IDEAS FROM THE BOWERY

The first time I ever saw a creative department I was 22. I walked out onto the creative floor of TBWA in 2000. An agency so hot you could fry an egg on it. There were no skateboards. No graffiti. Nobody rode a motorbike out of an elevator. (Actually, that might’ve happened). The place was full of people who looked like best friends, making each other laugh. How was this a profession? It just looked like mates. And more importantly, how could I get a job in a place like this? As a creative, you’re lucky if you hit one mega-hot department in your career. I’ve managed to hit a few. And now I’m lucky enough to be building one. I don’t know how technology may or may not change everything. I don’t know how we’ll keep entertaining an ever-widening gap in society. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, next week, or next year. No idea. But I know exactly where you’ll find me, sleeves rolled up, in our creative department trying to figure it out.

I took a couple of sharp left turns into agency life about 15 years ago after some great years in hotels and architecture. I love business, especially this business. The constant high wire act between principle and action never fails to fascinate. Be intentional, and get down to work immediately. Sweat every detail, and don’t waste anyone’s time or energy. Experiment, and make the deadline. Challenge the brief, and respect the brief. Trust the experienced thinkers to do their jobs, and bring up good people with maybe no experience. Be flexible, and be true to your word. Make it simple, and don’t expect it to be easy. We’re building an agency that thrives on these tensions and delivers people and brands the type of advertising that they want to engage with, because we’re committed to our talent and we’re determined to create an environment that breeds an order of work that you can’t achieve any other way.