Will Awdry, Creative Director at Big Fish, previously at Ogilvy & Mather, talks with Creativepool founder, Michael Tomes.
Find out what a Creative Director does, how important is a good idea and the dark arts of pitching.
Along with five other Creative Directors, Will was hired by Malcolm Poynton in 2008 to manage the biggest Ogilvy & Mather accounts including BP, Dove, Kodak, SC Johnson, The Spectator and the WWF.
Here's a few excerpts from his interview:
"Be a Mick Jagger"
"Clients want a rock start in the boardroom and expect more than a MBA in Business. As a CD, you have to protect revenue, be able to imagine and tell the story which will be communicated to the audience, as well as follow invention, news, culture and movie trends..."
"I'm in the mental rental business"
"In creative departments the question often asked is "what is an idea"?. The answers are very broad, but nobody can quite nail it. A good idea is one of the most powerful weapons and greatest values that you can offer clients."
"The ability to explain why an idea is good or why it is not, is an important skill when directing a creative team."
Black Cab Interviews
The "Black Cab Interviews" are a series of interviews where we take celebrated individuals from the creative sector on a cab ride around London, some to work, some on their way to a pitch, some just on a little jaunt around this fabulous city. The interviews are intended to be indepth and candid, giving the interviewee a place to talk about the industry, themselves and the place they work. If you would like to be involved please get in touch with Christie
Sponsored by UBIQUITOUS TAXIS
Music by ANOTSU
Special thanks to WILL AWDRY
Photography by JULIAN HANFORD
Al June 25th, 2018, in the morning
Great memories working with Will. He gave me my first big break which lead to a Cannes Silver and an email from Hegarty saying he 'wished he had made my ad'.