Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Sir John Hegarty

TAXI >>Hello John. You’ve loved the idea of architecture and related it to advertising in the sense of its impact on human lives. However, while a good building can give shelter, isn’t advertising more about emotional and intellectual engagement, and therefore, not essential for survival purposes? Sir John Hegarty>>Anything that enhances people’s lives is of value. I’m not here to judge whether advertising is more valuable than architecture. I’m here to create work that I am proud of that adds to human wellbeing. A smile can make someone’s day, just as a building can make you happy. TAXI >>Levis’ “Black Sheep” campaign gave BBH its black sheep logo. Do you feel people see this as being definitive of BBH’s best work and subsequently don’t you get tired of having an icon that is such a cliché?

Sir John Hegarty>>A cliché is only a cliché if expressed in a cliché way. Or, ask a clichéd question and you get a clichéd answer.

TAXI >>How important is demographic research on a campaign, and do you think that clients today realize its value or lack thereof?

Sir John Hegarty>>All research has a value. However the most important aspect of research is how to evaluate it. I think we also have to realise there’s a difference between consumer knowledge and consumer understanding. I personally seek consumer knowledge. But to assume you have consumer understanding is I think arrogance. Of course clients want to believe you have consumer understanding. But the reality is you don’t. Just because a client wants to believe in something doesn’t make it real. And of course agencies are very good at agreeing with clients wishes even if they are impossible.

TAXI >>What is the hardest thing to accept about a client not wanting to go with your idea?

Sir John Hegarty>>It’s easy, just have another idea. And make it better than the last one.

TAXI >>“It’s what you do tomorrow that counts” – what is the one thing that you see that never fails to impress you?

Sir John Hegarty>>It’s not what you do tomorrow that counts. It’s what you do now. People say to me, ‘do I have a 5 year plan’. I say ‘no, I have a 5 minute plan’. Honesty always impresses me.

TAXI >>One of the biggest assets is to have a creative and inquiring mind – is this the main reason why the advertising industry has such a high turnover rate – people turning gray eventually? How does one stay on top of the game? Sheer optimism? Or is going downhill merely inevitable?

Sir John Hegarty>>I think we have a high rate of turnover because this is probably the most creatively demanding industry you can be in. Your only as good as your next idea and that idea has to be completely different from the last one. Mick Jagger can go around the world singing ‘Satisfaction’ to endless applause. He wrote it with Keith Richards in 1968. Also our failures are very public. So to stay fresh in this business you need a constantly inquiring mind and never suffer from a fear of failure.

TAXI >>Some creative people change the world through optimism, others engage people through pessimism – what is the one trait or similarity that binds them all? Connectivity of the human condition? If you had to sell ice to an Eskimo, how would you do it?

Sir John Hegarty>>Advertising is in the optimism business. If you don’t believe in that, get out of it. How would I sell ice to an Eskimo. I wouldn’t. Always push on open doors.

TAXI >>“Just pass it on” – what is the one thing you hope to pass on in the world to anyone who might be listening?

Sir John Hegarty>>There’s nothing more interesting than the truth.

TAXI >>What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?

Sir John Hegarty>> Ideas. Remember, it’s idea’s that change the world not the letter spacing in a typeface.


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Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Tony Granger

TAXI >>Hello Tony. You made quite a dramatic entry into the advertising industry armed with little formal experience but a strong and definite vision of what a good ad should be like. What do you feel is most lacking in the education of young creatives today, and what could be done to address it? Tony Granger>>Let me tell you about what’s great first. Creatives coming out of colleges understand how to crack a problem, how to take a brief and create content around it. They also understand that it’s not just about television and print anymore, it’s about everything else too. On the down side, I’m sometimes seeing a lack of attention to craft. Fewer art directors really understand about typography, cinematography, and coloration. Fewer writers can actually write or understand the discipline of crafting copy. Craft can sometimes be the difference between a gong or a finalist. It’s important.

TAXI >>“Commercials have to go from being intrusive and aggressive to inviting and tantalizing and connective” – looking at the award-winning work of today, what makes a successful ad?

Tony Granger>>The best work is rooted in a very singular strategy and touches its audience.

The amazing thing about our industry is that we always find a fresh way of delivering a message — even when all you have is a sale. 20% off. Rush in while stocks last. (Can you imagine how many of these kinds of briefs have hit the desks of creatives?)

You have to treat every brief as an opportunity. And if you have that attitude, chances are that you’ll do something surprising and delightful. And chances are you may come up with work that makes your peers wish they had come up with. And chances are that the audience out there will notice it and buy more of your client’s product. And, at the end of the day, that is what it’s all about, really.

TAXI >>Having spent your time in the industry, how do you continue maintaining a “childlike enthusiasm” towards the work that you do?

Tony Granger>>Turmoil forces change, and change is good. It forces us to stretch, to think differently and to experiment.

A certain amount of nervous energy is a good thing too, you should never feel soft and comfortable. I’ve always looked for restless, ambitious, energetic people that explode with energy. It’s all about that pulse that’s got to go up; you’ve got to be excited what you do.

TAXI >>Digital technology has brought advertising and creativity to new forefronts – similarly, how do you feel the rapid development of mobile technology and its usage, especially in Asia, will further change the advertiser/consumer landscape?

Tony Granger>>Mobility is a wonderful, wonderful tool. It gives us the opportunity to connect with people in so many different places on a one-on-one basis.

But, your consumers are a very discriminating audience. That’s put more focus on creativity than ever before (thankfully). And so it’s a question of creating irresistible content. The agencies that focus on creative, fresh, innovative ideas are the ones who will win for their clients. And this is true, whether you are talking about the United States or Asia.

TAXI >>As a father yourself, what would you say is the biggest challenge marketers of today face in capturing the imaginations of the next generation?

Tony Granger>>I look at my children and I’m amazed how they’re so much more astute than I was at their age. Their community is global, they are completely attuned to the environment and connected to brands.

Marketers are going to have to be completely above board and transparent. They are going to have to make products that are great, and they’re going to have to do the right thing about how and where they create them and how they treat the environment

That, with the ability of youth to multi-task and absorb ideas in such different ways and forms, creates a fantastic creative opportunity. It’s very exciting, it’s all a good thing for the planet, and it’s all great for creativity and the content we create. It’s all good.

TAXI >>What is the WORD, which you think would reside and reverberate in the design world for the next 10 years?

Tony Granger>>New.


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