ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!
*

5 minutes with... Patrick Collister - The Big Won & Creative Matters

Published

 

Like so many people in advertising, I am not really fit for anything else.

 

Tell us what you do for a living and who you work for?
I have a portfolio career. I am the author of The Big Won, a website-based analysis of the world's best advertising and communications as measured by awards won. I also edit and publish Directory, a quarterly online and offline resource showcasing the world's most interesting direct marketing campaigns. I also have a training company called Creative Matters and try to help people in agencies and client companies do better work.

What does that involve?
Working my nuts off. But it's all around 'creative inspirations'.

How did you get started in the industry?
By accident. I applied for several jobs as a journalist and fired off a letter by mistake to an ad agency. The newspapers didn't reply, Ogilvy & Mather did.

What would you be doing if you weren't doing that?
I have no idea. Like so many people in advertising, I am not really fit for anything else.

What's your all-time favourite piece of creative work?
I don't particularly like it, but Michelangelo's 'Last Judgement' is one of the most lasting statements ever made by one of the world's most powerful brands (the Catholic Church).

What do you love about your job?
I have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow.

What do you hate about your job?
I have no idea if I will earn anything ever again.

Tell us your favourite website
The Guardian.

If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be?
Trust yourself.

Where can people follow you online?
I offer up quite a lot of Directory's content for free, click here to have a look.
Visit Patrick's website

Comments

More Features

*

Features

The Brands Pushing Back Against Fast Fashion #SustainabilityMonth

Fashion has always been anathema to me. You could diplomatically refer to my wardrobe as “functional” and I’m unlikely to spend more than a few fleeting seconds deciding what to wear in the morning. I do, however, understand the...

Posted by: Benjamin Hiorns
ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!