On My Radar: Yousef

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

I really loved both the client cut and director's cut of Wieden+Kennedy’s commercial for Quickbooks called Eggs. There’s a really interesting video from Nicer Tuesdays, from the creatives Charlie Lanus and Lucas Reis, talking about the process from brief to final film. It’s a wonderful bit of creative brought to life by the master, Ian Pons Jewell. It’s fun, silly and surreal - all the stuff I love.

What website(s) do you use most regularly?

Letterboxd. I’ve been keeping track of all the films I’ve seen over the last year or so and I’m enjoying reading everyone’s reviews. 

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

I recently bought some NFC tags to try and automate my home.

What product could you not live without?

Probably my MacBook. I’m rarely without it.

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

I really loved Past Lives. I think it’s something that hit me deeply like no other film did in recent memory.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

One of my favourite films is Children of Men. It’s still so meaningful and relevant today as it was back in 2006. It’s incredibly detailed and the world feels so realistic. I’ve watched countless video essays about it and I’m still learning more about it.

What’s your preferred social media platform?

Instagram. I’m very visual. It’s where I share a lot of my design and filmmaking work, and where I can check out the work of other talented creatives across all mediums.

What’s your favourite TV show?

I’d say Community. It’s a show that’s hilarious, layered and rewatchable. Every episode feels different to the other. I do like me some variety.

What’s your favourite podcast?

The Peacock and Gamble podcast. It’s so silly I love it.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?

I saw Picasso’s anti-war painting Guernica in Madrid earlier this year and I was fascinated by it. I first saw it in Children of Men, in one of the scenes in the background, as a nice bit of symbolism. I love the chaos, distortion and horror of his piece. One of my favourites.

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

I think it’d be Radiohead. I’m late to the party but I’ve been listening to them heavily over the last year or so. They have a song for every mood and I think In Rainbows is a perfect album. All I Need, Nude and Reckoner make me wanna cry.

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

There are some clients that have started to do this, but blind pitching would be great, especially as a younger director. I feel like, sometimes, some agencies or clients may lean towards a director who might be considered more high profile because it’d be great for PR, without the focus being on the treatment. There’s a fear that the award-winning directors get the award-winning briefs. So, they win more awards, and the cycle continues. They make great work, but blind pitching puts everyone on a more level playing field and makes it easier for a newer director to breakthrough.

Who or what has most influenced your career?

Nabil Elderkin. Through my love of hip-hop in college I was introduced to his music video work with Kanye West, Frank Ocean and others, and started writing essays about him and exploring more of the beautiful magical realism in his work. Since then, the music video bug caught me and it eventually developed into commercials. I love magical realism, especially in comedy. I think things are funnier when they’re grounded.

But, also, I wanna give a shout out to my college film studies teacher, Phil Drinkwater, who introduced me to the world of cinema and showed me how powerful it could be. He awoke something within me back then and I’m still here.