shots 159: C is for covers

Paul & Linus, shots 122

Paul Malmstron and Linus Karlsson, were co-ECDs at Mother NYC

Tell us about the idea for your creative portrait for shots 122.

Linus Karlsson, creative chairman, McCann Worldgroup: I’m a dwarf and Paul is a contortionist and we work at a circus with classic circus equipment.

Was the idea yours or Paul’s and did one have to convince the other it was a good idea?

Who comes up with what ceased to exist a long time ago. During the 21,466 hours we worked together over 20-plus years it gets incredibly blurry in the most fascinating ways. We rarely disagreed on things (except one thing), because when you’re in a team, who comes up with this, and who comes up with that, is not important. So I have no idea.

What was the one thing?

God.

Were the props and costumes hard to get hold of?

The brilliant photographer Josh Alsimer pulled it all together after briefing him on what we wanted to do. The shoot itself took place on the top floor of Mother in New York.

How was your beard extended for the piece?

I didn’t have a beard. And if I recall correctly, the make-up people who Josh hired had just come off a job with Tim Burton, so we just let them do their job. It was easy but it took hours to get that beard on. They kept gluing piece by piece until my face was pretty much covered. However, my favourite facial feature is my “smoky eyes”. Several women in the office told me it was “super-hot”.

Do you remember getting any other feedback and what was the reaction when the issue launched?

The issue came out right before Cannes, and I remember arriving in Cannes and people saying, “Oh, congrats on the cover – you are so much taller than I thought!” It was interesting and weirdly amusing to see how many people thought I was a hairy dwarf in real life.

How well do you think the image fit with the feature and the tone of the interview?

It’s a complete disconnect on one level, and a complete connection on another. Even though we said a bunch of fairly provocative things about marriage, and also compared kids to dogs, people only remember pictures. It’s how it is. We mostly remember pictures and smells. Words change in memory over time unless they are written down.

What did you say about marriage?

Most people marry for the wrong reason – because they’re in love. That only works a little bit less than half of the time, if you believe in statistics. Instead, if you took love out of the equation and married someone who had qualities you didn’t have, you’d be significantly more successful. Additionally, if you gave up the idea of trying to control the other person, you’d be very successful. If you stopped constantly thinking of being loved all the time, you’d be married forever.

Tell us about your career since the magazine came out and the strides you’ve made.

I’ve been part of an extraordinary journey in rebuilding McCann in the last few years, and literally re-designed McCann New York with my friend Tom Dixon. I’m creative chairman for Commonwealth/McCann running Chevy globally and recently started MING Utility and Entertainment with Brian DiLorenzo and Tara DeVeaux. Life couldn’t be more interesting right now. I love it.

If you could do the shots shoot again, what would be the concept?

I would probably do something more fashionable. Perhaps I am laying on a sleek beige daybed in the Hamptons, in a white room with white sheer curtains, playing with my iPad, dressed in JCrew clothes. Just laughing/smiling. Happy.

What are your memories of the day the image was shot?

I remember taking the subway home with the beard and hat on. It’s NYC, so no one really paid attention. They probably thought I was just a regular guy with a huge beard and a Leprechaun hat, with smoky eyes and thick mascara on his way home from work – which was actually totally true.

How would you sum up the image and the time it was taken?

The picture sums it up. I think it’s a beautiful portrait of us.

Deutsch LA, shots 155

When you were approached to be featured in the LA special of shots and asked to produce a creative portrait, how did you arrive at your idea?

Pete Favat, chief creative officer, Deutsch North America: I’m a big believer in the idea that “without tension, no one pays attention”. That has always pushed me to come up with ideas that will stand out. It also occurred to me that no one cares to see another picture of some CCO taking full credit for all of the blood, sweat and tears that went into his or her organisation’s success. That’s not how I roll and I actually wouldn’t have been interested in the portrait if I had been limited in that way.

Can you tell us the context and explain the situation of what’s happening in the image?

The photo represents a group’s escape from ad prison. People in this industry feel stuck, trapped. We have constant urges to try new things and take new directions. And we want to break out. So the idea of stealing a bus and getting the hell outta there made sense. I think a lot of people are feeling this way.

Why did you decide to involve the whole team in the portrait, even though you were the one being interviewed?

That’s simple: advertising is a team sport. This isn’t about me. Success comes from great talent all around you putting out powerful work. The days of imperialistic creativity are over. The reason I am where I am is because I have chosen to work with wonderful and talented people over the years and have built teams that love to work in collaboration. There’s no room on this bus for selfishness.

How did you select the specific people to feature?

Everyone chosen for this picture has a different skill set. Deutsch believes in the T-shaped employee and that the best way to creatively solve business problems is to surround those problems with solvers that have diverse backgrounds and talents. This photo represents talent across creative, design, strategy, tech, art, copy, music production, UX, integrated production and more.

Where did you get hold of the orange boiler suits?

I can’t tell you that.

And what’s the story behind your “you need an enemy” knuckleduster?

Knuckleduster. Love that term. I gave a talk at Cannes two years ago with artist Shepard Fairey called ‘You Need an Enemy’. It’s a philosophy that is ingrained into my creative process. It’s a way to engage people. And its focus is to identify the antagonist or tension in a brand’s story. Art needs resistance so it gives you something to push against. We use it a lot.

How many shots did it take for the photographer to get the final image and tell us about the direction involved in getting everyone to strike the correct pose?

Gary Land is a great photographer, so it didn’t take many – probably 20 shots. Dana Commandatore, EVP, director of creative and print services, produced the shoot and directed us through the windshield – although she should really be in the shot! If you can’t tell from the final image, we had a lot of fun with this.

What feedback did you get when the issue was released?

There was a lot of positive energy around the issue. My Facebook and Twitter pages got very excited. I think it made people happy. We live by a mantra at Deutsch: “Invent the most original and shareable work in the world.” I think the reason this cover was shared so widely is because it is unique, original and truly represents our organisation.

How would you sum up the image and memory of the shoot?

I want to live in that moment forever. That’s what it’s all about for me. Being with people you love and making things you care about.

AKQA, shots 145, James Hilton, co-founder, and Ben Jones, CTO, AKQA

Tell us about the concept and what’s happening in your creative portrait in shots 145?

James Hilton, founder, AtelierStrange:We wanted to show how the different disciplines and crafts at AKQA think in completely complementary ways and share a total focus on producing the most inspiring and beautiful work possible. Being in sync is the only way this is ever achieved. So the shot has Ben and I attached to each other’s brains with a neural lace we knocked up one evening. It was a bit touch-and-go, but it totally works! Ben came out of the experiment relatively unharmed. Relatively.

Ben Jones, chief technology officer, AKQA: The foundation of the article and thereby the final artwork was something that is at the heart of AKQA. To create remarkable products and services we have always formed a beautiful partnership between art and science. In the shot James represents the art and I’m the science and together the most amazing, quite often serendipitous creativity occurs. We create the perfect mind. Right and left brains coming together in one.

How did you come up with the idea and can you remember the initial conversation?

JH I’d been watching Back To The Future and I really wanted one of Doc Brown’s mind-reading hats – we’d each be wearing one and they’d be connected. I was doing a search for good pictures of Doc’s experiment when I came across an actual brain reader. It was properly cool. I quickly did a crap mock-up and showed it to Ben. Fortunately he loved the idea!

BJ It was pretty much immediate. In fact it’s a great example of exactly how we tend to work. We had an initial conversation about how a magazine which celebrates and showcases creativity would feature how a CTO and CCO come together. But this is where the art of storytelling comes in. My original idea was to have two faces come together. But then James came up with the idea of making a single, perfect mind and hence the wires which join us as one. The next thing you know it’s mood-boarded and away we went to the hardware shop.

Tell us about the production process and your approach.

JH Initially we tried to find the equipment I had used in my concept. Harriet [McGregor], my assistant, phoned all sorts of places trying to get one, but to no avail. So we decided to make one.

I tell you what, these brain transference devices aren’t fucking easy are they?! First off we figured we should find a pre-existing net of some sort that would fit over our heads, then we could attach the ‘sensor nodes’ to it. I say sensor nodes, I mean bits of plastic things that Harriet found at a DIY store. But where to find a net? Moments later Harry found herself in a cab speeding off to Soho’s finest sex shops to purchase all the fishnet body stockings and gimp masks she could find. And while the results of her shopping extravaganza were very amusing, none were at all suitable. Which meant only one thing: find lager and construct our own net using electrical cable. This, I should point out, was the night before the shoot. At 10pm it became obvious to all that our net was shit.

There isn’t much in life that can’t be solved by alcohol and double-sided sticky tape. And to that end we decided the best thing to do would be to simply stick the nodes on to our heads. And if any fell off, there was always superglue.

BJ As with many things, it started big budget. Then we realised we were going against our values. AKQA is completely customer obsessed and has a disdain for navel gazing. So we reduced the budget and focussed on getting the same result via a different route. This was a little more manual and rudimentary. We started with the belief that this could mainly be done through SFX and post production. But the result looked faked and awkward. So it became an unbelievably meticulous example of manual labour: 150 metres of wire, 220 ‘thingamebobs’ that Harriet found in a hardware store close to Farringdon, a shitload of glue and a huge amount of patience.

And were you both topless when the photos were taken?

JH Yes. I was also bottomless, even though I didn’t need to be.

BJ James was in a serious fitness mood so he loved it. He got to show off his newly-sculpted body. I’m sure he was doing press ups in the toilets before each shoot.

How well do you think the image fit with what was covered in the interview and resulting feature?

JH Well, the feature was called ‘A meeting of minds’ so I think it pretty much does what it says on the tin. I’m nothing if not literal.

BJ Absolutely nailed it and it completely captures how you create great work.

What about the other images in the feature? What’s happening in those and how did you come up with the facial expressions?

JH Ah yes. The trick is to whisper to the photographer: “Whatever happens, keep shooting.” Then plug the laces into the mains. Oh we laughed.

BJ Some were done on the toilet and others pinching each other. We just wanted to have fun, to experiment, which again is in line with the article’s premise that you need great relationships to create great things. You rarely experiment if you don’t trust… A fun environment builds trust. It’s a fact that through the art of play you learn to trust and gain confidence, which gives you more confidence, which in turn enables you to continue to discover yourself, things, places, ideas.

How important was it for technology to feature prominently in your portrait?

JH Critical. The whole thing was about the creative application of technology.

BJ It’s what we live and breathe so it was essential.

Does the image hold any fond memories for you now you aren’t working together anymore?

JH The downside of plugging a homemade neural lace into a standard 240v socket, is any memories you might’ve had don’t last beyond: “Ooh, that tingles a bit… mmwwagggghhhhhhhhh.” I did decide to leave [AKQA] fairly soon afterwards, but nothing should be read into that. Well, not much anyway.

BJ Yes. I miss James because I love the smell of terrible body odour. It’s just one of my kicks. Don’t print that… Oh shit, I never said “off the record”.

Did you get any feedback when the issue was released and if so what
was it?

JH “You two look like proper c***s.” Thanks mum.

BJ Yes. How did James get the front cover and Ben end up in the foldout? Brains over beauty?

Tony Granger, shots 146

How did the idea for your creative portrait for issue 146 come about?

Tony Granger, global chief creative officer, Y&R: I sat with one of our senior art directors here to brainstorm a couple of things about my views on the industry, and he came up with it.

Why did you decide to highlight a change in time and technology with the image?

I wanted to convey that if you’re naturally inquisitive, passionate and excited about technology, you can evolve with our business throughout your career. I was just as excited about radio as I was about TV, film and now about new technologies and what they allow us to achieve. The fundamental quest for creating influential creative remains the same, regardless of how you consume media or what screen you’re watching on.

How well do you think the image fit with what was covered in the feature?

It was all about time and technology so I think this image brought this theme to life quite well.

Tell us about your relationship with both forms of technology presented (the TV and Mac) and why they’re both important to the industry.

I’ve always been a Mac fan. When the Mac first came out I bought one and have owned every version since. Before the Mac became a standard in the industry I was always dialling up Mac usage at agencies. Just last week, I hesitantly bought the Apple Watch and after three days I’m totally hooked – the interaction I’ve already developed with it is totally different from any other device I’ve ever used. Apple always seems to find new ways of connecting people to their devices.

Do you remember the times when TV was the most important medium? Tell us about your relationship with the old TV set growing up.

Well, South Africa only started to broadcast TV in 1976, and for only two hours a night. One hour was in English and one hour in Afrikaans. And it was a riveting two hours – the whole country would rush home to watch. I remember Dallas played on Tuesday night and the entire country would come to a standstill – there was literally no traffic and restaurants would shut down.

So I grew up mostly listening to radio and watching more films. I was always really inspired by how radio can create a theatre of the mind, and be such a powerful medium.

You told us you were a fan of Netflix. Is that still the case?

I rarely watch cable TV at all, and have fundamentally cut the cord. I love Netflix and it continues to be one of my favourite content providers. I also love Apple TV and HBO Go is fantastic. Netflix only becomes a challenge for me when I’m travelling; the user experience is far better in the US. I love the fact that I can binge-watch great content and not watch when the networks tell me to watch. I even use CNN Go and CNBC Go for news these days.

And what about your face in the image – do you remember the photo being taken?

Well, actually, that photograph of me wasn’t taken specifically for this shoot. Our creative team went through a library of my portraits, picked the most suitable one and designed around it. Alan Vladusic, one of our senior art directors who created the image, thought it was very important to use a photo of me that looked determined and thoughtful. It was critical to him that I was looking straight at the camera to get the right look and feel for this.

Tell us about the production process for the piece and your approach. Over to you, Alan…

AV The production process has to start with an idea and be designed around that. We used five or six different stock images of TV screens and computer monitors, but only one photograph of Tony. The look and feel was created in post production. It had to be conceptual.

What was the feedback and reaction when the issue was released?

TG It was very well received. It was nice to hear from so many of my peers in the industry, and hear from those who share my point of view and passion for the business. I was really proud to be on a shots cover.