On My Radar: Andrea Ogunbadejo

What’s the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently?

I’ve been very fortunate to judge at both The Clios and The Marketing Awards this year, so I’ve had the opportunity to watch and discuss some of the world's best work. Something I continue to think about is this campaign by Australian Telco company Telstra. It's weird, funny, smart, has a great use of stop-motion animation and brilliant production design.

What website(s) do you use most regularly?

I use Reddit for crowdsourced (and largely) non-manufactured reviews and insights for just about anything: products, places, travel. If you don’t use Google, start typing in your web browser “[Insert product name here] Reddit"! It’s especially useful when you’re in a new city and need to know what’s what. 

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought?

I got a Sonos Arc sound bar and Era speaker for my new place and it’s been a game-changer. What I love the most is that the speaker can connect to my record player so I can get the most gorgeous sound out of it. I’m this close to getting a subwoofer too. 

What product could you not live without?

I cannot live without lip balm. I have a different one in every area of my house. I love the Laneige lip masks in the morning, Fenty Plush Puddin during the day, and Nuxe Rêve de Miel overnight. 

What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?

According to my Letterboxd, the films I rated the highest in the last year were A Complete Unknown (2024), The Zone of Interest (2023) and In The Heat of the Night (1967), which I’d somehow never seen! 

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

One of my favourite films of the new Hollywood cinema era is The Last Picture Show (1971), directed by Peter Bogdanovich. If you want to understand this era more, I recommend watching or reading Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock n Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, by Peter Biskind. 

What’s your preferred social media platform?

TikTok, although sometimes I love it too much, so I need to take breaks! Instagram is the most useful to me; it is like a blend of Facebook (connecting with friends and family), TikTok (content and pop culture updates) and LinkedIn (sharing new work, expanding my creative network). Also, because I’ve lived in so many countries, my friends never know what phone number I'm using, so they resort to Instagram directly messaging me most of the time! 

What’s your favourite TV show?

The Shield. I’ve rewatched it probably seven times and, hands down, that show takes the crown for the greatest pilot and finale episode of all time. It’s loosely inspired by the Rampart scandal, so centres on a group of very crooked LA cops. Everyone is talking about Walton Goggins right now because of his role in The White Lotus, so go see him at his absolute best in The Shield!

What’s your favourite podcast?

If you love the business of film, TV and entertainment you need to listen to The Town with Matt Belloni. It’s important for us in advertising too, because the lines between advertising, film, TV and sports are continually blending, so I always want to know what's happening with the studios, streamers and networks. 

What have you been most inspired by recently?

People continuing to be creative, funny and making art in the face of divisiveness and uncertainty

If you could only listen to one music artist from now on, who would it be?

Radiohead or Eminem, because I have the temperament of an angsty teenage boy, apparently. Both artists were very influential to me early on so there’s a familiarity and comfort there. 

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

Less fear-based decision making. 

Who or what has most influenced your career?

I knew I wanted to be a film producer after reading Julia Phillips’ memoir, You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. She was the first woman to pick up the Best Film Oscar, for producing Taxi Driver. Her sheer relentlessness and tenacity was inspiring to teenage me.