Breaking In

Check out some great work from Jon Krevolin.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

JK: Different thinking. Bold ideas. Understanding of human nature and strategy. And something that makes me laugh. Or cry.

WS: How important is finish? If ideas are the most important thing, can sketches be enough?

JK: For a copywriter it’s all about ideas. An art director needs a bit more finish, though.

WS: How important is writing? Do you need to see long copy?

JK: It’s not essential, but it’s always good to show you can do long copy. It shows you really know how to write.

WS: What do you think of showing work that is not advertising?

JK: Other stuff is great and encouraged. However, show you can do advertising too.

WS: Do you have any other advice for a student or junior trying to get into the business?

JK: Perseverance, baby. Even when you make it, that’s what’s going to help you get ahead. Don’t take “no” for an answer.

Jon Krevolin is Senior Creative Director at BBDO, New York.

Domino’s

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Check out some great work from Todd Riddle.

Interviewed at BBH New York.

TR: …the main thing is breadth and depth. So I can tell pretty quickly if someone is really good at one thing, and usually you assume that, by the time the book gets to you, there’s something in there that’s pretty good. But what really impresses me is someone who has various tones of voice in the work that they have. In other words, they can do something serious, they can do something funny, they can handle something more mainstream or a really tough brand but in an interesting way, and also, say, something that’s really smart. And to give an example: The Economist is a classic example of a really smart brand that’s able to show off a creative person’s ability to write or think in a really smart way. Something like Axe, here at BBH: is funny, guy humor, I guess. The Volkswagen stuff, whether it’s from Arnold or Crispin, is sort of more mainstream, and sits somewhere in between. So that’s just an example of three different kinds of voices that I can pick up pretty quickly if they can do more than one.

So if someone comes in and does all bathroom, guy humor, and the whole book is like that, it is pretty evident. So I’m really impressed right away by breadth. Also, I would say a lot of writers really aren’t very good. A lot of writers who call themselves writers aren’t really good at the craft of writing.

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Todd Riddle is Creative Director at Fallon, Minneapolis

Holiday Inn – “The Noses”

Travelers Insurance – “Snowball”

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Check out some great work from Kevin Russell.

Interviewed at AKQA London.

WS:What are common mistakes you see that could be avoided?

KR: …It’s the formulaic, “Here’s the three print posters with picture, headline, logo, or strapline, logo.” Very conventional. But one of the problems we’re working with the D&AD to try and rectify is the fact that things have moved along over the last, 10, 15 years in advertising. It’s not just about filling boxes. It’s not just about communicating to consumers. It’s about engaging them, and getting a two-way dialogue. And keep that going for three months with a limited budget, and get them involved in something. And some of the tutors don’t have an idea of how that works. Some have come from 1970s advertising school. What we like, and what I like to see, is a bit more of a fresh perspective on integrated stuff. The students should be the next generation of creators, and for them to come in with something that looks like [something that’s been done in the past is not good]. In terms of agencies, look at Goodby and Crispin Porter. You’ve got these fully integrated ideas, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be, “Here’s your TV ad, and here’s your this and that.” It’s like the “fast” for the [Volkswagen] Golf. It’s an actual toy that [Crispin Porter + Bogusky] built to create desirability. So fresh ideas that totally buck the trend and just go against the grain. That’s what I look for…

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Kevin Russell is a Digital Marketing Consultant in London. Formerly ACD at AKQA.

Heineken – “Star Player”

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Check out some great work from Paul Belford.

PB: … Advertising students are just bad at execution. And I wouldn’t expect them to be good because they haven’t had much experience in doing it. Especially art directors. And I don’t hold that against them. I mean, I’m happy to see a portfolio full of just scribbles as long as they’re good ideas. The most important thing is good ideas. And then you take a gamble when you hire someone, whether they’re going to become good at execution over a number of years or not. Some people will just have it and some people don’t. I think you’ve just got to have the desire to want to improve how your ideas are executed. And some people honestly really don’t care. They’re happy that they’ve done a great idea and someone else can just kind of plonk it on the page and run it. I think that’s a terrible shame.

So personally, I want people who have great strategies and ideas, and then also have the desire to execute those strategies and ideas to a higher level. So that’s what I look for from advertising graduates. But I don’t necessarily expect to see it in the portfolio. I just want to see scribbles and ideas. And ideas for anything actually, I really don’t care. Just someone who can have ideas—interesting ideas.

WS: So when you’re looking at design skills, how do you want to see that, if not in the book?

PB: I don’t think you can judge it. I don’t think you judge it in a young kid. They can certainly talk about it. I’d interview someone; when I was looking at their work, we’d talk about what kind of work they like, if they’d seen exhibitions, what kind of designers they’d like, if they had any favorite designers, things like that. And someone who can articulate a point of view about design is certainly more interesting than someone who just kind of shrugs and says, “Oh, I don’t know.”

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Paul Belford is Owner & Creative Director at This is Real Art, London.

Home Office — Internet Safety

Waterstone’s

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Check out some great work from Steve McElligott.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

SM: It’s a tough question. I think I look for—and this sounds cheesy—but I look for passion. It does sound really, really trite. But you can tell the difference between somebody who is just following the routine from their ad school and just doing assignments, and somebody who really, really, really has the hunger, and really has a deeper understanding of what they’re doing and why. And I think that comes through really quickly with anyone who cares, and for the other people who are just sort of filling in the blanks.

WS: How do you think it comes through?

SM: Good question.

WS: Maybe that’s a hard question.

SM: I don’t know. I think it’s one of those things you can’t put your finger on, honestly. Like, you know it when you see it, and you don’t see it very often, which is why you know it. Because I think there’s so few people out there -— it’s really 1 in a 100. I see a lot of books. They always shuffle them to me. And this kid came in about three months ago. And his book was so clearly apart from everybody else’s. And I talked to him for five minutes, and I instantly knew this guy was going to be a smash hit. And it wasn’t because he was just finishing assignments for some teacher somewhere. It was because he really gave a fuck.

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Steve McElligott is a Freelance Creative Director in New York.

Monster.com

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