On My Radar: Jim Owen

What the funniest advertising idea you’ve seen recently?

The Amazon Echo ad for the Super Bowl with Michael B Jordan was good. I loved the sad sack husband who was taken aback that another man had his wife’s attention. Very amusing. The Geico Family ad by Terri Timely is obviously brilliant. Anything by Ryan Reynolds.

What website(s) do you use most regularly?

Probably shots.net, and may I say your hair looks very beautiful today.

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

Well, I didn’t buy it, but I was given an oven for my birthday. I’m almost too cool.

What product could you not live without?

Is a child a product? I guess it is. My two kids. Or my Apple Watch.

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

I’ve haven’t seen that many really funny films in the last year. I’ve seen some great films (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Monos, Saint Maud) just not many comedies. I saw The Trip To Greece at the cinema, a cut down of the TV series, and that was great; funny and touching. But the funniest thing I’ve seen recently is Tom Papa’s stand up You’re Doing Great, on Netflix. Hilarious, really uplifting, and a reminder we’re all doing OK. We’ve watched it a few times in our house.

What comedy do you think everyone should have seen?

This made me cry:

It’s Mehdi Sadaghdar, an Iranian-Canadian electrical engineer who does electric experiments on his YouTube channel. It’s like a cross between Kenny Everett’s Reg Prescott and this by Jamie Demetriou.

What’s your preferred social media platform?

Instagram. People take a lot of pictures of themselves, don’t they?

What’s your favourite TV comedy show?

In the last 12 months I really liked Dave. Yeah it’s a dick joke, but it’s more than that, course it is. It’s about a rapper wrangling with his his past, his anxieties, and identity politics. How many dick jokes, or rappers, can you say that about?

What’s your favourite podcast?

I don’t really listen to them. Adam Buxton? Is there another podcast? I prefer listening to music and daydreaming.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?

The Winter Exhibition at the Royal Academy. I’d never been but I’m a total convert. The young artists room was the highlight. The V&A’s my favourite though. Bowie, The Supremes, Vivienne Westwood. All those exhibitions were incredible.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it? 

That we’re catching people’s attention in a different way now. People don’t watch what broadcasters tell them to watch anymore, they watch what they want, when they want.

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

I’d love everyone to be paid for the work they do in the advertising industry, and pitching is work. Sorry to moan, but come on, get your wallets out you saucy (millionaire) sods.