Behind The Billboard (Dan Dawson, Hugh Todd)

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-54-emma-brooke

For episode #54 we spoke to Emma Brooke, Writer and Creative Director at Leo Burnett and originator of some of the very best OOH work in recent years for the BBC.

We started with her campaign for Peaky Blinders which featured fan art from devotees of the show. This big bucket of UGC resulted in over a dozen brilliant pieces of outdoor that stood out from your everyday air brushed advertising image thanks to their gritty hand crafted style. Whether it was Tommy, Polly or Arthur - the image always appeared fresh and unique.

The final selects ran on poster sites local to where the artist lived. So not only did they have their moment of fame, but they could go down - with their Mum if need be - and see their art writ large in the great outdoors. What’s more all the work was then exhibited in an online fan art gallery.

This was followed by a brilliant set of billboards for Killing Eve, which didn’t mention the show, or the BBC or any details other than a series of personal messages and a hashtag #CRAZY4EVE

Super brave work that caught the tone of the show exactly right. A private squabble played out across the most public platform.

We also discussed Emma’s life before BBC, her other agencies, life in NYC and most fascinating of all, how she met the love of her life on a plane.

Thanks Emma for coming on and being so open and charming with your stories. Esp that grinding billboard ;-)

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-40-graham-fink-pt2/

Is the sequel ever as good as the original? For Graham Fink Part 2, think Godfather Part 2 (but without all the killing).

More brilliant cigarette billboards. This time for Silk Cut and the iconic Shower Curtain and Birds executions.

Then Dixons….’the last place you want to go’ which started life on the radio but thankfully ended up on billboards, winning at every award show around the world.

Graham then literally gave blood for the (billboard) cause with the seminal ‘Blood’ poster (and film) for Playstation when he and Trevor Beattie formed advertising’s first ever SuperTeam at TBWA.

And then a move out of the comfort zone. All the way to Ogilvy Shanghai where Graham offered a regional Coke brief to a student who wasn’t working at O&M. Or even in the same country.

Enter Jonathan Mak who changed the face of ad history with his Coke ‘Hands’ poster - China’s first ever Cannes Grand Prix.

And we end on ELEPHant. A suitably audacious bonkers final act.

Graham, what can we say.

Epic.
Audacious.
Funny.
And just f***ing great to hear your stories.

You and your billboards did us proud.
Thanks so much again.

Secretly hoping there may be a Part 3 one day :-)

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-41-ed-morris/

Podcast 41 features one of the industry’s greatest talents - Ed Morris.

Ed has flexed his creative muscles across just about every discipline you can think of.

Art direction, writing, typography, creative direction, photography, commercials direction and most recently turning his hand to film, directing his brilliant debut movie ‘How to stop a recurring dream’.

There’s no end to his talent. He even plays the ukulele. But thankfully he can’t do the Rubik’s cube ;-)

We spent a wonderful hour hearing how these talents have helped shape his billboards, which have won at every major award show.

And every one of them is a cracker. From the beautifully judged b&w portraits for Tfl to the utterly joyful Red Stripe, the iconic Kew Gardens 96 sheet, the graphic Sta Prest and our favourite - Quality Street - which in Ed’s own words are ‘like stills from a film’.

Every campaign has utter simplicity at its heart, executed with fantastic craft.

And when Ed is the client the standard doesn’t drop - the poster for his movie is a belter - courtesy of another BtB guest Paul Belford (Episode 2).

Ed epitomises what creativity is all about. Passionate. Restless. Honest. Hard working. Collaborative. Always with a point of view. And always with a ton of energy.

Thanks for coming on Ed. We loved it. 

2021 - VISUALS: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/12/10/episode-33-bestof21pt1/

How was it for you?

At Behind the Billboard we were genuinely surprised at the quality of this year’s output. And ended up conveniently🤔

with 21 pieces from 2021 worthy of discussion in our end of year pod.

The chat went fairly deep and crisp and even, aided by some chilled beers and delicious pigs in blanket flavoured crisps (cheers Jon).

We went on a bit like you do…and ended up with a two-parter. So if you’re needing a break over the festive period, you know where to come.

For those wanting to know our process of how we get to the list…there isn’t one. Well nothing you could actively call a process. We just ask our esteemed guests and listeners what caught their eye this year when they’ve been out n about. Or merely scrolling through Instagram. And then we chuck in some of our BtB favourites too.

We have a bit of everything - special builds, murals, projections, digital and of course classic 6, 48 and 96 sheets.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It’s great to be back in the studio and chatting with the great and the good of the OOH community. Thanks again to Talon our sponsors, Jon for basically doing everything behind the scenes, Jordan for his continued good-looks and to all our brilliant guests. And most importantly thanks to you our listeners.

Have a great Christmas and stick with us in 2022 we have an amazing line-up.

Dan and Hugh talk with Michael [or Mike] Lee, Creative Director at Oatly who has presided over some of the most iconic outdoor ads our industry has seen in the last few years. Polarising the creative community and prompting complaints and legal action from the dairy lobbyists... we get behind it all. visuals:  https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/04/01/episode-29-micheal-lee/

Dan and Hugh welcome 2020 to the podcast. After the initial jokes about 2020 being a bit of a shit, we soon got into some of the amazing work 2020 supplied us under the duress of the COVID pandemic.  Follow with visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=668

Episode 4 of Behind the Billboard features Tony Davidson.

You can see all of the work on the blog post... There's a tonne of great work! https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=259

Tony is many wonderful things. Global partner at Wieden & Kennedy, 196 times ‘in-book’ at D&AD (a record) as well being its former President, Cannes Grand Prix winner, strong hugger and just a great big kid who adores ideas and making stuff.

He turned up 30 mins early and left 30 mins late, still texting thoughts and ideas on his way back to the tube. And yet it felt we’d only scratched the surface.

We went though his amazing portfolio of billboards as both CD and Art Director. For the Nike ‘St Wayne’ poster we heard how the art director covered himself in red paint to convince the client to buy the idea. We drilled into the story behind the world’s longest cross track poster with the world’s longest til receipt for the opening of a new Levi’s store. Then there was the reliable rotating VW billboard, Paul Ince and Adidas art direction, Run London, more Levi’s and the painful story of how the invincibles  ‘Arsena’ Nike ad never ran as a billboard. We finished on the recent Coke billboards, featuring a redesign of the logo for the first time in the company’s history, to incorporate a thirsty tongue.

Dan Wieden once said “If you want to be a partner at W+K you got to be some kind of saint and some kind of crazy.” We can safely say Tony is both of these and more. So much amazing work for so many brands with so much to say. A feast for our listeners’ ears. Thanks again Tony. 

You can see all of the work on the blog post... There's a tonne of great work! https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=259

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-62-peter-souter

Rarely have we had such a talented, humble and unanimously respected guest as Peter Souter. Our teaser earlier this week had an amazing response with many waxing lyrical about his creative talent and what a great person he is. So we’re hoping this episode lives up to the hype.

We talked about any and everything. And managed to fit in some OOH along the way 🤓 The story behind the shredded ‘Industrial secrets’ poster he wrote with Paul Brazier is a belter, esp when you hear the final execution didn’t actually involve a shredder.

Peter’s first ever poster is another great tale - a piece of cardboard with a hand written message he held hopefully outside the house of the great David Abbott in an effort to get a job at AMV. We won’t say anymore but it’s a pretty audacious way to apply for a job.

We also chatted Guinness - both the Extra Cold posters and Surfer - and Peter recreated the moment of Surfer inception with a scarily accurate impression of Walter Campbell, quietly offering the thought ‘Good things come to those who wait’.

Nelson Mandela, Richard Curtis, Paul Belford and a gold fish bowl, The Vicar of Dibley, screenplays, films, advice for Hugh’s debut novel…it was a tour de force.

Thank you so much again Peter.

Total pleasure. 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-85-felipe-serradourada-guimaraes

Episode #85 features Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, the recently appointed ECD at BBH. It was a real pleasure talking with Felipe, who we think is the only creative ever to go from being on placement at BBH, to being the ECD at BBH. That is some achievement, but no surprise considering his portfolio of work. During his 14 years with the Black Sheep, Felipe has been behind some incredible campaigns and yet feels like he’s only getting started.

We discussed Tesco’s and discovered the stories behind the recent ‘Bags’ campaign. We also had another chat on ‘Icons’, which was fascinating. Hearing about the craft that went into both campaigns a real lesson and reminder in how to get to great work. And making it happen.

We also covered Burger King and three fantastic campaigns - Grill Lines, National Burger Day and Bundles of Joy. Some great insights into how the work came about, especially the perseverance and passion to get Bundles of Joy made.

Then there were the Paddy Power ‘A shirt is not just for Christmas’ billboards, posted next to the grounds of various Premier League teams in suitably un-PC PaddyPower fashion. And we even had time to find out how an Alexander McQueen dress inspired the campaign for F+F Homeware.

Felipe thank you so much for being such a charming and gracious guest. We loved it and v much look forward to you coming back with more stories.

This was also the first episode in our new streamlined approach, where we get in and out within the hour. It feels more focussed that way, but apologies if any listeners miss Hugh droning on ;-)

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-53-david-masterman/

Episode #53 of the podcast features the super talented ever ebullient Dave Masterman.  

It was a great session that encompassed Dave’s incredible collection of OOH work both as creative and CD.

Many highlights: VW, Marmite, Kit Kat, Mr Kipling and esp Ben & Jerry’s - the homemade look ‘n feel still fresh today.

More up to date work included the audio mnemonic led Domin-oh-hoo-hoo campaign which works surprisingly well on murals and special builds.

We finished on ‘I Spy Maynard’s’ (Wine Gums) which is possibly the ultimate in outdoor campaigns and why we do the podcast. So good hearing the story behind this campaign that ended up subverting the Euros and Number 10 Downing Street among other events of last year.

Thanks Dave for not only being a fun and charming guest, but for your incredibly thorough preparation for this episode. We have never had a more organised session!

See you (and James McAvoy) in Waitrose in December 🤓

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-79-dan-watts

Episode #79 features the charming and super-talented Dan Watts, ECD at Pablo, London.

Hugh & Dan spent a fascinating hour hearing about Dan’s eclectic career that has seen him work at some of the industry’s finest agencies - Fallon / 4Creative / Crispin Porter / Pablo - on some amazing projects.

We discussed how to fit an entire book onto a poster. How to write great ooh … in Ghana. How to ‘Skip the cow’ for Flora in one of the best new product launches of the past few years. How to launch a record label for a chocolate brand. And the toughest of the lot, how to re-launch a Great British institution - GBBO - on ‘edgy’ C4 instead of ‘cozy’ BBC.

Thanks so much Dan for coming in and sharing your stories. And good luck with everything at Pablo.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-64-neil-dawson

Episode #64 features Neil A Dawson.

We spent a lovely couple of hours discussing his career which has featured many iconic billboards, notably the VW surprisingly ordinary prices campaign. Classic VW. Classic DDB. Every one of them a cracker with Weddings still the most awarded print ad of all time. Neil drew us a billboard live in the studio, recreating his first ever billboard for Sanyo. We also discovered what the ‘A’ stands for, if he is related to our Dan Dawson and of course Clive Pickering, Neil’s partner for many years on many amazing campaigns.

Thanks again Neil. It was a total pleasure. 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-73-nicola-wood

Podcast episode #73 features Nicola Wood, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy London, winner of many shiny prizes and someone with a liking for a farty Valentine’s Day card.

Strap in folks. This is an absolute belter of an episode.

The farty card was a good start. But the story behind the Relate campaign shot by Rankin is something we’d never heard before. And we’ve heard quite a bit in the past five years.

We don’t want to reveal too much but let’s just say Nicola’s Nan features quite prominently. And some of the conversations Nicola had to have to persuade Nan to appear naked on billboards up and down the country are quite something.

We also discussed the incredible craft that went into the British Airways ‘New York We’re back’ billboard which rightly won awards on both sides of the pond. Instead of choosing the easy AI / post production route to recreate workers sat on a girder atop a New York skyscraper, Nicola and long term partner Andy Forrest decided to do it for real. Or as ‘real’ as you can as the nation was emerging from Covid. Another brilliant story involving previous guest photographer Adam Hinton (episode #18) a real life girder and a lot of wardrobing.

We also found out how gardening and sex can help reduce STI’s in the over 65’s in another raunchy campaign for Relate ‘The Hornicultural Society’.

Cannes, flapjacks, you people voting, Maaate, Araldite Glue, Tony Cullingham, Nike … we packed a lot in.

Everything Nichola does seems to have a story, an edge, a relevance to popular culture. We may need a part two soon. Maybe with special guest Nan?!

Thank you again Nicola for coming on and lighting up the studio with your incredible stories. 

To (belatedly) welcome in the new year, we decided to go forth into The Great Outdoors and discuss plans for 2025.

We covered all sorts of stuff: the need for a new sponsor, upcoming guests, a book of the show, masterclasses, talks, merchandise and more. Let us know if you have any feelings about any of this as we always want to hear what our listeners think.

The hoody tops are amazing - high quality stitch and super warm - if there’s a desire we can deffo put in an order. More details on this to follow.

We also covered the crucially important football issues - a very short conversation - and what Dan is going to do with his new found freedom. The walk itself was amazing, taking in a beautiful golf course, a slightly creepy wood and a view across a valley where we saw where James Bond was blown up. It’ll make more sense when you listen.

Cheers all and here’s to a great 2025.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-50-david-kolbusz/

BtB in 2023.

And who better to kick off the year and podcast #50 than David Kolbusz, CCO of Orchard New York. A man of many talents and looks. And a blast of fresh air to blow away the January blues.

We actually spoke before Christmas on a crisp winters day in New York. In fact it was Thanksgiving as we recall, so we’re hugely appreciative of DK’s time on such a big day Stateside.

The sun was out and through his bedroom window we could hear birdsong from Central Park and sirens from downtown Manhattan (it’s a very big window).

And most importantly of all, we heard the dulcet tones of DK talking us through his billboards and OOH work from both sides of The Pond.

Axe, The Guardian, Equinox Gyms, Coal Drops Yard. Every one of them iconic pieces of work with fantastic stories. Including a bit of background Wiggle Jiggle from the brilliant Ocean Spray campaign.

DK thanks so much. It was a total pleasure.

Thanks for waking up with us and talking billboards in your pyjamas.

A first for the show 🤣

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-68-dan-and-hugh

Episode #68 features two titans of the industry, huge characters with oodles of charm, awards and humility. Yep, we’re talking to ourselves, finding out what’s going on in each of our worlds.

We covered the following:

Watch advertising in Geneva Airport

Three dimensional screen mapping in Barcelona and New York

The delayed launch of Hugh’s novel

The billboards at the end of our streets

News of upcoming guests including Rachel Miles and the billboards hidden within her brilliant BBC Olympics promo

Digital ads on the subway

The 280ft billboard in the Oculus NYC

Flapjacks

And of course Jeremy Allen White’s pants (which Dan spotted will soon be usurped by Idris Elba’s suit)

We do hope this isn’t the equivalent of The Fly episode from Breaking Bad. Or worse still the finale of Beef. We’re just two blokes trying our best. Normal service will resume next week.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-48-scott-silvey/

You wait for a D&AD black pencil winner for nearly 50 episodes…then two come along at once.

Shelley Smoler for The Zimbabwean last time and now Scott Silvey for Hopeline 19.

We talked about the work in depth and discovered how the campaign actually put Scott and the creative team Darren Beresford & Richard Gayton at the forefront of the pandemic, talking and listening to nurses and doctors trying to cope with Covid. A brilliant campaign that shone the spotlight on these amazing people who keep this country on its feet.

We also chatted about another recent award-winning project from Adam&EveDDB for CALM ‘The last photo’. An equally emotively charged subject from creative team Andy Clough and Richard McGrann, highlighting how ‘Suicide doesn’t always look suicidal’. The work comprised posters, press ads and most heart-breaking of all, an exhibition on the South Bank.

This campaign, like Hopeline 19, looks destined for gongs galore also. On the day we spoke it won big at Campaign BIG awards and we wouldn’t be surprised if it too got a black pencil. Obv it’s nice to get awards, but we agreed really the point of the work is to raise awareness and hopefully save lives.

And then along came Colman’s Mustard! We talked about how Scott designed a few billboards and ended up with his work appearing on the actual jars of mustard. Next time you’re in the cupboard looking at a jar of Colemans, chances are it’s got Scott's work on it.

Towards the end we discussed 1830 and NSPCC. Huge pieces of work which Scott paid a massive part. Credit also to Ant & Mike (BtB episode #12) who work with Scott on many projects and all the incredibly talented peeps at Adam&EveDDB.

Thank you again Scott for being so kind and generous with the stories behind the work. It felt quite an emotional session but a very important one.

A multi-talented humble craftsman. It was a real pleasure.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/01/07/episode-35-malcolm-venville

Podcast episode #35 features one of adland’s most brilliant and loved photographers, Malcolm Venville, who’s portfolio is bulging with great billboards.

• Nike
• Wrangler
• Silk Cut
• Levi’s
• Lynx
• VW
• Guinness

Every one of them shot through with wit and style and every one shot by the same wonderful man.

We spent an absorbing hour with Malc discussing the work that teamed him up with the the cream of British agencies.

So many great stories behind so many billboards.

We barely got to mention his other creative outlets - directing Hollywood films and TV mini series. Maybe more of that next time 🤓

Thanks again Malcolm. It was a real pleasure. 

Dan and Hugh virtually meet with Sanjiv Mistry and Jamie Mietz from McCann to talk about the XBOX Survival Billboard. Check out the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=520

Hugh and Dan talk with Dave Buonaguidi AKA @RealHackneyDave about his time in Adland and about what he's up to now... still making posters for walls... but in galleries and homes around the world!  Visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=942

Hugh and Dan chat to Rich Denney, ECD @ St Lukes London about his billboard work for Carlsberg, NSPCC, Morrisons and of course last years impressive NHS/SHN proactive concept that took the world by storm. Visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/01/28/episode-24-rich-denney/

FOLLOW WITH VISUALS: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/11/26/episode-32-mike-nicholson

We’d heard so many good things about Mike over the years and seen his work at all the award shows, but our paths had never crossed.

Until now.

The pod was the perfect opportunity for Hugh and Dan to find out more about one of adlands most talented and nicest blokes.

And he didn’t disappoint (esp in the wardrobe department, the signature Hawaiian shirt setting a bright positive mood from the get-go)

Mike’s billboards are a masterclass in how to do great ooh.

Brilliantly simple ideas distilled down to the absolute minimum (Heg would approve) art directed with craft and wit. There’s not an inch of fat on his work. This is why it’s so awarded and still looks so fresh today.

Quick example - The Tunes 6 sheet:

No headline, no endline, no website, no logo, no hashtag bollocks.

No need.

Just a plunger - made from 3 pack shots (3 packs!!! A client’s dream!)

That’s it.

The bare minimum.

Written on placement, it’s no surprise this was the work that got Mike hired at AMV.

And set a theme of simplicity and graphic brilliance that coursed through his work ever since - either with initial partner Daryl Corps or later with Paul Pateman.

As well as billboards we discussed Mike’s various ECD jobs in the UK and abroad, his teaching work at the SCA and his bedroom wallpaper, which was up there with his Hawaiian Shirts.

Thanks again Mike. Dan and Hugh loved it.

#behindthebillboard #btb #posters #billboards #ooh #outdoor #amv #tbwa #museumofchildhood #tunes #dunloptyres #theeconomist #sca #johnsmiths 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-76-brian-connolly

Episode #76 features Brian Connolly.

Brian is brilliant on many levels. His billboards are amazing, some of them very close to art. The level of purity and craft is second to none.

He is also a United fan, which is also brilliant (for Hugh at least).

And on top of all that, he’s just a really decent human being who - after many years smashing it in the UK - is now smashing it stateside in New York.

We started with Eurostar and found out how the photographer went to the Eiffel Tower and shot at slightly the wrong angle … meaning a mini re-shoot to get it exactly right. These days it would no doubt be done in a matter of seconds with AI. But there’s something gritty and real about the process back then. The rail tracks merging perfectly into the Eiffel Tower is one of the iconic OOH images of the past 30 years and rightly won all the awards going.

Brian also created the Classic FM campaign which used instruments to portray power, exhilaration, peace and more in another wonderfully minimalist campaign shot by Nadav Kander that won yet more awards and plaudits. The use of white space letting the visuals sing is a lesson to all … less is more. Or as we recently coined … even less is even more.

Army … Harrods … 18-30 … Empire City Casino, the great work continued as did the chat. The ‘bust up’ fight in the Harrods designer room another (black) eye-opening story behind the work.

Thanks again Brian for sharing your work and stories. We really enjoyed it.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/01/21/episode-36-justin-tindall/

Dead cats, sharing a flat with Damien Hirst, painting your toenails purple in Cannes…just when you thought’d you’d heard it all, along comes podcast number 36 with Justin Tindall.

Amazing stories…some of which were actually about billboards ;-)

Of course Justin is much more than dead moggys, friend of YBA’s and dodgy pedicures.

He is one of the world’s most awarded creatives and ECD’s - winning big at every show in the world during tenures at FCA!, DDB, Red Brick Road, Leo Burnett and M&C Saatchi.

This success can be put down to many things (working in a creative team with Adam Tucker for one), but his level of craft is astounding. Justin is up there with another obsessive we spoke to on episode 13, Alexander Taylor - rivalling her casting of 33 scissors for Silk Cut with his own exhaustive search for the perfect beans on toast for Harvey Nichols, shooting (with @James Day) 30 different plates for the calendar campaign. 

God and Justin are in the details.

Thanks again for coming mate. It was brilliant to see you again looking so fresh and ready for all that 2022 has in store for your exciting new agency @Platform.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-57-alex-abrantes/

Ever seen a billboard used as a music stage? Or a vodka ad invade a beer ad? Or John McEnroe of today play John McEnroe of 1979?

Podcast #57 features Alex Abrantes, who epitomises the belief that if you can think it, you can do it. And if you surround yourself with the right people even the most audacious ideas are possible.

We could have dedicated the entire show to the McEnroe vs McEnroe campaign alone:

• The first ever Real vs Virtual Tennis Match.
• 6 pieces of tech combined for the first time:
• Motion capture, A.I. Learning, UNREAL ENGINE, a High-Resolution Mist + Industrial Robots…all on a custom-built Tennis Court.
• 52 countries
• $20m earned media
• 3bn impressions.

Alex seems to revel in ‘never seen before moments’ which we previously talked about with Graham Fink on episodes #39 and #40.  Seemingly impossible stunts or uses of the outdoor never attempted before. And yet when it’s done - the latest for Budweiser using a billboard as a music stage for female artists snubbed by the Brits - it seems completely effortless, as if it was always going to happen.

We spent just over an hour hearing how he and his amazing team - including writer Chloe Bayhack - bring these ideas to life.

Thanks again Alex for your time and work. It was a pleasure having you on the show. 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-72-rachel-miles

Episode #72 features Rachel Miles, BAFTA award-winning creative and Creative Director at Meanwhile Campaign Start-up Agency of the Year 2024.

Rachel not only brought stories from behind her billboards but also some sensational pies from Great North Pie which usurped Hugh’s ‘tiny flapjacks’ as Dan calls them.

Dan and Hugh discussed many things with Rachel. We covered her six year tenure at BBC Creative where, along with creative partner Michael Tsim she created many iconic campaigns, including setting a billboard on fire for the Perfect Planet series, which made the national news and won just about every award going.

We also featured the wonderfully graphic OOH campaign for This is Our BBC. And a campaign of virtual billboards that appeared in the BAFTA winning Tokyo Olympics trail. Adam Peaty, Laura Kenny, Jason Kenny et al getting the Manga treatment.

We even squeezed in her first OOH work of note at Meanwhile for Lifeshare - a clothing charity - that ran during fashion week just before Christmas. And we had a brief chat on the special build for TravelSupermarket featuring a heavily stacked supermarket trolley. So good.

Rachel, thank you so much for coming on and being your wonderful charming talented self. We loved it (and the pies!).

Dan and Hugh talk to Publicis ECD Dave Monk, covering his creative career through BBH, Grey and Publicis including his OOH work for Lynx, Sunday Times and Tourism Ireland - See the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/11/04/episode-16-dave-monk/

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/03/04/episode-39-graham-fink-pt1/

Episode 39 features an icon of the industry, Graham Fink.

It feels a bit strange to think we got this far without talking to Graham who was D&AD’s youngest ever president and winner of China’s first ever Cannes Grand Prix.

But as you can imagine for someone who is now a multi-media artist, agent to Sophia the world’s first humanoid robot and finktank founder, his time is limited.

So we felt especially lucky to have him on to talk billboards.

And boy did we talk…so much so that we had to make it a 2 parter.

Part 1 is about his early career, how he got his first job at CDP dressing up as an old man and his iconic Benson & Hedges (B&H) billboards.

We covered wolves who refused to howl at a pack of fags, photographers who took 2 weeks to shoot an image and heard about the Fink family and what an amazingly talented bunch they are. Special mention for Dad @masterforger who like his son, is an accomplished artist…and a butler no less.

We also did ‘the yukka plant incident’ wonderfully acted out by Graham. And heard about a surreal interview with the legendary Paul Arden, which led to Graham’s tenure at Saatchi & Saatchi, where he produced the Shower Curtain Silk Cut billboard - all that to come in part 2.

Graham, it was amazing to hear the stories and feel your undying passion for great work. Thanks again for being so generous with your time.

Dan and Hugh talk with Alex Taylor about her incredible career creating some of the best billboards the UK has ever seen for Silk Cut, XXXX, The Army and Parkinsons. We also talk about life in Agency land in London and presenting to work to people like Charles Saatchi. Check out the images to support the show here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/10/14/episode-13-alex-taylor/

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-46-russell-ramsey

We’re back!

Series 4 is here and first up is Russell Ramsey, ECD of Pulse Creative and the brains behind some of the most famous OOH from the past 30 years.

Audi, Paddy Power, Toohey’s, Levi’s, Polo, Kit Kat, Kleenex, The Times - the list of clients that have benefited from Russell’s craft is long and impressive.

And yet he remains incredibly humble and hungry for more. The Times Queen’s Platinum Jubilee billboard was shortlisted at last night’s prestigious Campaign BIG awards.

Russ is man of many parts - consummate art director, CD, ECD, semi-professional gardener, professional Geordie, fashion guru “No one ever got anywhere wearing trainers Hughey” and owner of a lot of blue jumpers.

For a man who says ‘No’ a lot (but only in the pursuit of creative excellence) we were chuffed he said ‘Yes’ to coming into our billboard world for an hour or so and we revelled in his joy and passion for the great outdoors.

Thanks again Russ. You were immense.

Watch that bookshelf on the way out. 

NB: The final slide is when Russell defaced Hugh’s Man Utd book, replacing the word ‘Champions’ with the word ‘Wankers’, but in such a beautifully crafted manner Hugh didn’t notice for 2 years.

Episode 7 features Rosie Arnold.

Employee number 11 at BBH, D&AD’s first ever female president, multi award-winner, part time fencer and general lover of life, Rosie has done it all. Click this link to see the visuals and the story that goes with the episode. 

https://www.getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=320

Her favourite recent billboard campaign was this one for Budweiser:

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/05/31/budweiser-plays-up-its-music-cred-search-oriented-ooh-campaign

And her first ever Billboard was for Levi’s… Spray on Jeans

We can’t find an image of it anywhere… sorry listeners! If you find one… send it in!

We discussed the Levi’s Incredible Shrinking Man billboards. Shot by the incredible @NadavKander - https://twitter.com/NadavKander.

We heard how photographer Mary Ellen Mark, a millionairess and a colour photocopier helped create the iconic Levi’s ‘Haters’ posters.

Read more about the incredible photographer Mary Ellen Mark: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2015/may/26/mary-ellen-mark-legendary-photographs-in-pictures

Then a decade of Lynx billboard brilliance. We talked about the work for Lynx on 24hours, Masculine and Feminine, The Cerne Giant and The Lynx Effect in general.

On Lynx in particular, Rosie talks about how having good client relationships, outside of the meeting room, is conducive to creating great work. Meeting rooms can be far too high stress for the natural flow of a creative mind to affect the work. We talked about the unsung heroes of these and other campaigns that really stand out… the brave Marketing leads at the client who are prepared to get behind the work, stick their necks on the line and cut a cheque for the music/production/shoot. They believe in the work and the creative process as much as the agency.

Although we strayed away from Rosies work for a while, we talked a bit about what makes great Outdoor work. The simplicity of Outdoor is where some great creative work can happen. Rosie waxed lyrical about Cossette’s Cannes Grand Prix winning billboards for McDonalds, by friend of the show Carlos Moreno. The simplicity of this concept heroes the brand and the medium in one shot. We moved on to KFC and the amazing illustrative work from Surachai and his Thai team [who have amassed over 90 Lions by the way].

We talked about the ‘Just Add Robinsons’ campaign for Robinsons fruit drinks. This iconic work flipped the just add water message on its head and demonstrated the magic that happens in a glass of water when you add Robinsons. The ads we contextual to the summer and outdoor feeling, including one for the Wimbledon Tennis Championship that Robinsons sponsors.

And then the big move from BBH to AMV. Following a life changing few years Rosie headed off to become Head of Art at AMV. Going off to work with Alex and Adrian as ECDs… which lead us on to a proactive piece for Malteasers.

Finally, she even shared with us a bottom drawer billboard idea for Red Nose Day. Redrawing it live on air - a first for the pod - maybe it’ll become a regular feature?

Thanks Rosie for being inspiring, fascinating, fun and more. The world and our industry is a brighter place with you in it.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-71-steve-hudson

Podcast episode #71 features the super talented Steve Hudson.

Not only is Steve one of the industry’s most awarded creatives, he’s a brilliant director and also the founder of The Power of Advertising (TPOA) platform.

We covered a great deal in the hour or so together, in particular Steve’s prolific time at BBH where together with creative partner Victoria Fallon, he created iconic work for Audi, Levi’s, Polaroid, one2one, Electrolux and more.

Obv we focused on the billboards and two campaigns in particular.

For Levi’s the Original Wearers campaign shot by fashion photographer Nick Knight. A stunning campaign. Idea. Casting. Art direction. Photography. Lighting. Wardrobe. All faultless.

And for Wallis we talked about the Dressed to Kill campaign shot by another legendary snapper Bob Carlos Clark.

We heard how on a train ride to Brighton to shoot Wallis, Steve claimed advertising can be art. Bob begged to differ. Halfway through the debate Steve got a call from the V&A, telling him that one of the Levi’s posters had been accepted into the museum. You couldn’t make it up. Listen out for it. Steve tells it much better.

We also discussed Audi ‘Number One’ - one of the greatest car ads of all time - how it came to be, how it was sold to the client, and how the final line of dialogue was used by yuppie bankers as reference for cocaine.

It was a real pleasure having Steve on the show, not just to hear the stories behind his work, but to feel the passion and energy in the room and his positive outlook for the future of the industry. Thank you so much again Steve for coming on and good luck with the power of advertising, which we firmly believe in.

Dan and Hugh virtually catch up with Ben, from their respective homes, and from his home in LA. The trio talk all things creative OOH, looking at his incredible back catalogue of work. We're talking, Economist, Samaritans, Snickers and Apple as well as hearing all about Ben's amazing new ventures. Follow the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=643

In episode 2 we’re with Art Director extraordinaire Paul Belford.

Paul has worked at more agencies than most of us have had hot dinners…. and that was before he worked anywhere half decent (his words not ours!). Interestingly all of these jobs followed a degree in bio-chemistry! As ever, there are no straight routes into a career in advertising, and what an incredible career Paul has had so far.

Spanning over 30 years at agencies such as TBWA, LEAGAS DELANEY and AMVBBDO, Paul has produced award-winning work for Waterstones, the Economist, PlayStation, Le Creuset, The Guardian to name but a few.

His work is incredibly distinctive. The level of craft is second to none. His name often appears twice in credits. “Art director”. “Designer”. His name even appears on other people’s work as “Designer” he’s that good.

Many a time someone has said in a creative department. “Yeah can you give it a bit more craft. Do a Belford on it.”

We talked mostly about the story behind The Economist lightbulb Billboard. Possibly his most famous billboard and a truly iconic poster.

BILLBOARD IMAGE: http://bit.ly/economistlightbulb

A copywriter conveniently on holiday. Another billboard featuring a horde of rats that was continually rejected (and then reworked for a different client) and a savvy account man all played their part in making it happen.

We also discussed another absolute belter of a poster. PlayStation Dot-screen which again has a great back story.

BILLBOARD IMAGE: http://bit.ly/playstationdots

Paul is a rare breed of passion, craft and uncompromising creativity rarely seen these days.

Thanks again Paul. And hope everyone enjoys it.

Oh and here's the Rat idea reworked for Reed....
http://bit.ly/ratsforreed

In our first episode we speak to John Patroulis, Global Chief Creative Officer of Grey.

We discuss the billboards that John has been passionate about, from his first to his most awarded and personally rewarding.

Before joining Grey, John spent six years at BBH New York, rising to become the first-ever Creative Chairman in 2015. Under his leadership, BBH New York featured in Advertising Age's Creativity A-List and John was named in the Adweek 50. With integrated campaigns for Playstation, Axe, Google and Cole Haan, BBH New York became one of the most awarded agencies in the city, winning multiple Lions across Film, Cyber, and Integrated categories, as well as scooping the Integrated Grand Prix for Netflix "House of Cards."

Earlier in his career, John helped co-found both McCann Worldgroup's agencytwofifteen and T.A.G. in San Francisco. There he helped globally lead the Xbox Halo 3 "Believe" campaign, which became the most creatively awarded campaign of the decade, winning multiple Lions and two Grand Prix and at the time became the biggest launch in entertainment history - thanks to its innovative approach to integrated storytelling.

A globally recognised creative innovator and leader, John was named Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Grey in August 2017. In 2019 he was Cannes Lions Jury President for Outdoor Lions where he presided over an international jury focussed on the best-in-class outdoor advertising from the previous year.

John travelled to London in December 2019 and found time to sit down with Hugh and Dan to chat about his favourite billboard work.

John was super charming, smart, funny, witty, polite, handsome…all things Dan and Hugh desperately aspire to.

He talked about his first billboard campaign for Continental Airlines, often spotting his work in the Manhattan night sky on the way home after working late, giving him the confidence he was doing the right thing, a crucial moment in any creative’s career.

A few years later the billboard campaign that properly made him famous came from a fairly humbling story. After surviving skin cancer, he was determined to warn others of the perils of the sun. By using a clever printing technique, he created an incredibly impactful campaign for SkinCancer.org, reminding people to wear sunblock on the beach.

Finally we talked about the multi-award winning campaign for Halo, the most successful gaming launch ever, which featured numerous ground-breaking ideas, including fake outdoor statues and plaques commemorating the fallen players and characters from the game.

John was also was the voiceover for the Halo case study videos, which made us realise there isn’t much he can’t do.

Thanks John for getting us up and running!

We hope you all enjoy episode 1.

Read more about it at: www.getbehindthebillboard.com

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-75-phil-and-graham

Episode #75 features Phil Cockrell & Graham Storey.

Humble, funny, gracious and massively talented, Phil & Graham have quietly created some of the most iconic billboards of the past 30 years.

In that time they have won most major awards including 4 Cannes Golds, 5 BTA arrows, 7 Campaign Poster awards and 26 D&AD in book entries.

It seems a bit of a crime that we haven’t had them on the show before. But due to various circumstances / holidays / other guests taking their slot, we’ve only just got them on.

It’s worth listening for the Nike work alone. Phil flying to the south of France to meet Eric Cantona as ‘research’ for the redemption poster is a classic ‘someone’s got to do it’ story. But it was nothing compared to how the team met Peter Hull the Paralympian who’d run the marathon and became the inspiration behind one of Nike’s greatest posters ever.

Then there was Yellow pages, Toblerone, Virgin Atlantic, The Times and more.

Every campaign oozing simplicity, craft and class.

Thanks gents for coming on and sharing your incredible history. Long may it continue.

Recorded just before Christmas, Dan and Hugh talk to Group Strategy Director from Talon Outdoor, Ninja and by far the smartest person in the room Sophie Pemberton. Sophie takes us through her role, and some highlights working Behind the Billboard on campaigns for Google, Virgin and even on a crazy blimp for TSB. 

Follow the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=709

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-86-jeremy-craigen-part-1

Episode #86 features legendary creative, CD, ECD, CCO, bonvivier and lover of life, Jeremy Craigen.

It’s hard to know where to start with Jeremy’s incredible body of work, which has won every gong going for just about every client going.

So we took a corporate decision and split him in two. Ooeerr.

Part one is all about Optrex, Marmite, Budweiser, The Labour Party, The Financial Times and Harvey Nichols.

Iconic work with brilliant stories told by the man himself. Hear how Jeremy’s chest hair inspired a marmite billboard. How the Optrex brief was cracked in the blink of an eye 🤓 And how the original Love / Hate Marmite line came to be. And much more.

Jeremy is a complete one-off. Charming, talented, passionate, honest, generous and ultimately someone who always strives for great work … all with a cheeky glint in his eye. We like that.

His only drawback is an apparent hatred of flapjacks. No one’s perfect right?!

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did. And there’ll be more Craigen very soon. He’ll be back in a couple of weeks for part two, the VW special, which promises to be another cracker.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-47-shelley-smoler/

Our first South African.

Our first D&AD black pencil winner.

Our first guest with a sparkly (possibility pitch winning) top.

Shelly Smoler, thank you so much for taking the Behind the Billboard podcast to new heights.

The Zimbabwean campaign is one of the most famous in history and one we’ve been longing to discuss. Such was the parlous state of the Zimbabwean economy back in 2009, money was literally not worth the paper it was printed on, with people paying for goods with barrow loads of notes. From this crisis came the idea of billboards made entirely from bank notes. The campaign was lauded and awarded around the globe and is now part of the permanent collection at the British Museum and the Design Museum. Listen to how one of the most famous campaigns of all time came to be. And how it lead to Shelley nearly being banned from the country for her efforts. It’s an amazing story.

And an approach that has permeated Shelley’s work ever since. Be it for Vestiaire Collective or Amazon Prime Video or Diet Coke, her work has a cool, effortless, subversive nature, always going beyond the conventional.

Thanks so much for coming on Shelley. Fingers crossed for the pitch.

(Thanks also to the ex-BBH crew Bill Scott, and in particular, the legend that is Peter Wardle, who helped make this episode happen)

Mark joined us in his finery of a Denton branded tracksuit, peaky blinder cap complete with bobble on top and of course trainers and sunnies. What more could we have expected from one of the most incredible London ad men over the last 40 years. Although don’t call him an ad man… he makes films…. “Please send your scripts to www.thomasthomasfilms.co.uk”.

Please visit https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=340 for the images to follow along.

Mark joined us with gifts [others take note, we like gifts], we talked briefly about his book the Power of Purelity. You can buy it here, and Mark will chuck in some free gifts… www.coy-com.com/shop
 

Mark reckons there’s a revival going on in Outdoor, some great work sitting proudly from the rest… Mark credits Nils Leonards Uncommon for their work on Habito, Droga5 for Coal Drops Yard, and Atomic for their work on the Royal Opera House posters:

Marks first billboard was for Milk Tray, something he concepted up with the late and great Norman Icke [who came up with the original idea for the milk tray man] while Mark was ‘just a visualiser’ at Leo Burnett. Within weeks Mark was hanging out in New York ready to shoot on top of the JCPenney building.

Mark met his long term creative partners Chris Palmer on set for a TV shoot, a set he shouldn’t have been on! The shoot was for Cadbury’s creme egg, and he’d slipped one of his ideas in with the creative teams one. On a sound stage at Pinewood he bumped into Chris, and he got Mark into BBH within months. Mark recalls John Hegarty hating half of his book in the interview…. But Chris helped nudge John in the right direction.
 

4 1/2 years later… Mark and Chris left to setup Simons Palmer Denton Clemmow Johnson where they worked on Nike among others. We talked about all of the poster work they did…. Originally they were engaged only for Soccer… but soon worked on Rugby, basketball, running, Olympics and many many others.

Of all of them, Mark picked out the Ian Wright football poster. ‘Behind every great goalkeeper there’s a ball from Ian Wright’.

We talked about Advantage Sampras, Charles Barkley and the Marathon no U turns. With the latter 2 styled graphically on political propaganda posters.
 

We moved on to Wrangler, and a lesson to all you creatives out there. If you believe in your concepts keep pushing as hard as you can. If you can invest in your idea and to help sell the concept to your client it might help get great work away.

Then onto another important lesson. Paying your suppliers back for the proactive work you get them working on. Having Malcom shoot the test work, led to more work for the agency and therefore more for Malcom. 
 

Asda we spent a bit of time talking about a favourite execution for Free Range Eggs, featuring a model made chicken on a motorbike, escaping the chicken farm in the style of The Great Escape. The humour is there on all of the executions.

Heineken too had that humour running through it.

Top Tip: Don’t leave it on a Piece a paper. Mark gave us the example of his Samson Batteries, which he’d visualised up as a poster. He managed to turn that poster into 3 TV commercials!

Favourite Billboard of all time. BEANS MEANS HEINZ. Bring back the slogan!

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-61-shish-patel

Podcast episode #61 features one of the industry’s good guys, Shish Patel. Talented, funny, charming, thoughtful and extremely humble, it was a great hour with Shish, who regaled us with brilliant stories behind brilliant billboards.

The baby in the marmite poster is a cracker. A story that involved another DDB creative Pete Hayes and a photo of his child never intended for a Marmite billboard, but ended up being the actual shot in the ad.

There’s also the Comfort poster that appeared outside Shish’s parents shop which helped them finally understand what it was that he did for a living.

There’s more Marmite involving The Love Party and The Hate Party. Iconic work for FT. And the ‘Night drive’ campaign for VW where we discussed the entire campaign - TV print billboards - which was a seminal moment in the VW oeuvre.

Shish thanks so much for coming on and talking art and commerce in equal measure. And sampling Hugh’s madierra cake.

So the question on everybody’s lips this Friday…what will be the number 1 billboard of 2021?

Last week the pod counted down from 21 to 11. Now we’re in with the big guns. Who’s your money on?

Marmite? Everyone seems to love (not hate!) their exploding special builds from earlier this year. Or McDonalds Delivery - classic adshels - a campaign of beauty and simplicity.

How about BBC Creative and the billboard they set on fire for The Perfect Planet season? Or maybe switch channels to C4 and see that enormous special build cake sweep the board.

Tune in, find out and hear us get a little giddy on Guinness. Thanks again for following, liking and commenting - we love doing this and esp when we hear from you our listeners.

2022 is going to be epic!

https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/12/17/episode-34-best-of-2021-part-2/

This week we welcome the incredible talent that is Martha Riley to the show. Martha has forged her career at some awesome agencies working on some incredible brands. Her stand out billboards however have all seem to come for the Airline industry.

Don't forget to head to https://www.getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=307 for the supporting artwork.

Once Hugh got all the airline gags away in the safety announcement, we managed to get behind why Martha loves the Outdoor medium, and what makes it first class [I can’t help myself now].

She took us on a trip [sorry] down memory lane with some fine examples of Outdoor work from her early days while on  placement at Saatchi’s for the BA client. It happened to be her first billboard campaign too which was a great take off point [OK I’m stopping now]. Martha told us the story of a young account manager Carrie Hindmarsh taking the risk of presenting it to the client. Without the bravery of a fantastic account person, this billboard would not have seen the light of day.

We moved on to Martha’s work on Virgin Atlantic while she was freelancing at Rainey Kelly. This is where we she worked up one of her most famous ads that actually trolled BA one of her first clients…. Famous because she very nearly got the word Shite into an ad.

We then talked about another awesome poster for Virgin around their new Caribbean routes. Amazingly well crafted in terms of art direction and typography.

We then talked about a great campaign featuring Dumbo and a Moose. Martha talked very passionately about the late Nancy Fouts, model maker and artist who had an awesome irreverent sense of humour and all round genius. You should read her obituary here: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/04/nancy-fouts-obituary

We chatted briefly about some other 18-30, Silk Cut and others.

After taking some time out to have a family, Martha found her route back into advertising came from an unlikely source.

Her son was set some homework to design a poster for London 2012… The creative director inside was itching to get involved and worked on her own!

Getting back to her professional life we talked about Martha’s work at BBH for Dulux and Guardian among others. Then on to Ogilvy where Martha again knocked some amazing work out of the park… going full circle we end on an incredibly topical ad for British Airways around the World Cup.

We had such a great chat with Martha, and we could have spoken for hours… but she had to go and get her visa as she’s off on a new adventure to Silicon Valley!

Dan and Hugh meet with founder of Uncommon London Nils Leonard, covering Outdoor work for Volvo, Tate, Habito, Brewdog and the 2020 Outdoor hall of fame campaign for B&Q.  Follow the visuals here:  https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=820

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-60-specsavers-part-1

Podcast #60 is part 1 of our Specsavers Special, featuring the brilliant outdoor campaign from creative team Jon Morgan & Bertie Rapkin.

We explore the background to the work, how the craft played a huge part in making these such a success (kudos to GSA and Lee Bofkin from episode #59) and we hear about the (equally brilliant) executions that never made it. The busker covered in billboard paper a true delight. Please get it to run!

There’s also a very funny story involving Leeds Art University and one of the posters going up opposite the college shortly after a Specsavers brief.

Jon & Bertie thanks so much. It was a real pleasure hearing how you work. As were the pints after. Maybe that’s a new feature for the show 🤓

Look out for part 2 later in the year when we will be talking to Graham Daldry  - the man behind the original line ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’, and current Specsavers ECD Richard James, who is doing an amazing job continuing the legacy. 

Dan and Hugh talk with Copywriter extraordinaire Sue Higgs, going through her amazing body of billboards and posters for Vauxhall, Smirnoff, Regal and BA... among many others. Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/03/26/episode-28-sue-higgs/

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-80-mary-wear

Episode #80 features copywriter extraordinaire Mary Wear.

Mary wrote possibly the most important endline in the history of advertising: ‘Make Poverty History’ for Comic Relief in 2004 … a line and movement that involved Richard Curtis, World Leaders and saving lives. The line was everywhere - posters, bus sides, advans, on underpants, on Bono’s arm, on the side of St Paul’s Cathedral and the coup de grâce, on a lectern in front of Nelson Mandela, who was chanting the words ‘Make Poverty History’ to thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square.

That is more than most people’s entire careers and would easily have been enough to fill the episode. The way Mary tells the story of how the line came about is wonderfully humble, involving a planner and a rather talented chap called Peter Souter.

But Mary is no one-trick pony. Her locker is full of great work.

Starving a parking meter for TfL was a lesson in never giving up, even when the model maker had ruined the idea. What could have been a catastrophe turned into a seminal award-winning piece of work.

Then there was seemingly endless more award winning work for The Economist, the Famous Grouse (a double, a small one, a quick one, a large one - they all went down well) plus an Anti-Smoking like never before. Her partnership with Damon Collins at GGT, Saatchi’s and AMV was brilliant and prolific.

We even had time for some Russian Vodka and flapjacks ;-)

Thank you Mary for coming on and sharing some of the industry’s greatest OOH work. It was a real privilege.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-59-lee-bofkin/

Murals special with Lee Bofkin

If you’ve seen an amazing mural lately, there’s a pretty good chance Lee Bofkin was involved. Lee is Co Founder and CEO at Global Street Art who are the go-to agency for creating big messages on big walls.

Peaky Blinders, Valentino, Oatly,
Invesco, Beats, FIFA, VW, Baileys, Glenfiddich and many others have had their moment on bricks and mortar thanks to Lee and his crew at GSA.

We spoke with Lee about murals. Their history. Their resurgence. The way they’re now interacting with the digital landscape. Why they’re different from any other piece of OOH. And much more, including a fascinating chat about ‘pouncing’, a technique used by Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel and still in use today. We enjoyed Lee’s infectious energy and incredible knowledge of the Street Art scene. And also his wonderful orange glasses. Thanks so much for coming on Lee. It was an education and a pleasure.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-63-guy-murphy

Episode #63 features our first ever planner, which seems a bit overdue considering the best planners are often the best creatives and vice versa. And we’ve haven’t got just any old planner, but one who’s been round the block with tread to spare. Guy Murphy many things: award-winning strategist, big creative thinker, agency leader, but also someone who just loves ideas and the chat about strat and tech and how they’re all joined up. Plus he’s a footy fan. All of which makes him perfect for the pod.

Guy started his career at the home of planning BMP, before moving to BBH for a successful 16 year tenure where he first met and worked with Hugh. Guy rose through the ranks to become Deputy Chairman, before heading off to Knightsbridge and the global reach of JWT. But he couldn’t shake Hugh, whom he worked with again on the Baileys pitch, winning with a strategy of lusciousness and a campaign of a thousand lips shot by @rankinarchive @rankincreative (BtB episode #17)

One of Guy’s BBH high points was for Levi’s Japan, ‘The original jeans for original people’ featuring the world’s largest photocopier - so big you could lay down on it - shipped in from Korea for the shoot. A great idea that could work on any platform, but especially well for billboards. We also discussed the Audi design / jewellery campaign which was a huge change in strategy, but still resulted in award winning iconic work.

We ended with Dan and Guy having a spod-off, debating AI and the future of OOH and Guy’s current position as Co-Founder of AdTech start-up OSSA. (OSSA is a self-service advertising platform using GenAI to help small business do digital advertising)

Thanks so much Guy for coming on. It was a a real pleasure getting behind the strategy behind the billboard 🤓

We’re back. Behind the Billboard is back.

Amazing guests are back

Hugh’s heavy breathing

Dan’s crap jokes

Jon’s off-mic eye rolls.

Overly long social posts.…they’re all back.

And we’re starting Series 3 where we left off…with Tiger Savage, talking us through her time at Leagas Delaney and M&C Saatchi. Full disclosure we recorded this earlier in the year but we've held it back to launch series 3!

Hear the stories behind billboard brilliance for Adidas, Vogue.com, Becks, British Airways and more. Tiger is right up there when it comes to iconic famous billboard work and it was a total pleasure having her on the show - twice ;-)

Hope you enjoy it and stay with us - we’ve got some amazing guests coming up.

IMAGES: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/11/12/episode-31-tiger-savage-part-2/

Cheers!

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-87-jeremy-craigen-part-2

He’s back! Jeremy Craigen returns for episode #87, talking all things VW.

Jeremy worked on the brand as a creative / CD / ECD and Global CCO for over 20 years, winning endless awards with iconic campaigns for every model in the range, even getting a free appearance on Top Gear (estimated viewing audience 90million).

How did it feel to be the creative lead on such a prestigious account? Who were his inspirations? What is the essence of VW? And did he play as hard as he worked?

Jeremy tells all and more.

We found out how two creative teams independently came up with same Polo Cops idea. And how, for the same brief, King Kong was also in the mix and the client was persuaded to run it a year later.

The Polo Ice Car was another fascinating story … a press ad that became national news, involving a life sized car carved from 9.5 tonnes of ice. We also discussed the Surprisingly Ordinary Prices Wedding execution, which is still the most awarded print ad ever (facts by Neil Dawson).

Then there was Swear Box, Ele-pump, Cabriolet, Dr Who x3, Nightdrive and more. A phenomenal body of work. Thank you again Jeremy. It was an education. Apologies we didn’t have any booze, schoolboy error. Next time promise 🍷

We’ll close with a quote from Jonathan Hill, Former U.K. and European Business Director Volkswagen:

"Jeremy is the best ECD I have worked with for spotting a good idea. It might just be the one line in a pile of 100 scripts but he will spot it every time. And there is no one better at turning a good idea into a great idea."

Amen to that.

Beady eyed followers will know we’ve already posted about our #CopySafari with Vikki Ross.

But today we’re pleased to say the podcast episode is available.

During the trek through the wilds of Shoreditch, there were a few technical problems which slowed down the editing process - we think the issue was extreme humidity in Dan’s trouser pocket.

But thankfully the recording has been rescued by intrepid IT pioneer Mr Jon Jones, who has not only salvaged the audio file, but edited it into a fully fledged episode.

And it’s quite a detour from our regular studio recording - proper front line stuff - real billboards in the real world with real punters walking past, occasionally glancing up and taking in the hard work of the creatives responsible.

Some campaigns really stuck out - Minor Figures is brilliant on many levels - ditto Spiritualised - and some cool shit from Calvin Klein x Palace.

‘Bring on the sun’ from Ace & Tate was perfectly timed and a neat follow on from the previous teaser campaign of people squinting their eyes in readiness for summer.  Most apt as the sun warmed us.

Thanks again Vikki. A great experience. Essential for both creatives and clients alike to appreciate what it’s like out there.

Next stop The Wild West End?

Episode 9 of Behind the Billboard features the enormously talented Ana Balarin ECD of Mother tells us about her (and husband Hermeti’s) OOH work - from the #freethefeed breast to a life-sized toy boat for IKEA and even a few traditional billboards for KFC. Thank you Ana for sharing some of the best Behind the Billboard stories we’ve ever heard.

Follow along the audio with visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/anabalarin/

We toyed with the idea of renaming this episode ‘Beyond the Billboard’ given Anas passion for breaking out of the traditional in terms of Outdoor campaign… But then we saw the KFC campaign. Outdoor creative at its finest!
 

We talked about the KFC campaign [which had landed just that week]. A pure and simple Billboard campaign fearing just 2 words, and NO LOGO. The photographic lead campaign was shot by Sam Wright simply has their casted models lost in a moment of Finger Lickin’ goodness. Sandwiched either side of the photo, the words It’s Good.
 

Ana told us that they went through a tremendous amount of casting to find the right models, that finding that right moment of someone licking their fingers is a difficult one. But the outcome looks incredible.

One of her favourite Outdoor campaigns of the last year was the Mural for Derry Girls, by 4 Creative for the hit Channel 4 show. As much about the placement location as much as the creative and craft.

Ana also cited Spotify for ‘Listen How You Used to” from Who Wot Why.

We talked about the ‘State of Outdoor’ and gather Anas opinion on the medium in general. Ana believes we’ve broken free from the billboard and that Outdoor gives us license to to whatever you want [provided you get the permission!]. Outdoor can create experiences, that become collective experiences, unlike other mediums. Ana also talked about Outdoor campaigns being hyper-local and hyper-visual… you can’t hide from it… we’ve put something out that EVERYONE can see and experience.

Ana’s first billboard campaign was for Yellow Pages. The poster was actually for Yell.com, which is what yellow pages became. The campaign was a photograph of an installation where Ana had built a map of UK using the phone books.

Ana went on to tell us all about ‘The Boob’ - or Free the Feed as it’s officially known. It began life as a ‘Mother Project’ - a project the agency get behind each year due for launch around mothers day. The insight around this concept came from some incredible stats around how new mums feel when feeding in public. But the original boobs they intended to put out as part of the launch, got stuck in customs on their long journey from India. Ana recalled a producer eagerly awaiting the arrival of the boob at Heathrow.
 

While it was well received and highly rewarding, the best outcome from the concept was the viral uptake of the hashtag #freethefeed. The concept did its job with the campaign going viral and empowering women all over the world. Part 2 for this concept was with Elvie - the  breast pump company. This time there was 5 boobs across London… the biggest one being 6 metres in diameter.
 

PS - A little known fact was that the boob was going to lactate… but the weather curtailed that!
 

From boobs to Beer… and Becks. The Green Box project. This is a lesser known project in the mainstream really, but it’s incredibly creative use of the outdoor medium. Anas brief was to bring Becks passion for the arts to life in the OOH space, and the response was to create a global interconnected gallery using the green box as an entry point to geo specific augmented reality artworks, from various famous artists. An amazing feat technically at a time when AR was the bleeding edge of technology.

Finally from German Beer to Swedish Furniture, and the launch of the most sustainable store in Greenwich, London. The idea stemmed from another launch for Ikea in Sheffield that Ana and her team worked on. That work became the new standard for store launches. One of the hero pieces was an Ikea toy boat, that was rebuilt life-size that cleaned the river and canal around the Greenwich store. The plastic it collected was taken to the store and recycled.
 

Another element was Ikea wild homes in the Greenwich area for insects, bats and small mammals all upcycled from Ikea furniture.

The final element, a more classic outdoor campaign was a location specific steps to each store. Someone did go to each location and measure the steps from each poster to the store!

Anas favourite billboard campaign of all time is the Economist ads. Classic, simple and minimalism. It’s all rewarding. Viewers make the connection between the creative and the brand. And another is a tube card panel for Guardian called ‘influencer’ featuring a woman reading the guardian on the train next to a child looking at her.

Anas top tip… what is ‘the insight’ behind your concept? Find your insight, hone your creative concept.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-69-paul-brazier

Episode #69 features Paul Brazier and his brilliant billboards. The Economist, Guinness, Think!, Aer Lingus, Wrangler, Museum of Childhood, Walkers, Cancer Research…every one of them a banger. Paul has created and presided over some of the greatest work of the past 30 years. And he’s spent the best part of these years at @amvbbdo, as Creative Director, Executive Creative Director, CCO and Chairman. During this time, Paul and his partners (@psouter and @Nick Worthington) and his creative department have amassed a mountain of awards, including an incredible 239 entries into D&AD, which must have gone some way to him becoming D&AD President in 2010. We hear Paul’s side of the ‘Industrial Secrets for Sale’ billboard for The Economist. It’s a real lesson in craft, never giving up, ending up with a jaw-dropping piece of work. Then there are the celebrity tales from the Aer Lingus campaign - Roy Keane and Vinnie Jones don’t disappoint. The Think! campaign saw Paul & Nick go on a police patrol to witness the harsh reality of how drink driving ruins lives. We also heard about Paul’s favourite posters - ‘It’s Frothy man’ and the entire portfolio of Mark Denton @mdentonesq which Paul lovingly brought to life in his own homage. Thank you Paul for your generosity in telling these amazing stories. 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-74-kate-congreve

We love firsts on the podcast. So episode #74 is a treat for Dan and Huge who hosted Kate Congreve our first ever producer. And not just any producer, but a producer at Mother, Campaign’s current agency of the year.

Kate shared many brilliant stories from her career to date, having worked both agency and production side.

We talked Snickers and skateboarding and how she helped put together the shoot for Paul Belford while at AMV. Shot by James Dimmock it’s a beautiful campaign with some eye-opening stories about casting.

Next was another fascinating shoot, this time for Hovis at JWT, working with brilliant creative team Claudia & Verity and photographer Kelvin Murray, managing to shoot everything in camera.

And then the Mother years, packed full of more amazing work. IKEA, Stella Artois. KFC, Uber. Four monster campaigns. Everyone an award winner, crafted to perfection.

The KFC story is particularly interesting. Try promoting a finger lickin’ brand during a time when the last thing you should do was lick your fingers. Hear how the work still ran during the pandemic.

Thanks Kate for coming in and sharing your stories. We loved it. 

Dan and Hugh finally sit down with Tiger Savage, having talked about much of her work on previous shows with her peers. It was so good to talk through her incredible body of work for some of the best agencies in the country.  

Visuals :  https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-30-tiger-savage-part-1/

Also - buy some SHUGS: www.shugs.co.uk

Also -  keep checking this link out for some lip balms: www.aandb.world

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-78-andy-jex

After what seems like a lifetime away, we’re back. And who better than Andy Jex, the TBWA\London CCO to usher us into Autumn. ‘Jexy’ as he’s affectionately known, is the epitome of positivity and creativity, which is exactly what the world needs right now. Hugh & Dan enjoyed an hour in his company where many things were discussed:

• Fallon
• Nando’s
• Nando’s billboards
• Why you shouldn’t eat eggs
• Letters of complaint from the Egg Association about telling people not to eat eggs
• Rich & Andy
• 1Extra TV and posters
• The greatest leaving car(d) of all time
• Mother
• The dried noodle king
• A Scalextric world record
• Saatchi’s
• Stanners
• Silburn
• Marie Curie (where Jexy turned interviewer and asked Hugh about ‘The Extra Hour’ DOOH)
• Stealing staff
• North London footy rivalry
• Jaffa Cake v Flapjack
• And most importantly of all, we talked about our Mums.

Jexy, thanks so much for coming on and sharing stories, we loved it.

Hear all about it on the podcast now!

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-83-aidan-mcclure

Episode #83 features the super-charming, super-talented Aidan McClure, CCO and co-founder of Wonderhood Studios.

We caught up with Aidan just before Christmas and had a great natter.

We heard the story of how he got onto the Watford Copywriting course by pretending to be the Queen.

We discovered how Aidan (and partner Laurent Simon) got their first job after winning the Diageo Best Student Team in the UK doing placements at Mother, BBH and JWT before settling at AMV. Not a bad start.

We even talked about Aidan’s musical side hustle, playing the violin nearly as well as Stefan Grappelli.

And of course there were many brilliant billboards, starting with some classics for The Economist and VW before the incredible BBC Russia World Cup tapestry … still hanging in the Football Museum in Manchester today.

We found out how Aidan worked with our Dan on the ground-breaking Google Front Row campaign that featured the world’s first live stream to pitch side hoardings.

Then there was Nike ‘The 93’, The Migration Museum and the changing of the signage of Coral’s betting shops during the last Euro’s.

Every piece of work has a story, a vibe that makes it feel more than advertising. It’s a theme throughout Aidan’s award-winning career which includes ‘The Bear and Hare’ campaign for John Lewis, which won a Cannes Gold and BBC1’s Christmas campaign ‘The Supporting Act’ that was one of the Beeb’s most successful commercials ever.

Aidan thank you so much for coming on and bringing your warmth and creativity to us in abundance! It was a total pleasure.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-51-mark-tutssel-part-1/

Mark Tutssel aka ’Tuts’

Part 1

To say we’re excited about our latest guest on the podcast is somewhat of an understatement.

Mark Tutssel aka ’Tuts’, is one of the biggest names in the business.

And when it comes to billboards and OOH, he has few rivals.

His overall award record is staggering - 600 Cannes Lions, inc 10 Grand Prix, two D&AD Black Pencils, the first ever White Pencil, 25 D&AD Yellow Pencils, Grand Clios and many more - you name, he’s won it.

And he’s won just about all these gongs at one agency, Leo Burnett. So in a way these two episodes (so much to cover we decided to make it a 2 parter) are as much about Leo Burnett as they are Mark Tutssel.

In part one, Mark talks about his time in London, an incredible tenure alongside partner Nick Bell, creating iconic billboards for Mercedes-Benz, United Airlines, John West, Heinz and more. This body of work alone would be enough to fill several careers, but not for Tutssel.

This is just part one of an amazing career spanning nearly 4 decades across all 4 corners of the globe, rewarded during many successful summers in the South of a France with all those Lions 🦁

Part two features the amazing portfolio of McDonald’s work, both here in London, Chicago and around the globe and more iconic work for Samsung and Coke that epitomised ‘creativity without borders’.

We discussed the internal awards system Tuts instigated to locate and support the great work within the LB network. And most inspiring of all,we talked about his ‘theatre of the streets’ ethos.

“Think of the streets as your stage and your goal is to earn a standing ovation.” 

Amen to that.

Thanks Tuts for your time, your stories and your work.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-55-jo-moore

Episode #55 has a bit of everything.

Mostly it has the charming, humble and uber talented Jo Moore, ECD at House 337, discussing her OOH work.

In particular we chatted about the domestic violence campaign for Women’s Aid that ran during last year’s World Cup.

“He’s coming home” was a chilling reminder of the domestic abuse suffered by women during major tournaments. The poster (and film which is equally brilliant) gained huge publicity and awareness on virtually no budget.

It led us to a wider debate on how small but important clients like Women’s Aid can get their message across with great creative work.

This in turn led us to discuss the spoof fashion campaign ‘Not model’s own’ for the same client, highlighting the issue of Coercive Control, executed with tact and skill - gaining column inches galore and huge awareness.

Next was something completely different: Ant & Dec. And Kraftwerk.

Surreal, hilarious, with a lot of red.

And then we heard how Jo met Anthony Burrell and got him designing the wonderfully graphic campaign for The Corinthia Hotel.

Amidst all this, after about 10 minutes, Dan had to leave the room for a phone call. Jo and Hugh carried on chatting…and chatting…and chatting…Dan never returned until the final credits.

We thought he was on an important business call, but it was more important than that - it was a family emergency, which thankfully was resolved.

Quite a morning. Quite the episode!

Thank you Jo for coming in and taking us behind your billboards. As well as inside your VW van and outdoor swimming. A woman of many parts who barely batted an eyelid as half the Behind the Billboard team left the building ;-)

And well done Dan for keeping a cool head in a difficult moment. All in a day’s work for my mate Dan. 

There have been a couple of recurring themes in our Behind the Billboard series to date: our guests always seem to reference Dave Dye and cite The Economist work as their favourite. So we thought we’d bring the great man and great campaign together in EP10 for an Economist special, where we’ve delved deep into what goes behind possibly the most famous billboard campaign of all time.

Follow along with the visual here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/03/18/dave-dye

One of Dave’s recent favourites in the billboard world creatively has been Oatly - “it stands out, it’s funny, and it’s done it’s job of teaching us about Oatly”.

Also Spotify from Who Wot Why. Of course.

Dave thinks the good Outdoor really stands out, mainly because there’s so much average [and below] work out there. We’re not in a golden age of Outdoor, but there is a nice semi renaissance of good applications of Outdoor.

His first billboard was for Appletiser… 5 points for anyone who can find a pic of it online!

Given this is the Economist special…. We moved quickly onto the enormous body of work, the account and the history of the famous billboards. He talked about the pressure he felt taking on the client given the rich history of award winning work… but the need to help it evolve and to get his stamp on the work to ‘push it on a bit’.

One of the first things Dave implemented was opening the creative process to the teams… no more creative direction behind closed doors. Dave brought in ‘the wall’ - where work would go up… and teams could come in and see where the work was and help push it on.

Briefs from the Economist came in each quarter… but to Dave the briefs seamed quite similar: Read it, get more intelligent. The responses to brief were open to the entire agency. Top to bottom.

When Dave came in there was around 4 campaigns a year and it had been running for 10 years. Fag packet maths said there would have been over 8000 concepts seen, with 320 sold over the 10 years. Creatively Dave felt it needed a kick.

One of the first posters we talked about was the Venn diagram, the first campaign since taking over the Economist responsibility. Inspired by a Vanity Fair piece that featured a Venn diagram, and Dave thought it looked like an Economist ad. The plan was to do 8 in this style for the campaign. Dave likened the writing of the ads to some sort of Mensa test.

Unfortunately the CEO Andrew Robertson [and as it turns out ‘King of the Pun’] came in at the 11th hour and said it couldn’t run for all 8 elements of the campaign. Mainly out of respect for AMV founder David Abbott, and the fact that his ‘Red Campaign’ was his ‘parting gift to the agency’.

We moved on to the Too Many words example. A bottom drawer idea that was held back and got in eventually following some extra direction… and won a Gold at Campaign the following year.

We also talked about the Jigsaw creative. For weeks Dave walked around the teams trying to find out who’s mockup had landed on his desk. Dave had done some development on the concept and worked it up into the full idea…. But he couldn’t locate the initial scamp artist. Eventually Dave Abbott scuttled in and saw it worked up… ‘Oh you liked it then’.

Something we’ve spoken about before on the show is a piece of work for reception showing the ‘Funnel’ of work through from ideation to delivery on the Economist.

We wrapped up on the Economist with some of the work post Dave and we talked about how it’s changed over the years.

Thanks so much Dave for your fascinating insight into the work. And for Dave Dye fans out there wanting to hear more about his other Billboard work - Adidas, Adnams and Merrydown among others - we will be doing a Dave Dye part 2 later in the year.

So we’re running a competition for you listeners out there to guess what you think Dave’s top Billboard campaign of all time is. Comment on our social and the winner will win a signed copy of Mark Danton’s book. [Hugh’s copy - he’s gonna buy another one].   

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#behindthebillboard #outdoor #ooh #posters #billboards #theeconomist #amvbbdo

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/12/31/episode-49-best-of-2022/

Of all the end of year lists, this is obv the one you’ve been waiting for.

Yes, it’s Behind the Billboard’s Best of 2022.

And what a year it’s been.

So much great work to choose from.

Digital posters, traditional posters, fly posters, posters made from fruit juice, posters towed by horse drawn carriages, posters of cute cats and dogs, posters with 500 different executions in the campaign. Posters that had been put up wrong. Posters that came alive at night. And then there’s posters for yoghurt. Yes amazing ooh work for yoghurt! Surely that is this years headline!

But what was number one? Which billboard was most talked about? Which agency had the most entries? And how many mince pies did Hugh and Dan eat live on air?

As it’s the end of the year we also wanted to say a huge thanks to you our listeners for supporting us this year, liking us, saying nice things about us as well as spreading the word. We’ve been downloaded now over 30,000 times so we’re obv doing something right. But if you have any suggestions for the show or guests you’d like to hear from, please do let us know. 

And obv a huge hank to our sponsor Talon, without whom none of this would happen.

See you in January when we’ll be hearing from some amazing guests including David Kolbusz, Mark Tutssel and Dave Masterman.

Until then “We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” - surely one of the best headlines of all time ;-)

Episode 5 of Behind the Billboard features a number of firsts.

See the website post for the images and videos that we talk about in the podcast...

https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-5-vince-cook-gary-fox-robinson/

Our first creative team, our first BlueJeans powered remote interview and our first (but no means last) OOH work from McDonald’s.

We talked about them meeting on the set of a TV commercial shoot on a US Army base, having been thrown together to make it happen.

Their creative relationship blossomed and soon lead to some memorable billboard work for the Green Beret's, America's Special Forces. The campaign encouraged people to 'Take a Brochure' - with the brochure on the billboard seemingly impossible to get. That one had to be pitched to a 4 Star General for approval. This great campaign also gave the pair their first taste of Cannes glory.

Gary Fox-Robertson and Vince Cook talked to us about their McDonald’s “Sundial” poster - one of the most iconic and audacious billboards of all time.

“At one point we had to call in a NASA scientist to ensure the poster and its sundial arm were precisely positioned to catch the sun every morning, offering an array of breakfast choices for passers by. The shadow's progression span the morning menu and gave each item a literal moment in the sun. At noon, the dial forms a perfect McDonald's M."

It was one of those rare moments, when a billboard made the national news and won Gold at every major award show around the world.

And it’s now made it’s way into our podcast.

Available mornings, noon and night from this Wednesday.

Thanks chaps, a great morning’s work.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-58-nils-leonard

AI / Elderflower cordial  / B&Q / Inflatable cushions / Cannes / Air conditioning / Awards

It went pretty much in that order on a warm day earlier this week, where the air con and Hugh’s home brew kept us cool.

Episode #58 features a fascinating chat with Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon, who became our first ever returning guest.

We first spoke to Nils back in Feb 2021 when we were remote, stuck in various houses and offices trying to have spontaneous conversations on Zoom. So it was wonderful to meet irl and we can report Nils is even better in the flesh 😘

The focus was mostly on B&Q, which is now into its fourth year and remains wonderfully fresh. We talked about it’s inception, how the strategy had surprisingly never been done before, sheds, masturbation, teenagers, a favourite billboard site in Glasgow, Covid, flowers, James Day, floating hammers and more.

We also got into an interesting chat on AI, which seems to be on everyone’s list at the moment.

And with Cannes next week, we discussed Lions and awards. And asked the key question, does a Pencil beat a Lion? Tune in and find out!

Nils thanks again. Not just for this chat but this wonderful mantra:

“Print the posters you wish you could steal”

Let’s do it again at Christmas and have some of Dan’s mulled wine 🤓

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-67-matt-lever

We’re back folks. Dry BtB Jan is over. And we’re starting the year with a belter in Matt Lever.

Multi talented.
Multi awarded.
Funny.
Charming.
Loves a big idea.
Loves a gag.
And loves the in-house BtB flapjacks.

We spent a leisurely hour with Matt chatting billboards, from his very first one for Macallan that he bizarrely spotted while on holiday in New York…to DOH anti-smoking, Tfl, Trident Gum, Gym Box and closing on Breast Cancer Now and the perfectly pitched topical work that ran during the Women’s World Cup.

Listen out too for Matt talking about The Chat - the UK’s first drama series to play out on a messaging app group chat on WhatsApp. An audacious idea which not only garnered many awards and much PR, but more importantly has helped women cope with the disease.

Matt, thanks so much again for coming in and sharing, it was a real pleasure.

And for those after extra content, we’re also posting on the website Matt’s good copywriting doc, which is basically a reminder of what great work looks like. 

Hugh and Dan catch up with Dave Dye on all things billboards and creativity. What's been happening over this summer, and some of the career highlights from Dave's huge and wonderful portfolio of work. See this link for the visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=433

The Bird is back... and this time it's the Publicis years.... From London to New York, we hear about some of the amazing OOH work he's presided over.  Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=752

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-best-of-2023

Best of 2023

We’re nearly there folks. 2023 just about done. How was it for you?

For us it was a year of amazing guests, incredible stories, home-made cake, some lovely beards (esp our Dan’s) and best of all, broadcasting from our new home at Soho Radio. Thank you Rachel and Adrian for putting up with us. You guys are the best.

So in episode #66 @hughtodd and @mymatedan look back over the year in outdoor…any and everything ooh, billboards projections, adshels, stunts, special builds, enormous shopping bags, musical posters, massive microwaves, spider’s webs and more.

This year we’ve gone for a slightly new format. Without giving anything away, it was a battle of the billboards, each of us bringing our fave campaigns to the table in an effort to find the winner(s)of 2023. It was feisty. Some strong debate, explosive cracker pulling and scoffing mince pies (off-mic)

Who won? Who nearly won? Was it all UK? Or did a Global campaign win?

We also launched a new award. The People’s Poster, for the work that garnered the most likes right here on Instagram. Another tight contest with quite a bit of drama ;-)

Huge thanks as ever to our sponsor Talon
To Soho Radio. To all our guests who gave their time so generously. And of course thank you to all our listeners. We love the feedback, the DM’s, the requests, the very faint praise and more. Keep it coming.

And we are eternally grateful to the legend that is Jon Jones aka JJ. Quietly keeping us afloat as the loudmouths wang on into the microphones.

And also Jordan for his endless help on design and last minute mock up favours.

We hope you all have a great festive break and we’ll no doubt see you on the other side.

Take care and thanks again for all your support.

Hugh & Dan & JJ

x

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-56-james-day/

Podcast episode #56 features one of the sharpest snappers in the business. And one of the nicest and most charming guests we’ve had on the show.

It’s James Day on Good Friday folks. Settle down with a cuppa and a hot cross bun. This is a belter.

James has had his name attached to some of the most iconic billboards of the past 30 years.

He’s come a long way since picking up his first camera, which was a foggy affair:

“I spent quite a lot of time in the photography room at school. Well I say photography room, it was more like a smoking room. Everyone used taking photos as an excuse to smoke a sneaky cigarette.”

Thank God for those sneaky fags and that dark room, because amongst all the smoke and teenage angst, a light was switched on in James mind and made him the brilliant photographer he is today.

Most recent and most brilliant work has been for Uncommon for B&Q. Clean, sharp, beautifully crafted images, they’ve won plaudits and awards across the board and rightly so. The image of the mobile phone is sensational - worthy of an album cover.

We discussed the formative years when James worked with JustinTindall & AdamTucker on numerous projects, including the Harvey Nichols calendar campaign which features the stuffed cat and the 31 plates of baked beans stories. But the absolute winner was behind he Guardian and how they achieved the imprint of the rattan furniture on the model’s bottom. This is honestly one of the funniest stories we’ve ever heard on the pod.

We finished with XXXX Extra Cold posters and heard how the legendary Mark Reddy, Head of Art at BBH at the time, sprinkled gold dust on the idea, involving spiders and gloves and hair, taking the craft of the work to another level (we’re hoping to have Mark on the show at some point soon).

Thanks again James for being so generous with your time and the stories behind the work. It was a real pleasure. 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-88-hermeti-balarin

Episode #88 features the charming, uber-talented Hermeti Balarin, joint CCO at W+K London.

Hermeti works with his wife Ana, who was Behind the Billboard guest no. 9, which means the Balarin’s are our first ever married couple on the show 🎉

Hermeti & Ana started out at as interns at Mother before rising to Partners a decade or so later. Under their leadership, Mother was named International Agency of The Year twice by Ad Age thanks to iconic award-winning work on Stella Artois, IKEA, KFC, Boots and more.

We talked about recent minimalist OOH campaigns from brands such as BA, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s and Tesco, before focussing on Hermeti & Ana’s similar approach on Heinz and KFC and how ‘less is more’ is not really new at all, citing campaigns such as Silk Cut, which was the Daddy of them all.

We did a deep dive into KFC and the stories behind the Covid and AFC to ZFC work. Covid was a great example of every cloud having a silver lining. KFC and Mother decided to embrace the madness with ‘The World's Least Appropriate Slogan’ campaign, which resulted in the brand emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

We discussed #FreeTheFeed, an incredible campaign featuring huge 50ft breasts dotted around the London skyline to raise awareness of the stigma surrounding public breastfeeding.

And we discovered how Hermeti is an Exec TV Producer, a decent basketball player, a Star Wars geek and the owner of the coolest hair in advertising.

Thank you so much Hermeti for coming on and sharing your stories and creativity. Hi to Ana and please both come back soon?!  

NB: In this episode Hugh repeatedly mispronounces the words Wieden & Kennedy. We have no idea why this happened. We apologise if this affects your listening pleasure and Hugh promises it will not happen again. Arse.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-65-dan-fisher

Podcast episode #65 features Dan Fisher, Global ECD at Ogilvy and WPP, the man behind a vast portfolio of award-winning billboards and the owner of a classy beard.

With Christmas nearly upon us, it was most apt we discussed the brilliant “I spent it on myself” Harvey Nichols campaign which on its own could’ve filled an entire episode. Listen out for how Dan had to haggle on the price of gravel to get the campaign through. A real lesson in the lengths you have to go to for great work. We also covered The Sunday Times Rich List and another great anecdote involving a dragon and a gold Lion on a yacht in Cannes. And of course we spent plenty of time on Dove and the incredible work Dan has presided over these past few years. Some of the stories behind the work are humbling and inspiring in equal measure. Thanks so much again Dan. Please come back again when you’ve snaffled a few more Grands Prix 🦁 🤓

Dan and Hugh meet with Mark Roalfe, to talk pandemic, posters, partnerships and process.  View the visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/mark-roalfe/

Dan and Hugh meet up with Andy Bird, CCO of Publicis New York - albeit remotely for a chat about his amazing life and experiences behind many many billboards. Andy is an incredibly talented person who puts his success down to luck... well, we're sorry buddy.... but we're saying you make your own luck... and that's with your skills. Listen to part 1 as we journey through YTS all the way through to senior creative at some of the best creative agencies in the world, helping deliver some of the most iconic Billboard work the world has ever seen. That's not luck now is it... 

Follow the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/01/15/episode-22-andy-bird-part-1/

Dan and Hugh virtually meet up with the legend that is Sir John Hegarty. I'm not sure what else to add in this intro as... well.... its John Hegarty. He's a frikkin' legend. Just listen in..... it's a proper belter this one. Visuals [as if you need them for this one] - https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/02/11/episode-26-sir-john-hegarty/

Hugh and Dan talk to Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland about Outdoor, Billboards and creativity throughout their time as a creative partnership all the way to their current roles as ECDs at Adam & Eve DDB.

See the images at: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=462

Episode 3 features Tim Riley, one of the most famous writers in our industry.

IMAGE OF TIM: http://bit.ly/TimRileyMadMag

We say ‘writer’ rather than Creative Director or Head of Copy (both roles he excels at too), because deep down Tim is a man of words. Pithy, witty, cheeky, emotional, funny words. In his career he has written for John Smiths, The Economist, The Guardian, Boddingtons, Sony, Nike, Snickers, Sainsbury’s, winning awards on virtually every account he’s put his pen to.
 

Economist Array: http://bit.ly/36cH6vM

This incredible body of work has propelled him to the lofty title of Creative Partner at AMVBBDO …..and yet you’d never know from listening to our chat he is a man with such a revered position. Tim is a humble, funny and disarmingly charming guest who was incredibly open and frank in telling us about his career to date.

Jordan Economist: http://bit.ly/2v6mn02

We soon got into The Economist work and how over the past 22 years, Tim has worked as a writer and CD on the account. He told us the story behind the ‘Someone mentions Jordan’ billboard and the circuitous route to the final poster.

We’ll let Tim explain more, but as ever, it’s an unpredictable path to getting work out, and this is another great example that lead to one of the most famous Economist posters ever.
 

BONUS IMAGE - MR BLOBBY! http://bit.ly/2NHHiNm
 

However, the main chat was about Tim’s John Smiths billboards when he was at DDB (now known as Adam&EveDDB).
 

JohnSmiths:

http://bit.ly/3auCGUr

http://bit.ly/36gC3La

http://bit.ly/2G7bzRG

http://bit.ly/2tqnwzb
 

This didn’t disappoint either for back story, involving a bottom drawer idea from a MAD magazine that Tim had had for years and magically pulled out to inspire the brilliant irreverent posters.

MadMagazine: 

http://bit.ly/2G7mISh

http://bit.ly/379oxKk

We admire Tim for his honesty and it should give us all hope that the bottom drawer can still yield greatness.

Nike Jordan:

http://bit.ly/2sFPlmu

Thanks again Tim for your spoken words, along with the written ones, that will hopefully inspire our listeners.

Dan and Hugh meet up [virtually] with legendary fashion photographer and director, publisher of 4 magazines to date, the man, the brand - Rankin. Whether he is photographing the Muppets or shooting Dove’s seminal "Real beauty" campaign, Rankin has built a career on taking risks. Along with his portraits, he has created editorial and ad campaigns for Nike, Diageo, Vogue and Rolling Stone among others, and launched four magazines, starting with culture bible Dazed & Confused in the 1990s.  For visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/11/11/episode-17-rankin/

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-81-helen-rhodes

Episode #81 features Helen Rhodes, ECD at BBH.

We’ve been asking Helen to come on the show for ages, so we’re super chuffed she came on, not just for the stories behind her incredible portfolio of work, but also because we devoured her gift of cinnamon buns which were sensational.

The campaign for Stranger Things was enough for a whole episode - how the project came to be, the craft that went into making the fake 80’s posters and the secret pop-up experiences. Listen out for our chat on the smell of the slime in an underground corridor and whether it was authentic enough. Not a conversation we ever thought we’d have!

Then there’s this year’s most talked about campaign, Burger King’s ‘Bundles of joy’. We discussed how the work came to be part of the ‘foodfillment’ platform and the furore it created online and in the national press. And how it’s true ;-)

Then there’s the iconic BBC work - setting billboards on fire for Perfect Planet, and eerie shadows for the award-winning monster Dracula.

To top it off, a few weeks ago the Tesco ‘Icons’ campaign was launched, which has just been voted Campaign’s OOH campaign of the year. And rightly so. It’s a belter.

We covered Helen’s formative years working with Matt Lever (episode #67) and their rise to fame which eventually took them to W+K in the States.

At end of the show we chatted about tips to make great work, which Helen dedicated to ex-Watford College tutor Tony Cullingham. Helen talked with incredible fondness for TC, about his time at the BARN in BBH (still going strong) and she offered up some pearls of wisdom Tony would give students as they went off out into the creative world.

Thanks Helen for the buns and the billboards and remembering Tony.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-77-british-airways/

Sorry for the brief delay, but It’s finally landed ✈️

The story behind the Cannes Grand Prix winning British Airways work is here.

A few weeks ago we sat with Nils and some of the BA team (Nick Stanley, Benny Everett, Ellie & Elisa and ‘Chips’ Pomfret) and discovered the story behind one of the most iconic OOH campaigns in recent times.

It was an enthralling chat. We heard how the pitch was won, how 500 executions came to be, why ‘A British Original’ was only half the story, and how - with virtually no time left - the agency turned to a tick box idea buried at the bottom of a layout pad which eventually became the all conquering idea.

It’s genuinely one of the most intriguing episodes we’ve ever done.

We also squeezed in some chat about the Windows campaign too. Bonus content!

Thank you Nils and all at Uncommon for your incredible generosity in sharing your story. It was business, leisure and much more.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-82-best-of-2024

BtB best of 2024 / Christmas special

Yes folks it’s the biggie. The one you’ve been waiting for. Behind the Billboard’s ‘Best of 2024’ with some mince pies and festive cheer thrown in for good measure. Plus some big news from our Dan.

In our humble opinion it’s been another great year for outdoor. Some brilliant work from the usual suspects, plus nice surprises from new agencies. Hopefully you’ll agree with our choices but if not feel free to comment or drop us a note.

We decided to include a few new categories this year. So alongside the traditional Poster of the year, Agency of the year and BtB Instagram of the year, we’ve included the following:

- Best baked goods
- Jon Jones award for outstanding contribution to the podcast
- Incredibly high levels of patience in producing a podcast award
- Lifetime achievement best billboard bloke of past 20 years

And much much more!

A huge thank you to all of our guests for coming in and sharing the stories behind their billboards. It’s been a total pleasure chatting in the booth with you. And an even bigger thanks to you our listeners and followers - without you guys we honestly wouldn’t be doing it. Please keep liking and subscribing and spreading the good vibes.

Thanks to our sponsors for the last time ;-)
Talon Outdoor
Grand Visual
And thank you, Soho Radio - we’ll be back!

Ep38 features Jo Arscott - a true creative pioneer, who mastered the art of the ’Integrated’ campaign long before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon and called it ‘360’.

Her billboard for the National Asthma Campaign in 1996 was a great example of this, being more like an event than a piece of OOH. Painted in clear glue, the poster was pure white when it went up at Vauxhall Roundabout for the press launch. When the journalists came back 14 days later; they were amazed. The pollution had stuck to the glue revealing the headline.

Hear the full story behind this ‘The world’s first ever glue poster’ and more of Jo’s creative work from her time at agencies all over the world.

We also talked about her work as a speaker on issues of diversity and education at D&AD, Cannes and The Design Council to name but a few.

And of course we heard about her Mum’s cat (cat’s are becoming a thing on this podcast).

Thanks Jo for coming on, it was a blast. 

Typical. You wait 17 episodes to hear from a photographer and then 2 come along at once. Hugh and Dan shared an epic few hours with Adam Hinton, another awesome photographer who has helped create some of the most iconic billboards in the last 2 decades. Hear all about his life as a 'part-time punk', getting stabbed, photographing warzones, and shooting some of the worlds most iconic athletes for Nike, some of the least iconic athletes for This Girl Can and some incredible work for the NHS and Cancer Research. It's no wonder it's an epic 2 hour long. And yeah... apologies for the drop in sound quality. Lockdown recording is a bit shit. Check out the visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=606 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-42-ewan-paterson/

‘How about Carl Lewis in his running gear, but instead of wearing spikes that normally propel him to 100m in 9.86 seconds, we put him in a pair of size 12 red stilettos with the headline ’Power is nothing without control’. Oh and let’s insist on getting legendary photographer Annie Liebvitz to shoot it. What do you reckon?’

This is why we love advertising. The dreamers. The moon shooters. The creatives who think nothing of putting the most famous athlete in the world in a pair of shiny red high heels.

And it’s why BtB love Ewan Paterson who in 1985 with then partner Graham Norways, created the seminal poster for Pirelli.

Lewis wasn’t even an ambassador for the brand at the time. He was an unsuspecting ten-time Olympian minding his own business until someone asked if he was up for it.

Thank you Carl, from all us spoddy billboard nerds, for saying yes.

In our eyes, it’s your greatest moment 🤓

Episode 42 features the charming, humble and passionate Ewan Paterson who told us the story behind this and many of his other billboards.

VW, Tfl, The Times, The Sunday Times Rich List, Robinson’s and more. It’s an incredible line-up of work which Ewan talked us through.

Thanks again Ewan for coming on and bring so generous with your stories. And a special thanks also to your strepsils, that kept your voice going til the very end. You’re a pro sir.

See pictures and watch a video of the panel here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-44-behind-the-billboard-cannes/

C’est ici!

Yes, podcast #44 is here and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before.

It was live in the South of France and despite a few technical glitches, it was tres bon.

A lovely hour at LBB beach chatting with our esteemed panel of Daniel Fisher, Keka Morelle and Sanjiv Mistry about all things OOH @Cannes 2022.

Sanjiv was our man in the judging room, giving a real insight into this year’s winners, esp how and why the Adidas ‘Liquid Billboard’ swept the board. It’s a great story.

As well as discussing this year’s winners, we chatted about how to win at Cannes (Daniel tip: “Don’t try to win at Cannes”) and the panel nominated their fave Lion winning billboards and most memorable Cannes stories.

It was a brilliant experience. Thank you to everyone who’s supported us along the way.

Huge thanks of course to our sponsors @TalonOOH without whom none of this would’ve happened. The T-shirts were epic, nicely modelled by BtB’s very own human billboard, Dan Dawson.

And of course thanks to the man behind the men behind the microphones, tech legend Jon Jones.

Special mention also to ‘Birdy’ aka Andy Bird Le Truc @Publicis (BtB ep22 and ep23) who was vocal in the audience offering his favourite Lion winner. He also came to lunch, wore our sponsors hat and laughed a lot.

We’re very much hoping to be podding and laughing in the sun again next year.

Auvoir!

Ps. The key image here is a homage to the great Expedia campaign from Jon Morgan & Mike Watson. Cheers chaps. 

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-52-mark-tutssel-part-2/

Part 2 of our conversation with Tuts took us to the very heart the world’s most famous fast food brand. We spoke at length about McDonald’s and Tuts incredible time at the helm of the account, first in London, then Chicago, then around the world.

There was so much work it would’ve been impossible to cover it all. But we’re pretty sure we got the best bits:

Golf, Mouse-holes, Hot dog, 20p, Fresh Salads, Milkshake and our absolute favourite, Sundial (featured on Episode 5 with creative team Vince Cook & Gary Fox-Robinson).

And as if that wasn’t enough, we squeezed in the audacious Allstate Insurance stunt that featured a car dangling off the 17th floor of the landmark Marina Towers apartment building in Chicago, seemingly about to plummet to the ground below, accompanied by the tagline ‘Are you in good hands?’

This was followed by Samsung Safety Truck, Coke’s Small World Machines that epitomised Tuts ‘creativity without borders’ ethos before finishing on two monster award winning campaigns - ‘My blood is red and black’ and Airbnb Van Gough ‘The Bedroom’.

Thanks again Mark for giving your time and stories - judging by the response we’ve had for part 1, you have once again smashed it.

Shoutout again to Soho Radio, our new home for the podcast and to our brilliant sponsors Talon

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-70-paul-banham

Can you project the two moons from Mars into the night sky?

Can you sell over 1,000,000 lights in the world’s tallest building?

Can you build an underwater mobile phone store to sell a waterproof phone?

These are just some of the questions, answered by MullenLowe MENA CCO Paul Banham on episode #70, where we take a deep dive into life as a creative in Dubai.

It’s an absolute fascinating chat and one we’ve been wanting to have for ages. We caught up Paul on a flying visit to London.

So we sat down with tea and flapjacks and a microphone and off he went.

It was a massive eye-opener hearing about life and all things outdoors in the Middle East.

Everything is different.

The weather.
The budgets.
The ambition.

But the one thing that thankfully stays the same is the desire for ideas.

And when those ideas happen, they are big.

And more often these days award-winning, with the previous mentioned campaigns picking up Cannes Lions galore.

Paul it was a total pleasure and we’re so pleased you managed to fit us in on your tour of the UK.

Looking forward to seeing you again in the summer, possibly for a second round and certainly a couple more pints than this time.

Take care and keep applying the factor 50 😎

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-45-guy-moore/

We’re back.

And most appropriately we’re back with a Cannes man.

None other than Guy Moore, who amidst many career highlights, won the Cannes OOH Grand Prix in 2018 with McDonalds ‘Signs’ campaign, which has a brilliant back story.

And coming in a close second is Guy’s British Heart Foundation campaign which involved calling Saul Bass - yes the legendary Saul Bass - in the middle of the night in New York for a little art direction chat.

Smart, funny, wise (and wearing a cracking shirt) Guy it was a total pleasure hearing, in your dulcet tones, the stories behind your billboards.

Thank you so much for coming on - an hour felt way too short - maybe a part 2 sometime?

Until then, enjoy this one.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/02/04/episode-37-vikki-ross/

Writing copy about Vikki Ross - the Queen of Copy - is a daunting task.

Was that really a proper sentence? Could it have been a bit pithier? How about the grammar? Were those dashes really necessary? And how about the tone? Is this copy on brand? Is it Behind the Billboardy enough?

So many questions about so much copy.

Vikki has the answers.

Copy is her thang, having written many brilliant words for many global brands for the past 24 years.

Sky, Sony Music, Expedia, Adidas and The Body Shop have all benefitted from the words of Ross.

But she doesn’t just write it. She teaches too - at the SCA, judges at international industry award competitions and mentors young female creatives.

And she has a huge online following for #copywritersunite and #copysafari.

That’s quite a lot.

And yet she still found time to come and chat to us.

Thanks so much Vikki. It was a real pleasure. And please let us know if this copy needs a massive rewrite 🤓