Breaking In

Check out some great work from Fabian Berglund & Ida Gronblom of Wieden+Kennedy New York and formerly of R/GA and Wieden+Kennedy London.

Honda – Hondamentalism

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If you missed it, check out some of Hemant Jain’s work here.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

HJ: I think to say I look for fresh ideas would be a cliché. I look for will power, you know? It’s just so many people…many students who come and say that well, we haven’t had the opportunity to do this or, we haven’t ever had any exposure to advertising or whatever. I don’t really see the merit in that because if you were driven you would produce ideas no matter what. And they don’t have to be ads but they need to be ideas, and they need to be executed. They need to be produced, “I’ve done this, I have done this, I’ve done that,” you know? I don’t want to listen to the odds you’ve faced, I want to see what you’ve done because that’s how I pretty much started. Nobody was giving me an opportunity to work in an agency, and whenever you go to an agency they say, “So what have you done?” And it’s ridiculous because until the time you’re in an agency, you can’t do ads. But what happens to all those twenty years, twenty-five years, twenty-seven years that you spent before joining advertising? What have you got to show for that? Some three poems, four stories, that’s never going to cut it because there are young students who are fifteen years old or seventeen years old or eighteen years old that make fabulous work and [are] producing ideas. Especially in these times where the opportunities and the exposure and the kind of outlets are far too many. You know, you could pretty much make a YouTube video. You don’t have to have experience of being a traditional setup to produce that. You just need a fucking mobile phone camera for all you care, and you can do your film. And in these times, if you’re telling me that you haven’t got the opportunity…sorry, there’s somebody more driven than you because talent is one thing, drive is another. A combination of both is what is going to make you successful.

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Hemant Anant Jain is Creative Director at Albion, London.

Nokia Navigator

Midland Bookshop – “Lord of the Rings”

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In case you missed yesterday’s post, check out some of Mike Lear’s work here.

WS: What do you look for in a student what impresses you?

ML: Great, simple thinking. In many different forms of media. I still see a lot of books that consist of print campaigns blown out into other media. And that’s not what I mean. That just tells me they don’t get it yet. I want to see great ideas, that are totally media agnostic. Maybe it’s an idea of how to use Twitter in a way I’ve never seen. Or…well, just lots of digital. I personally think all ideas should lead with digital, and there might be posters and traditional stuff that support it. But never the other way around. And students: Please, please, please stop trying to do TV. It’s never good. Ever.

WS: How important is finish? If ideas are the most important thing, can sketches be enough? Do you look at actual books anymore, or is it all websites?

ML: We never look at actual books here anymore. PDFs are how it starts, or websites. I don’t remember the last time I saw a physical book. And the finish question…yeah, that’s an important one. Some people, and schools, think finish isn’t as important anymore because the thinking and the ideas are what we are paid for. “We can find anyone to build it how we want it,” they say. Not so fast…I think you have to have both. And what’s wrong with that? But ideas are the most important thing. I would rather see a sketch of something killer over a gorgeous piece of dumb. But the idea of, “I’ll figure out my craft later,” no way. You would be dead here. We need people who can hit the ground running.

WS: How important is copy? Do you need to see long-copy ads?

ML: All I want is some sense of voice from a writer. Maybe it’s long copy, but maybe it’s just a few lines on a website that are lovely. But in my opinion, gone are the days of the mandatory long-copy campaign. Prove to me you can write well. That’s it.

WS: What do you think of showing work that is not advertising? Things like art, journal writing, photography, hobbies, etc.

ML: As long as they’re ideas. Journal writing: I don’t think so. Photography: eh, maybe. But I am going to hire you because I see thinking that I wish I did. That’s it. That’s my meter. When I see a campaign that makes something inside me just a little sick, a little green…that’s what I want. Sometimes I see a campaign that I just go, “Ugh…dammit.” And that’s it. You have me. So, no, I don’t care if they’re ads. The ultimate example is Banksy. He’s an artist, sure. But what makes him different is he is conceptual. His ideas are sickeningly great and tight.

Here is some of his work. Enjoy!

Mentos

Google

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If you missed yesterday’s post, check out some great work from Tiffany Rolfe.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

TR: Originality and work that makes me wish I’d done it. Something totally unexpected.

WS: How important is finish? Can sketches be enough? Do you look at actual hard-copy books anymore, or is it all websites?

TR: Execution is part of the idea. Everything can be executed in a million different ways, so it’s an important part of the idea. A sketch will never give you the same feeling as a finished piece. Even a sketch is a type of execution so it can affect meaning. I mostly look at websites, but I still enjoy a good paper book.

I think it’s more than that though. It’s crafting. And some websites can still feel like craft went into them. So how you put it together, whatever medium, is important.

WS: How important is copy? Do you need to see long-copy ads? 

TR: I like seeing copy for sure. But it doesn’t have to be an ad. It can be a story or a blog or a love note. Whatever shows you love to write.

WS: What do you think of showing work that is not advertising?

TR: Yes. As long as it’s great and shows your creativity and passion.

WS: Do you have any other advice for a student or junior trying to get into the business?

TR: Become a fan of good work early on. Understand it and why you love it. Find places that are doing that type of work. And then, when you are ready to find a job, you’ll know the type of place you want to go. It will also help you understand the kind of work you want to be doing. Find inspiration in things outside of advertising so you can bring a fresh perspective to things.

Tiffany Rolfe is Partner & Chief Content Officer at Co: collective, New York.

Mini – “Counterfeit Minis”

American Legacy Foundation – “Replacement Smokers”

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In case you missed it, check out some great work from Bob Greenberg and R/GA.

BG: …Our business is no longer about a copywriter and an art director who go off to figure things out, come back with a TV spot and a print ad, and believe they’re doing what the client or consumer needs. People who come out of university now and go down the path of a traditional agency are, to me, making a huge mistake. Titles are not important, and their books are perhaps not exactly what we need, but if they’re good, then it would take between six months and a year to train them before they come up to speed.

At the end of the day, it’s not really about what we need; it’s what the consumer wants. So, I think the problem with some agencies is that they’re looking at managing the client and not really looking at what the consumer wants. Our approach is different: we look at what the consumer wants and then we get measurable results back to the client. We have some clients that are 90 percent marketing based and 10 percent digital platform, and certain clients who are just the opposite: 10 percent marketing and 90 percent systematic applications and platforms. It shifts. We’re probably almost a flip of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, where that agency might be, on one account, 30 percent platform and 70 percent marketing.

WS: What do you mean by “platform”?

BG: Platform would be like a Nike+, Nokia viNe, HP.com, or something like that. It’s systematic, digital applications for websites, digital marketing, and advertising, or it could be an application that ties into community—that kind of thing. On the other side of that, it may be very campaign led and marketing focused. We don’t advertise it, but we’re taking a lot of the budget from the traditional agencies. I was asked recently to judge television commercials for an organization, and I said I didn’t think I should be the person to do that because I don’t really believe in them. But we have done 4,000 commercials here, so it’s not like we or I don’t understand them. I’m very much for storytelling, which we do a lot of, and we have many people from traditional agencies—probably 100—who could be an agency on their own. I get very passionate about what we should be developing in terms of university curriculum so that graduates can actually get a job, not just at an agency like R/GA but at a company or traditional agency that has to make the transition. I don’t see the business being the same a few years from now.

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Before we get to Bob Greenberg’s interview, check out some great work from his agency, R/GA.

Nike Plus

Ad Council – That’s Not Cool

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If you missed it, take a look at some great TV spots from Jose Mollá and La Comunidad.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

JM: First of all, students have to keep in mind that the main thing creative directors don’t have is time. To me a book should show where your standard and criteria is. I don’t care about quantity that much. I’d rather see seven or eight ads that are really good than 20 that are okay, because with your portfolio you are saying, “Okay, this is what I think is really good.” Of course it’s great if you have 20 great ads but I think it’s also good to leave someone wanting to see more.

The first page of the book makes a big statement, and it can change the way you see the rest of the book so it should be really strong. The end is also important because it will drive the desire to want to know more about you and your work. So, choose your best ads for the beginning and the end, but make sure what’s in between doesn’t kill the thrill.

It’s also important to try and show good ideas on different platforms. Something that worked for me when I was starting out was to describe TV ideas, for example, with just brief paragraphs, telling the core of the story, using as few words as possible. Keep your audience in mind—you are talking to people who are accustomed to imagining things, that’s what they do for a living. Never ever have long scripts; believe me, nobody will ever read them. Make sure you have a healthy mix of print, out of home, TV, interactive, some guerrilla, even some radio is nice, only if it’s good, though. But don’t overdo it. Less is more.

WS: Do you think it’s important to have TV in a student book?

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