Creative Insights is an AdNews series investigating and uncovering the secrets of the creative side of advertising.
Clemenger BBDO designer Steve Leadbeater:
How did you fall into the industry? Was it deliberate or a misstep?
I didn’t fall, I plunged into the deep end of an industry with a bad rap. (At least, to purist designers ‘on the outside’). I was a senior creative at a big design studio with a designer who had come from Clemenger. He ended up returning to Clems, and eventually, asked me to join their design team.
Deciding to take the leap from design studio to advertising agency was a little unnerving… It was a longer commute, and the clients seemed like these corporate giants. And how was I supposed to tell people I’d joined the ‘dark side’?
But once I set foot though the door, I was welcomed by some of the smartest, most talented, driven and warmest people I’d worked with. After nearly nine years, I’m still in awe of my colleagues and what we’re collectively capable of.
What’s your secret sauce for commercial creativity?
Ignoring the brief.
But only after it has been absorbed, considered and answered with solid work. Then, you can let loose with what you really think knowing you have nothing to lose. You’d be surprised how much value our clients get from this fresh thinking.
What’s the biggest hurdle now for creatives?
Same as it’s always been. Not letting your imagination be drowned out by the white noise and contradicting demands of business.
Do you wear the black t-shirt uniform or are you a nonconformist?
I wear black t-shirts, but my personal art is printed on them. So my uniform is just a tad less generic.
Can commercial creativity only take place in a room full of people in black T-shirts?
Hahaha. Commercial creativity takes place in the conversations where we laugh the most. Sometimes it’s on a video call. Sometimes it’s waiting for an elevator. Occasionally it’s in a room full of people wearing black, but it’s rarely on schedule.
What was the latest campaign that you worked on that you really enjoyed?
Our work for Tobacco Free Portfolios comes to mind. A campaign designed to highlight the inadvertent investment in big tobacco by the biggest U.S. companies via their employee retirement programs (like superannuation). The idea that if you invest in it, you own it, was brought to life with mock cigarette packs custom designed featuring the branding of each potentially offending company. Because the idea was to confront the people with the power to make change, not shame the entire organisation, only the C-suite were sent these beautifully shocking packs.
It was a huge project designing 100 bespoke cigarette packs. It often felt like a delirious labour of love, using our persuasive powers for good.
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