Remember the Golden Goobilee? You should. It was the brilliant ad that enraged conservatives back in February, to the point that an anti-LGBT petition tried to stop it from circulating online. Obviously they failed, and the beauty of that ad remains available for us to admire. So we are not surprised that the CEO of the same agency who crafted that ad entered our prestigious Top 100 Influencers of the Year in 2020.
Tanya Brookfield is the CEO of ELVIS and an incredibly humble and authentic leader to feature on these pages. She and her team are working around the clock to build a better industry daily, whether that be submitting for BCorp accreditation or helping their clients embrace purpose.
We had a lovely chat with Tanya for this Annual Spotlight to learn more about her, her team at ELVIS and her experience with The Annual, as well as her brightest hopes for the year ahead.
Annual 2021 is accepting standard submissions until 27th May. Enter now to grab your slice of creative immortality!
What feels unique about The Annual?
For me I love the Carbon Pledge. It should be something everyone is doing but they’re not which is quite shocking. That said the fact you are is really great!
How does it feel to have won the Creativepool Annual Awards?
I’m in such great company I can’t help but feel you’ve made a mistake! But seriously it’s always lovely to be recognised by respected peers in the industry.
Will you be entering again this year? If so, what are your hopes?
We will. And of course I want to win! We only ever submit work that we believe is of a high enough standard to compete, so in a strange way this adds a bit more pressure to the result.
Can you tell us more about your winning submissions and what you think impressed the judges?
I don’t honestly know! :) Because the category is about me as a person it’s a really strange thing to comment on. What I would say is that my agency is focused on becoming a better business, and by that I mean much more planet and people positive – submitting for BCorp accreditation in the next 12 months, and so I would hope and expect that has a tremendous amount to do with it.
What advice would you share with other agencies and individuals looking to grab a prize?
Have high standards and never let them slip.
How do you feel Covid has impacted the creative landscape in 2020?
For me it’s not just about COVID – the world has changed considerably as social injustice, the climate and our health and well being have all come under the spot light. I have my fingers and toes crossed that we have all learnt a lot over the last year and that we don’t forget any of it.
What are your hopes for 2021 and beyond?
I’d like to see a revolution in the creative industry where we prioritise work with purpose and recognise and award it in the majority (not minority). I’d like to see the global adoption of new measurement and evaluation of work – starting with the Ecoffectiveness measurement framework (see attachment below). We believe the biggest challenge that advertising agencies now face is how to help their clients maintain profitability while reducing emissions to zero and this is a step towards recognising this. This new measurement was co-authored by the ELVIS Managing Director Caroline Davison.
What is your most exciting project in the next year?
I’m afraid it’s top secret BUT I’m very hopeful it will feature in next year’s Annual :)
