TV, Press, Outdoor And Radio Jury: Mr. Tony Granger
Five years ago, Adrian Holmes joined Y&R EMEA to lead the region creatively, to help unify the region’s creative groups into a collaborative, creative network. Now, with the great progress in motion, he has decided that it’s the right time to move on to other challenges and pursuits. He is not available anymore, and can’t be president of the big jury in Portoroz. Therefore Y&R kindly offered another person, representing their company, none less than Mr. Tony Granger, global chief creative officer of Y&R. Below you can read what is going on in his mind…
How will you judge the works? What are you looking for in it? What are your criteria for a good campaign? And how would you define a bad campaign?
I’m going to look for work that defines categorization: no leafy lane car commercials or happy smiley banking ads.
A great campaign doesn’t necessarily have to fit into the silo of traditional channels like film, print, OOH, etc. It can be a pop up store, a documentary, a song, etc. – anything that breaks through and connects.
The work needs to be simple and engaging: Consumers’ attention is harder and harder to capture, so if you want to connect with a fraction of it, you must give them something that makes their lives easier and more efficient. Flashy bells and whistles for the sake of a high production value is a waste of time and money. The work must feel spontaneous and instinctive; work that ticks all the boxes in consumer research groups but doesn’t touch the soul is hopelessly irrelevant.
While I was searching for Young & Rubicam’s DNA, I found a line that Ray Rubicam wrote in 1924: “Resist the Usual.” He encouraged people to be “Anti-Usualists.” This really resonated with me. I thought, if there ever was a time for our agency and our clients to resist the usual, its now. I’m looking for that kind of work.
How do I define a bad campaign? Well, anything that’s predictable and looks un-authentic. Anything that feels condescending. Unfortunately our industry is rather prolific in this category.
Advertising is obviously changing fast lately or as we say, it is under reconstruction. Into what? And how will it look like in the next five (10, 20) years?
This is the most exciting time in our business since TV was invented. It seems that daily there are more and more ways to connect with audiences in a more intimate way then ever before. The days of ad breaks that lecture to consumers are over. It’s more about having one on one conversation now. It’s about getting your thinking out there, then optimizing the message as consumers engage. Consumers are in control – so collaborate with them. Don’t market to them, market with them.
Clients have to be transparent. The rapid rise of social media sites have taken the oldest form of communication – word of mouth – and made it arguably the most powerful. Companies can no longer hide their dirty laundry. They have to do the right thing regarding how they treat the environment, how they make their products and what they put into them.
Why is there so little awarded (creative) advertising seen in everyday life? And why all we see is sales-promotion, no-brand-building, pushy-brainwashing? Or do I have a wrong opinion?
Some brands are unwilling to take a risk on a cutting edge idea that might not have immediate ROI. Yes, a lot of work our industry creates is mediocre, mundane and pragmatic. That is why award shows are so important – they highlight what is possible and inspire our industry to leap ahead. They need to evolve, though, to help keep our industry moving forward.
Tony believes in the magic of ideas and their power to generate change. They form his passion to transform brands and agencies.
Since arriving at Young & Rubicam in 2008, Tony has done both. He has attracted some of the industry’s best creative talent, fully integrated digital into the agency, and built a global creative community in both spirit and practice. It’s resulted in radically refreshed work for clients like Virgin Atlantic, Land Rover, LG and Telefonica.
At Cannes 2010, Y&R New York was the #1 agency in the US and the #2 globally. Y&R’s global network ranked #3 at Cannes, leaping forward 5 places in a single year. Young & Rubicam was also named Network of the Year by both ADC and the NY Festivals.
Before joining Y&R, Tony spent five years at Saatchi & Saatchi. There, too, he led the agency’s creative transformation. Saatchi became the top creative agency in the U.S., and International Agency of the Year at both the Cannes and the Clio Festivals. He led a similar renaissance at Bozell New York, where the shop catapulted to best in the U.S. and 3rd best at Cannes in 2002. Tony began his career in his native South Africa, where he led TBWA/Hunt Lascaris, a shop of proud heritage and creative pedigree.
Tony and his agencies have won tons of awards, and he’s been fortunate to serve as president of several international juries. But he’s most proud to have shaped top creative agencies, and worked with the world’s most sought after clients on some of the most recognized and influential global brands. He is fanatically focused and excited for the future of the business and this industry.
