How To Kill A Lion

In this episode, Jordan sits with Simon Vicars who is one of the original creatives behind the killer idea: Brewtroleum. Now an ECD at Colenso BBDO in Auckland, Simon recounts the many years it took to gain the trust of their client, to then one day finally unleash DB Export's Brewtroleum idea upon the beer drinkers of New Zealand. Taking home Cannes Titanium, Outdoor Grand Prix, and Gold Lions out the wazoo, they took home more awards than almost any agency in 2016 and they blew the doors off the beer industry with a fresh, new, never-seen-before idea - which is literally impossible to do. Trust me, anyone who can get away with writing "Drink Beer. Save the Whole World" has a few tricks up their sleeves.

In the second half, they dive into Simon's creative process, they recount all of the ups and downs, wins and failures, and then land on his favorite Cannes winners of all time. This episode is jacked with insider tips and experiences, but most importantly there are a bunch of things that juniors and interns can really take to heart as they begin their journey into the advertising injury. It proves that whether you're in Burlington, Vermont or on the other side of the world in Auckland, New Zealand, as creatives in this wild industry, we all have a lot of the same struggles, the same desires, and the same drive to make the best possible work. Simon, with Brewtroleum, saw his opportunity and he totally crushed it. 

In this episode, Jordan sits with Angel Capobianco Storey who is the original idea/creator of the Always / Like A Girl campaign. In 2015, the campaign took home numerous Cannes Lions awards including: Titanium, PR Grand Prix, and the first-ever Glass Lion: For Change. Raking in millions of views and unprecedented social participation, #LikeAGirl was a huge success and really pushed Proctor & Gamble to new creative heights. In the first half, Angel details how the idea started at the digital agency she was working at and how it then blew up into a huge Leo Burnett global collaboration. Additionally, she also touches on how, as a young creative, the agency she worked at didn't even send her to Cannes when they won. Sadly, this often happens in our industry, especially to juniors and younger creatives.

In the second half, they dive into Angel's decently-strict creative process, her love of research and business problems, and how she hopes that the next moves in her career will take her to places she's never been. This is a really amazing talk with a pure and transparent creative person who struck gold in the early stages of her journey and is now using those experiences to pave her path forward. It's the inside scoop on a really important campaign, from the high-energy brain who first thought it up.

With the 2020 Cannes Lion Festival officially canceled this year due to a global pandemic, I figured now is the perfect time to sit down with Mr. Cannes himself, Mr. Per Pedersen. He was Grey Global's Chief Creative Chairman for many years and his main job was to go to all of Grey's offices around the world and teach them how to make Cannes Lion-worthy creative work. Not only did Per raise the agency's profile, but he helped the agency win hundreds, and hundreds, of Lions. 

Lots of Grand Prixs, tons of golds, loads of silvers and bronzes, and even a Titanium to put a cherry on top of it all. So, in lieu of the Cannes festival, we've changed the format of this podcast to truly dive into the nuts of bolts of How To Kill A Cannes Lion. 

Per discusses his favorite ideas of all time (and I've attached the case study videos below), and he also talks about 'Case Studies That Broke The Mold', how NOT to win any lions, and the key ingredients of how to take home the advertising and marketing industry's most coveted hardware.

Per's Favorite Case Study

**This podcast is GUARANTEED to be pretty much pandemic conversation free ** If you're tired of podcasts that only seem to talk about Covid-19 and you'd much rather listen to how one of the craziest advertising ideas of all-time was made - today is your lucky day. In this episode, Jordan sits with Joel Kaplan who was one of the original creators of Burger King's infamous 2009 Titanium Lion winning idea: The Whopper Sacrifice. Easily one of the shortest and most viral campaigns of all-time, Whopper Sacrifice was only live for just over a week before it had to be taken down, causing another insane round of free PR. In the first half, Joel details how the idea was built on a simple insight about what 'a friend' really is, how the idea was thought to be dead, and how one crazy app caused Facebook to congratulate CP+B for "officially breaking the platform."

In the second half, they dive into Joel's nebulous creative process, his love of strategy, and how he always makes sure to turn things upside down while concepting. From his earlier days back at AKQA where he took home hardware for launching Halo, through his insane years at Crispin, and into his current position as ECD at Muh-Tay-Zik/Hof-fer in San Fransisco, Joel drops a ton of hints and tips that every junior copywriter needs to listen to.

A few weeks ago, Jordan sat down with Lee Einhorn who was one of the lead creatives on REI's killer campaign #OptOutside, which took home the 2016 Titanium Grand Prix from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. OptOuside is easily one of the most loved campaigns of the decade due to its boldness and simplicity and, even more so, the movement's ability to activate other companies to join them in their protest. If you're not familiar with OptOutside, to boycott rampant consumerism REI closed all of its locations on Black Friday, gave all of their employees the day off, and told everyone to escape into nature - Opt Outside. Lee details how the idea was made, how insane it is to ask your client to close on their biggest day, and how one crazy idea turned a company into a national hero.

In the second half, they dive into Lee's creative process and how he likes to chase creativity. From his early days back at Arnold in Boston where he got to partner with CP+B on the Truth campaign, through his amazing years at Venables Bell & Partners, and into his current position as one of the founders of a great new collective/agency growing out of San Fransisco called Partners in Crime. 

Lee has amazing energy and a ton of life lessons from cranking out some of the world's best advertising ideas.

In this episode, Jordan sits down with the incomparable Evan Fry, who is a veteran of CP+B and one of the best creative teachers in the advertising business. (This episode is especially a must-listen from junior and mid-level creatives.) Evan was the CD and creative lead on the 2010 Grand Prix Titanium winning idea: TwelpForce from Best Buy, which turned Twitter into a customer service tool long before social listening was really even invented. They discuss how the idea was made, but then quickly dive into Evan's creative process and, most importantly, some tips and tricks to being creative (as Evan was also Crispin's Executive Director of Creative Development for several years). Sprinkle in a few stories about CP+B/Miami back in 2003, an apology for hiring Jordan back in 2008, a few firings and a 'finding your tribe' lesson, and you've got a great hour of creative knowledge.

The best part...Evan is a creative giving tree, he wears his heart on his sleeve and tells it like it is, his superpower is 'smelling fear', and he sounds 'so Boulder' it's shockingly relaxing. This one was a lot of fun.