays a big role in anyone’s career. I’ve had some lucky breaks and I’ve had some really unlucky breaks too, but at the end of the day I worked my ass off. And I still do.

Jr: Any final words before the iPhone battery dies, and the sound recorder with it?

D: Have as much fun as you can. It’s hard work but we’re lucky to be doing it. Making ads means you get to meet and work with some really, really talented people, which is awesome. Advertising isn’t really a job—it’s a lifestyle. If you see it as a 9-5 job, you’ve got it wrong. If you live and breathe it, you’ll get the most out of it.

Also posted in THE INTERVIEW SERIES | Tags: ADVERTISING, BMF, DAVID KLEIN

Feb 15, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 62

So you’ve started adding digital work to your folio, but dammit, there’s only so many iPhone apps and ‘find the product’ maze games you can come up with. Don’t worry, we’re all still figuring out this thing too. Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) suggests you start thinking about the possibilities beyond the obvious.

Got any digital work in your folio? Of course you do, it’s 2010. But before you take a moment to pat yourself on the back for having a banner or two in your book, consider this:

Digital work dates fast. Really fast. So make sure you keep up to speed with the possibilities.

Think video not animation. Think engagement not clicks. Think sharing not watching.

Anything is possible with digital. And if it isn’t it soon will be.

You also need to think digital not computer. Because before we know it almost everyone with be using mobile internet.

To get a glimpse of what I’m talking about take a look at this video and then put aside some time to think about the possibilities it offers you as a creative.

Also posted in WHIP | Tags: DIGITAL, FOLIO, WHIP

Feb 08, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 61

If you wanna be a success in this game, sometimes you need to do things you might not want to. But, as Stan will tell you, it’ll make you better than anyone else hawking their folio about. And it’ll be impossible not to get a job.

Ever shown your folio to someone and they’ve made comment about having seen one of your ideas before?

No? Lucky you!

For most of us though (including me) having an idea that has been done before is an occupational hazard.

So if someone tells you they’ve seen one of your ideas before, ditch it.

Yes ditch it.

Don’t sit there fretting about how long it took you or the fact that it’s one of your favourite pieces of work.

Just ditch it.

And as you crumple it up and toss it into the bin take a moment to sit back and smile.

Why?

Because you’ve come up with an idea that was considered good enough to run. Possibly even good enough to have won an award.

The only problem being that somebody else had the idea before you.

Now all you need to do is sit down with your pad and pen and come up with a new idea that’s just as good, that nobody has seen before.

Also posted in DESIGN, WHIP | Tags: FOLIO, WHIP

Jan 27, 10

Dear Junior Series // 05

Dear Junior: an attempt to ask industry leaders the pressing questions that us, the quarrelous and unfriendly youth of today, are interested to find answers to. In our fifth installment, we’re talking Women in Advertising. Rather than write an intro ourselves full of the male bravado you’ve come to know and love, we hired an intern to do the job for us. Here’s Crystal with her very best intro.

Chaka Khan once sang, “I’m a woman in a man’s world”. She was chanting about the wonderful world of showbiz but it’s fair to say the wonderful world of advertising is only the far less glamorous sister. It’s a sausage-fest no matter where you go! And being part of that can be fairly difficult when you’re sausageless. As if the industry’s not tough enough. That’s why we asked our good ol’ female buddy, Mel Peters, digital creative director at Lowe Sydney (http://lowesydney NULL.com), to give us her best advice on being a lady in a man’s world.

And girls, or boys for that matter, if you want to pick her brain some more, reach her at mel.peters@loweworldwide.com (mel NULL.peters null@null loweworldwide NULL.com). No spammy spam please.

Junior: Do you personally find it tough to be a woman in this industry?

Mel: No I love it! It’s all about standing out with great ideas and that’s something I’m passionate about. A lot of people have been comfortable with male creatives because that’s what they’re used too. However, good ideas will always cut through no matter who you are.

Jr: Has there been a particular incident where you know your gender has worked against you? What about for you?

M: It’s how you look at things. For example, working on car accounts, I was the only female creative on the team. In this situation I always added a valuable and different perspective to briefs. I was able to approach the brand with really powerful insights that led to award winning creative. Taking the car ‘beyond the metal’ was a big part of creating innovative campaigns that engaged and empowered their audience. Female creatives can do amazing work on even the most ‘blokiest’ of briefs. There really is no boundary to what you can work on.

Jr: Why do you think it’s more difficult for women?

M: I think there has been a limited number of role-models and Senior Female Creatives in the industry and for young female creatives on the rise, this can be daunting. I’ve worked with strong female Creatives like Fiona Davidson and Paula Keamy who are both fantastic role-models. It is important to find these role models and seek advice along the way. Women have a great opportunity to lead in senior creative roles today and I see more and more talented young women choosing ‘creative’ as a positive career path.

Jr: Is there any other advice you have for women in or wanting to get into the industry?

M: Understanding your audience is key, and women are the primary purchase decision-maker for many brands in Australia. Female buying power hasn’t fully been tapped into in Australia, and there is a great opportunity for female creatives to lead this. Women are also powerful communicators, and as we continue to move into the digital world with influence marketing and social networking changing our traditional communication habits, women in the industry will bring great insight and creative ideas to the table. Ultimately though, it’s all about great thinking and powerful ideas.

And just cause she can, here’s Mel’s tips to success:

01- Believe in your ideas. Gain confidence in your thinking by exploring your ideas thoroughly before you talk to others around you.

02- Present, present, present your work. This is so important. Grab as many opportunities as you can to showcase your ideas yourself and get in front of clients, as often as you can.

03- Look for female mentors, if not in your agency, outside it. Some may have blogs or twitter feeds that will give you insight and spur you on. You can follow me here (http://twitter NULL.com/its_mel).

04- Hit the streets and do your own market research. Get to know your audience inside and out and become an expert in the briefs you get. If your agency celebrates big ideas based on powerful insights, you will shine.

05- Don’t be afraid to think of yourself as a brand and sell yourself. Getting your voice and point of view out there is a great place to start. I see many juniors who have put their folio online and started a blog. It’s a great way to make sure you are heard and noticed.

06- Have fun and enjoy what you do. If you love it, everyone will know.

Also posted in DEAR JUNIOR | Tags: ADVERTISING, DEAR JUNIOR, SUCCESS

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