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From noodle mines to ostrich races, Andy Jex has constructed a profession on artful, culturally-tuned concepts with a hearty dose of mischief. He talks profession highs, inventive funks and why each nice thought must continue to exist the pub check.
After a post-grad direction at Watford Ad School, a placement at Mother, and an advent into the running global at DDB, Jex and his inventive spouse, Rob Potts, joined the newly-launched London arm of Fallon, the place they’d pass directly to create award-winning paintings for the likes of Nando’s, Skoda and the BBC.
Five years at Fallon used to be adopted by way of a go back to Mother, the place Jex helped create one of the most funniest commercials of the previous 20 years, together with the phenomenal ‘Crumlin Noodle Mine’ for Pot Noodle.
Such paintings caused Saatchi & Saatchi to return calling with an artistic director position, and Jex spent greater than 8 years on the company, in the end emerging to Executive inventive director, earlier than taking on TBWALondon as leader inventive officer in October 2017.
Jex’s obsession for growing paintings that raises a grin, sticks in tradition and makes us happy with what promoting will also be is improperly wanted in an business so regularly down on itself and glued in ruts. Which makes him a great candidate for the 10 Questions on Advertising sizzling seat…
Q1: If you have to return and relive at some point to your profession, which would it not be?
The first time I noticed my determine in the true global, totally unintentionally. That second when one thing you’ve spent months crafting simply pops up hastily, and it hits you love it would any standard shopper and also you’re now not ready for it, it’s natural magic. That sense of pleasure, of after all seeing your paintings in the market after running so exhausting, the entire hours, and months all value it, it’s like not anything else.
Sure, that feeling occurs now, nevertheless it’s by no means reasonably like that first time. The one who in point of fact sticks out for me used to be a Nando’s advert. It wasn’t technically the very first thing we (with Rob Potts) ever did, nevertheless it used to be the primary time I in point of fact felt that magic second. I used to be simply going about my day and increase – there it used to be. Caught me completely off guard. I ended in my tracks and concept, “That’s stupid…Oh my God, we did that.”
Q2: Now let us know in regards to the day that also will give you nightmares.
I’d been running for roughly six months. And I got here again from Christmas ruin, having had two weeks off, the longest ruin I’d ever had with out serious about promoting. I sat down within the place of work in entrance of a short lived and I used to be simply clean. I’d forgotten learn how to do the activity. Genuinely didn’t have a clue what I used to be doing. That used to be an terrible feeling. I felt like I needed to retrain for 2 weeks to get again within the swing.
In the ones early days, whilst you’re determined to end up your self however you’re nonetheless figuring all of it out, I’d have actual promoting nightmares at all times. Full of the entire paintings I idolized, new issues I’d discovered, issues I used to be terrified of forgetting, stuff I didn’t know, issues, fears of now not being excellent sufficient. I wouldn’t need to return there.
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Q3: Who gave you the piece of recommendation you continue to reside by way of – and what used to be it?
Tony Cullingham, my college lecturer at Watford. He used to mention, “It’s only advertising.” That may sound flippant, however within the context of the way critically we took it – learning it, obsessing over it, desperately seeking to get in, it used to be grounding. It places the whole lot into viewpoint.
He’d additionally say, “Have fun with it,” which used to be aggravating on the time, however completely proper. The very best paintings comes whilst you’re at ease, whilst you’re now not attempting too exhausting. Things simply come to you “in the background”. Chatting about an concept within the pub is all the time a excellent check. If it really works there, if it makes other folks snigger, or assume, or say, “I wish I’d thought of that” then it’ll more than likely paintings anyplace.
This autumn: What piece of labor accomplished by way of any person else are you actually jealous of?
The Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” marketing campaign. Superb. They took a product that didn’t have a lot to mention, it’s simply every other beer and constructed a whole global round a false mythology. It’s all promoting conceit and assemble.
The writing is outstanding. The entire thought is constructed from the conclusion that what you drink says one thing about you. But it’s a delightfully tongue-in-cheek approach of doing that outdated hat standing image kind paintings. Lines like “When in Rome, they do as he does” or “He speaks French… in Russian.” It’s ridiculous, however genius. A masterclass in lengthy working, rewatchable leisure.
Q5: What’s your elevator pitch to other folks serious about coming into promoting for the primary time?
Know what you’re coming into. Not in a unfavorable approach, however be transparent on why you need to do it. If you might be now not resilient, or you’ll be able to’t maintain rejection, it’s going to be difficult. This business can bite other folks up and spit them out.
Don’t come into the business for the flawed causes. Everyone desires to be an artistic director asap in this day and age. But those who stick round, who love the method and the craft and the thrill of concepts and creativity, now not simply the identify – they’re those who be triumphant.
There appears to be a trust that good fortune is measured in seniority and titles. Don’t rush into control roles. It’s a special activity. The business must be large enough to price and praise other folks which can be nice creatives with out pushing them into control.
Q6: You have been the primary inventive staff in at Fallon London. How briefly do you know this company used to be going to be particular?
Fallon used to be already particular, simply now not in London at the moment. It used to be born in Minneapolis, which gave it this outsider spirit. When the London place of work began, there have been best about 10 other folks, and 5 have been companions. I used to be very younger, and may I inform it used to be going to be large? Not in point of fact. But the companions – Andy McLeod, Richard Flintham, Laurence Green, Robert Senior and Michael Wall have been particular they usually all knew what they have been doing, had all accomplished outstanding paintings at nice companies. They created a unique spirit on the proper time, with the correct quantity of Fallon-ness and London-centricity.
They began profitable necessary accounts – BBC, Skoda, Sony, Cadbury – and the paintings used to be all the time of one of these constantly prime quality. I left earlier than the entire ‘agency of the year’ technology kicked in, however the basis used to be there from day one. Every unmarried transient used to be all the time a chance, no stone used to be left unturned – the pursuit in their form of nice used to be relentless. But the true key used to be most likely the truth that Fallon let the London place of work be itself. That’s the place different expansions fail, when the mothership doesn’t give the brand new staff room to respire.
Q7: You’ve labored underneath one of the most business’s greatest inventive leaders. How did you be told from them as a substitute of being overawed?
To be fair, I used to be overawed to start with. You can’t now not be. But it turns into about the way you reply to that. I simply attempted to soak up the whole lot, how the ones inventive leaders concept, spoke, introduced themselves, how they offered paintings, how they led a room.
I’d actually replica little issues from them. Not entire personas, however bits, the way in which any person opened a gathering, or defined an concept. At first, it felt like I used to be dishonest. But in the end, it blends into your personal taste. You be told by way of imitation, particularly on issues that aren’t your robust issues.
Q8: You’ve labored with the similar company leader (Larissa Vince) at each your most up-to-date companies. How necessary is the ‘suit-creative’ courting – and what’s the name of the game to a excellent one?
I believe the secret’s being aligned on why you might be doing the activity within the first position and what you consider in and what you’re out to succeed in and the way you need to paintings. If you’re pulling in numerous instructions, other definitions of good fortune, other values, it’s by no means going to paintings.
You want to agree at the basics, what nice paintings seems like, what sort of company you need to be, what you’re aiming for. And from there, it’s about believe. Respecting every different’s talents, realizing when to defer.
You must be capable of say the rest to one another, truthfully, overtly – and realize it’s coming from a spot of shared ambition. That’s when it in point of fact clicks.
Q9: Tell us the name of the game to a a success ebook crit.
Book crits have modified so much. Because they’re all on-line portfolios now you don’t get an identical quantity of face-to-face interplay as we used to, however this concept nonetheless applies. You’ll get numerous comments, and a large number of it is going to contradict itself. That’s the entice.
If you attempt to act on each bit of recommendation, you’ll destroy your ebook and lose your personal voice. What you want to do is curate the comments. Ask your self: Do I appreciate this particular person’s paintings? Do I believe their style? Do I consider them? Do I really like them even? If sure, take their recommendation. If now not, let it pass.
Your portfolio must display what you’ll be able to deliver to an artistic division that they don’t have already got. It has to show off you and be non-public. It must exude your character and the recommendation you get must lend a hand deliver that out and now not neutralize it. There’s not anything worse than a “lowest common denominator” ebook.
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Q10: What’s ‘the campaign that got away’?
There used to be this concept that we attempted to promote a couple of occasions. It used to be primarily based round an ostrich race, a right kind, severe ostrich race in Morocco, all shot totally instantly however gorgeous and cinematic. And over the horizon comes this human in a pretend ostrich gown (like the only Bernie Clifton wore with the flappy faux human legs), working lifeless severe in opposition to the professional racers. We attempted it for a sports activities power drink emblem. Came shut. Never reasonably landed with somebody rather than ourselves.
Another one I beloved, after we have been at Fallon we have been doing promo trails for MTV and we had this concept in regards to the inception of musical cultural phenomenons. We wrote little discovered photos documentaries of the way scratching used to be in truth invented by way of a DJ losing chewing gum on a report and getting his palms caught at the vinyl and the discovery of the moonwalk coming from a canine walker wiping poo from their shoe at the grass and so forth… general nonsense however all accomplished totally deadpan in a faux-documentary taste. Our thought (reasonably moderately) used to be usurped by way of every other by way of Linus Karlsson and Paul Malmstrom within the Minneapolis place of work with an concept known as the Jukka Brothers, which now not best swept up however changed into iconic for MTV.
