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I recently read an article by Sir John Hegarty from The Business of Creativity. It’s always a good read. I recommend you follow it. The article was about the value of the ‘factory visit.’ During his time as Creative Director of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, he visited the Audi factory in Germany. As they were being led around the site, he noticed a poster on a wall with an old advertising line, ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’. It stuck with Sir John and with us all ever since. I completel

I read a post on LinkedIn recently. It was authored by a graphic designer decrying the generic nature of AI-generated brand design. He or she was not a fan, obviously, and why would you be, a two-minute prompt, doing what a designer may take days to do. The post prompted an indignant reply, “I don’t take any notice of branding. If the service is great and the price is right, that’s all that matters. Branding is irrelevant.” I must admit to a little chuckle. The responder rem

At the time of writing, America and Israel are at war with Iran. The Strait of Hormuz is blocked, and oil prices are soaring. Here, at home, the cost of living is soaring along with it. One valuable commodity that is not affected by conflict is that beautiful, exciting thing we call the ‘idea’. Ideas are FREE, no AI required! In my creative journey, I have always held the idea in great esteem. Every brief I have ever worked on in my forty-plus-year career has had an idea as i

A few years ago, when I was Creative Director at Robson Brown, we had the opportunity to pitch for the Scottish North Highlands Tourist Board Account. My Agency was based in Newcastle upon Tyne. The other agencies on the pitch list were from Glasgow and Edinburgh. Edinburgh, in particular, had some very good agencies at that time. It would be an uphill task, literally. Client Services Director Brian Adcock and I would have to fly from Newcastle to Aberdeen, then fly on to Wic

Sting, Wallsend lad and global superstar, agreed to be in a TV ad I was directing on behalf of NE1. As the purpose was to promote business in Newcastle, he was happy to oblige. The ad featuring him was one of a series we made, featuring a cross-section of the community: male, female, young, old, black, white, everyday ordinary folk… and a global superstar. Now, for this tale to be at all amusing, you need to know that although I have had a forty-plus-year career as a Creative

It’s true, let me illuminate you. Recently, of course, Newcastle-based Drummond Central has made massive strides forward for the brand. However, my story goes back about 30 years. I was Creative Director of Robson Brown Advertising at the time. I’m not sure who came up with the idea. It may have been Keith Morris, our chief media Guru. We handled Greggs of Gosforth at the time. The idea was to visit Greggs in Rutherglen, Scotland, and propose combining media spend to get mor

Many years ago, I read David Ogilvy's book, Ogilvy on Advertising. It was jam-packed with many a tip and piece of sage advice for any young creative in the advertising industry. The man in the Hathaway shirt ad was a great example of a strong visual to aid memory and powerful storytelling to draw readers in and engage with the brand. The man in the Ad had an eye patch. There was no apparent reason for this, but it did raise the question of why. And how? How did he get the inj