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On My Radar: Shirin Majid
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Shirin Majid, Deputy ECD at VCCP Kin, loves the ad reinvention of a classic film, was floored by a Netflix documentary, and remembers a giant, one-eyed horse called Michelob.
What’s the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently?
Singin’ in the Rain was my favourite movie growing up, and to see Burberry reinvent it with masterful choreography, film technique, and Dreya Mac’s cover has me hitting play on repeat.
Credits
powered by
- Agency Production Company In-House
- Production Company Riff Raff
- Director Megaforce
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Credits
powered by
- Agency Production Company In-House
- Production Company Riff Raff
- Director Megaforce
- Executive Creative Director Megaforce
- Edit Company Final Cut/London
- Post Production The Mill/London
- Sound Design 750mph
- Music Twenty Below Music
- Executive Producer Matthew Fone
- Producer Nick Goldsmith
- Production Manager Hannah Fowles-Pazdro
- Production Coordinator Georgia Mills
- DP Katelin Arizmendi
- SFX Paul Mann
- Editor Joe Guest
- Post Producer Ryan Hancocks
- 2D Lead Alex Lovejoy
- 3D Lead Fabian Frank
- Colorist Matthieu Toullet
- Sound Designer Sam Ashwell
- Music Producer Emily Pritchard
- Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci
Credits
powered by
- Agency Production Company In-House
- Production Company Riff Raff
- Director Megaforce
- Executive Creative Director Megaforce
- Edit Company Final Cut/London
- Post Production The Mill/London
- Sound Design 750mph
- Music Twenty Below Music
- Executive Producer Matthew Fone
- Producer Nick Goldsmith
- Production Manager Hannah Fowles-Pazdro
- Production Coordinator Georgia Mills
- DP Katelin Arizmendi
- SFX Paul Mann
- Editor Joe Guest
- Post Producer Ryan Hancocks
- 2D Lead Alex Lovejoy
- 3D Lead Fabian Frank
- Colorist Matthieu Toullet
- Sound Designer Sam Ashwell
- Music Producer Emily Pritchard
- Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci
What website(s) do you use most regularly?
BBC News. Because 2020.
What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought?
Is a razor considered tech? No? How about a razor that looks like a piece of tech? I recently succumbed to Estrid’s advertising and design [below]. And I’m not even a millennial. (I’m on digital overload, so haven’t bought any new tech in ages).
What product could you not live without?
Notebook and pen.
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What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?
Swallow, directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis, is beautifully weird, incredibly disturbing, and stunningly crafted. Every modernist frame could be in a photography exhibit. It’s also a really fresh take on domestic ennui and gender inequality. But best to watch without knowing the plot, so no spoilers here.
What film do you think everyone should have seen?
When They See Us, a Netflix doc about the wrongfully-accused Central Park 5, absolutely floored me and has stayed with me since. It skilfully put me deeply in the perspective of those boys, and their mothers. Sadly, even though it happened more than 30 years ago, their experience couldn’t be more relevant today.
What’s your preferred social media platform?
Instagram for art, photography and dogs.
What’s your favourite TV show and why?
Normal People [above] for its acting, its subtleties, its tender realness. And Made in Chelsea for pure, unadulterated, brain-silencing escapist nonsense.
What’s your favourite podcast?
I don’t listen to podcasts. There is not a second in my day that is conducive to kicking back and listening to anything for longer than five minutes. I have a puppy.
What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?
What’s an exhibition? God, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to one of those. But, before the Age of Lockdown, I really loved two very original exhibitions at Somerset House: 24-7 which explored the non-stop nature of modern life; and The Art, Design, and Future of Fungi, an unusual and unexpectedly engaging look at the cultural impact of mushrooms by 40 different artists.
What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?
Diversity. Though the change is tiny, it is significant. I’ve been working in the industry since 1997 and most of the change I’ve seen has happened in the last five years.
If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?
The pitch process.
Who or what has most influenced your career and why?
He probably doesn’t know it, but his name is Mathias Lanni. In the early 2000s I was bored and uninspired as a copywriter in the editorial group of a PR agency, and he was building up the digital arm of the same agency. We worked together on a number of content projects and he said, “You’re a creative”. I had never before considered it as a career path and, before that point, was considering changing careers entirely. He hired me over to the digital team, and in the next few years I led some of the world’s first social media campaigns for brands like Axe, Starbucks and Motorola. I’ve never forgotten him for it and, since, make a point of seeing potential in people, not just what’s in their portfolios.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.
I used to show jump competitively as a young teen and won my first junior championship on a giant, one-eyed horse called Michelob.
