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The 2005 Caxton Awards Seminar. Hayman Island, Queensland.
» Ray Black reviewing: David Penberthy - Editor, The Daily Telegraph
» Graham Hardy reviewing: Andy Mallinson - Brand & Marketing Director, Virgin Mobile Australia
» Anthony Gregorio reviewing: Chris Mort - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, McCann Erickson
» Carolyn Davis and Matthew Page reviewing: Kitti Chaiyaporn - Executive Creative Director, Publicis (Thailand)
» Mike Thomas reviewing: Mark Collis - National Creative Director, Leo Burnett
» Simon MacRae reviewing: Patsy Peacock - Founder & Managing Director - FBI Recruitment
» The Forum
» The Pol Roger Ramble
» The Spontaneous Talent Quest
Overview
There was an air of excited anticipation as delegates made their way to the 2005 Caxton Awards at Hayman Island. After coming upon various obstacles we made it to Hayman with an impressive line-up of speakers to stimulate and inspire delegates.
The 'introducers' - Eron Broughton, Robbie Brammall, Ben Green & Tom Wilson did a smashing job and created the scene for the speakers' individual takes on 'Talent'.
This year I appointed a select crew of delegates to write their takes on the speakers, thank you to all of the contributors. Here are their thoughts.
Tom Moult
Chairman - Caxton Committee
Speeches
Ant Shannon reviewing: John Fawcett - National Managing Partner, George Patterson Partners
Confessions of a C.A.P.
Ray Black so rightly said we should applaud anyone who gets up at the Caxtons because it's a tough room.
But we had listened to numerous speakers strut there stuff, and the quality of the speeches was going up and down like Michael Lynch's hand at a bar.
When John Fawcett started to speak it was different, the room suddenly felt warm.
He explained that he thought of himself not as a creative guy but as a Creative Advertising Professional
He explained that as he looked back over his career, he had succeeded because he had not just relied on his ability to come up with ideas.
He had succeeded because had got to know all the sides of the communications industry advertising agencies work in.
That included doing the stuff advertising creative people weren't usually interested in.
Like enrolling in an economics course at Harvard, and painstakingly getting to know what the numbers on the agency balance sheet actually meant.
He wasn't trying to prove anything.
He was just giving us some examples of his life in advertising that would make us think about talent.
It's quite a talent to get people to think
To speak and to be able to clear people's brains of the mud and the garbage.
To make the pathway's to an idea seem much clearer and full of achievable possibilities.
But he had done this for many years and it was his job throughout his career to get agencies and clients to think of what could be achieved if they opened their minds and aimed high.
This was a very relaxed talk from a Creative Advertising Professional
Afterwards I thought that you would feel relaxed if you had just sold your share in your agency to Sir Martin Sorrell
But then you wouldn't have an agency that was worth buying if you hadn't been a C.A P.
Ray Black reviewing: David Penberthy - Editor, The Daily Telegraph
David Penberthy is the editor of the well-known Sydney tabloid, The Daily Telegraph.
According to my dictionary, tabloid means "...a newspaper of small format, one given to news in a concentrated and simplified form." Curiously, the dictionary has "tabloid" snuggled between "table talk" and "taboo." Neat.
Up front, David connected "sodomy and violence" with tabloids so we knew right away we were going to get some interesting insights into the Tele's culture.
No surprises there as the Tele's bloodline goes back to the lurid, Les Patterson-like tabloid, the Daily Mirror.
David defined a good populist tabloid, such as The Tele, as having the commitment and virtue of being direct.
Unlike my dictionary, which defines "sodomy" as " a carnal copulation against nature", I'm sure the Tele would not be so coy.
The credo of The Tele is, irreverence, humour, attitude, a commitment to plain speech and leave no doubt in a reader's mind as to the point being made.
Powerful and punchy is what drives its editorial style and that's what attracted David to join the Tele.
David gave us a number of front-page examples of the Tele's populist, direct style.
One was the cheeky, "Your bill, Madam" headline directed to Jenny George in reference to the million dollar damages bill incurred by the ACTU when unionists trashed the front doors of Parliament House.
Another when some media slagged off at so called Mc Mansions style of new homes, the Tele took the side of the battlers who just wanted to build a home of their choice.
And another was in support of the residents of a NSW coastal town who objected to having a WA paedophile living in their community.
All vigorous stuff with attitude.
About here David made a neat segue to how the advertising industry often fails to capitalise on the strengths of the printed word, marrying bold images with punchy phrases.
He claimed the deficiency is highlighted when ads sit beside punchy editorial and lamented when most people are asked about their favourite ad, it's always TV.
He questioned if we saw press as the poor creative cousin to TV and Radio.
I think David made a valid point about the relative dullness of many newspaper ads, the ones that don't understand and touch the common man.
David reminded me of a story about Robespierre, during the French Revolution.
He was in a coffee shop with a friend and saw a large crowd rushing past. He leapt to his feet and said to his friend, "They are my people. I don't know where they are going but I must be there to greet them."
He would have made a great tabloid journo.
Graham Hardy reviewing: Andy Mallinson - Brand & Marketing Director, Virgin Mobile Australia
Risk Aware, not Risk Averse....
Andy's introductory remarks focussed on his perception that there was an abundance of talent and creativity in the Australian industry, and that what was needed was for agencies and clients alike to take more risks and push the boundaries. This set the scene for the case study that was to follow.
In the spirit of the "viral" Jason Donovan campaign for Virgin, Andy proceeded to hook in segments of the Caxton audience by relating the unfolding story of the "PR nightmare" that they had faced over the paparazzi-style leak of Donovan's phone number through the internet, the calls that began to flow to it, and the intervention by Virgin in order to hose things down.
From the Virgin CEO's memo written to all staff, (duly leaked), the involvement of Richard Branson, the calls for the responsible use of mobile phones, the media ads in various forms that carried the same message (and the offending phone number), these were all revealed as being part of an elaborate and ingenious "set-up" that led to a claimed 5 to 10 million Australians becoming aware that there was something going on between Jason Donovan, his phone, and measures that Virgin were taking to shield him from attention.
The chat rooms frequented by the virally afflicted simply buzzed, with some 25,000 people engaged. Over 200,000 calls were made to the number (fortunately on the "low talk and text rates" that the campaign set out to communicate!) We heard of the "Rope Strategy", or the steps that Virgin took to either wind down and dampen the level of interest and response, or to fire it up again. Impressive and boundary pushing as the campaign was, there were some misgivings, given that at its core it was less than transparent and authentic from a brand that hangs its hat on its honesty and fairness.
The ramifications and controversy over the fundamentals of the strategy were explored in question time, with the debate continuing long after all the delegates had left for home. Who's next to lead the market in this fashion? Amongst the Caxton attendees, the jury's still out.
Anthony Gregorio reviewing: Chris Mort - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, McCann Erickson
Good players always want the ball.
From my perspective, being a relatively new Managing Director who has a lot to learn, I was looking forward to Chris's maiden Caxtons speech. Like most I was also secretly hoping for a bit of dirt on his split with SOM (annoyingly he was nothing but polite about Singo).
And you can't have anything but admiration for the business credentials that Chris has built. Seventeen years at SOM, with the last eight as MD/CEO when it was really firing is impressive, so it's not surprising when he talks he sounds a lot like John Singleton himself.
"Good players always want to ball" was the title of the talk and being someone who likes a bit of sport I immediately was taken by the analogy. Interestingly it's not just a natty title, a quick glance on the McCann website showed that it's a theme already imbued through the group.
The speech reinforced the culture (both organisationally and individually) that's required to survive in the cut and thrust of our business today. A win at all costs competitive spirit. One that hates (in fact fears) losing.
Chris also believes that the industry lacks discipline (he's right). Highlighting that when margins are under pressure you have to have discipline to make money. Discipline also helps you stand out.
And when it comes to finding the right talent, Chris explained that in a business that was about selling ideas, you have to be able to sell yourself first.
I suspect that for the perennially underperforming McCann Group, it's an attitude that's been long overdue.
Although it was a short speech, I did get an insight into some of the reasons why Chris has been so successful. He seems incredibly focused and knows how to speak the language of business today ("the sales chart is our true scoreboard" being a good example). Language that CEO's and boardrooms across the country understand. Assuming he gets the right team in place, McCann's might finally become someone you worry about when you see them on the pitch list.
Don't let his press shot fool you, Kitti Chaiyaporn is an angry advertising rock star.
If you weren't at the Caxton weekend, you may not know that Kitti can't speak a word of English. OK maybe a bit. But for his presentation he used an interpreter, who actually turned out to be more of a Spin Doctor. See, I speak a bit of Thai, and what Kitti said and what his interpreter relayed, were two completely different things.
Kitti was introduced by the session chair, Robbie Brammall, as the Imran Khan of advertising. Everyone found this amusing, except Kitti.
"Imran Khan", he protested in a local Thai dialect, "is the Kitty Chaiyaporn of cricket!
You, John Fawcett, fetch me a Guava Juice."
A pretty awkward start, but his interpreter covered brilliantly. She portrayed Kitti as charming and humble, with a wicked sense of humour.
While Kitti whinged and moaned about everything from the water temperature in the Whitsundays to his 'not very fluffy' complimentary slippers, his interpreter distracted us with a brilliant display of Thai advertising.
She played the ad where a labrador attempts suicide on a busy freeway, after he catches his poodle-lover cheating on him, only to have his life spared by Bridgestone tyres. Then she followed up with the Soken DVD campaign where people describe the plot of a movie, but their speech jumps to mimic a faulty player. There were countless others and some great print to match, like the famous FedEx box.
Every spot left a real smile on your face. Shame the same couldn't be said for Kitti.
In a weekend filled with shocking tales of scary new media, Kitti's interpreter proved that the old television and newspaper have some life left in them yet.
In the end I really wished I could've just sat back and enjoyed the speech like everyone else. Damn that hypnotic caterpillar in Kitti's Cannes winning UNIF green tea ad for making me think I could speak Thai. Damn him to hell.
Reviewed by Carolyn Davis with guest comments from Matthew Page.
Team Saatchi's A team, MD Sharon Skeggs and CD Andrew Henderson, teamed up for a speech titled "Doing great ads is not enough".
Given the challenging nature of the industry right now, I suspect most of the audience would have been over the moon if they were allowed to do great ads full stop.
But as the Team pointed out, business is chasing different things today and we had better get with the program.
The first thing they're after we were told, is Speed to Market. In other words, getting your offer in front of consumers faster than your competitors'.
Had Sharon dropped the next bit about turning ads round in 24 hours at say, the 1998 Caxton, she would have had the place in stitches.
But there were a few laughs anyway, as the pair broke the talking with some lighthearted videos featuring various Saatchi staffers. At least, I took them to be light hearted. Perhaps Sharon really is as hot for young boys as the clips suggested.
The next thing the duo talked about was Cost Down Culture. This is all about producing the same product for less but doesn't it sound so much better? Cost Down Culture. Almost scientific.
And just when you thought the client would be happy getting his ads faster and cheaper, they hit us with this: Endurance. It turns out we're going to have to do it time after time after time. Sharon and Andrew said that running the DJ's account, for example, was an endurance sport and they had a really good clip at this point featuring an Olympic rower who talked about teamwork being the key to endurance. Remember advertising when you only needed a few pints and half a packet of fags to keep going?
Anyway, you're not going to be able to do any of this without point number four, Talent. We heard from Marcia Hines and Guy Pearce at this point, both of whom reiterated the importance of the team thing, surrounding yourself with and nurturing talent and remembering to maintain the child within. I noticed in the bar later that night that a few of the boys took this last tip on board.
But all in all, I thought that this was one of the weekend's better speeches and certainly gave me plenty to take back and apply in my own agency which is, after all, what you expect to get out of a Caxton weekend. Well, that and a hangover.
Mike Thomas reviewing: Mark Collis - National Creative Director, Leo Burnett
Mark Collis "What is it"
Way back in 1981 I worked with Mark at Y&R just before he left to spend 15 years working in the UK. We hadn't spoken since, I vaguely remember him having a dry wit, but over the last twenty odd years the drought has well and truly set in.
To say he is dry is like saying that Hayman is just a pub on the water.
He opened by going to great lengths to make quite sure we knew this was his first public speech and that despite this, he was totally unprepared
"Look if you don't believe me this is what I wrote last night," he said brandishing Hayman notepaper like some latter day Neville Chamberlain.
Then to postpone the inevitable he told a couple of jokes, these involved Noddy and John Fawcett but not necessarily together, before finally getting stuck into the guts of his speech.
"Culture, he said is important for the best talent to thrive. Good people flourish in the right environment, conversely put good people where they are not given the room to move and express themselves and they will never perform to their optimum".
He demonstrated this very well with the clever use of film clips one in particular showed John Travolta in Pulp Fiction and then in a mindless piece of Hollywood drivel. Surrounding talent, with talent, brings out the best in everyone be it an art director, writer, actor, director or cinematographer.
The next chapter in this 'unprepared' speech was a frightening look at all the ads in a recent issue of the Daily Telegraph. We thought about the agencies, the clients, the opportunities, and then looked at the work.
The disconnect was obvious to us all.
To conclude, Mark reminded us that talent alone is not enough; it's just one part of the equation.
"Surround yourself with the best people but remember for those people to produce their best work the surrounding environment must be conducive to doing the best work".
At this point he left both the stage and the island, to rejoin his family on a holiday in Byron Bay he had prepared earlier.
Simon MacRae reviewing: Patsy Peacock - Founder & Managing Director - FBI Recruitment
You're only as good as your next job.
After a spectacular 'showbag' introduction from Eron "you've-changed-mate-since-you-won-seven-Caxtons" Broughton, Patsy brought together an international cast of thousands to support the theory that you're only as good as your next job. But did they really support or just confuse?
Lee Clow kicked off proceedings insisting that while the masters of new technologies will come and go, it is our job to be the "conductors of the orchestra". Yet Bob Isherwood says that the most valuable creatives will be the ones with new and different skills.
Patsy pointed out that the most successful creatives think self employed. As Droga says; "control your output". Know exactly where you want to go next. Osama expanded on this thought; "sometimes the best art directors and writers make the worst cds -work out what you're good at and get paid for that."
On awards, Clow says they're not everything. Matchett says they are the true currency. Bob says they're important. Davis says they're not. So who's right? The most concise observation on the value of awards came from Mike O'Sullivan: "Awards are proof of hunger."
So where does that leave us? A little confused? Legend creatives and movie stars the world over all have differing opinions on what's important and what's not in forging a successful creative career in advertising. So who do we listen to? I say revert back to the one person who sees first hand, everyday, what does or doesn't get us the big jobs: Patsy.
Think self-employed.
Think viral.
Think distribution.
Win awards.
Research the interview.
Don't think money.
Don't burn anybody.
Send flowers.
And finally some sound advice for people who think a work conference on a resort island is normal business practice: Save your money.
Caxton Rituals
Simon Collins, on possibly one of his last public appearances in Australia, expertly carried out his role as the Forum wrangler. Acting as mediator between the floor and the speakers, successfully bringing the light of day to worthwhile issues in the industry. A tricky role to fill but one Simon filled with ease.
Co-ordinated by the masterful Fysh Rutherford and with a new sponsor on board we crossed new frontiers with this favourite piece of Caxton tradition. The 5km was covered in enthusiastic style, still no comment on whether it was the Pol Roger in hand or the hills that affected the finishing times. (Pity the wedding party getting their photographs taken at our finish line!) Thanks Fysh. Your enthusiasm and contribution is magnificent.
Steve Browning had the task of managing the 'Last Ever Talent Quest'. Steve sustained the pressure and produced the finest (and cleanest) quest for several years - helped out by a few oldie but goodie acts. He was successful in reining in his talent and encouraging them to do something, well, talented. Thanks Steve. The Talent Quest lives again.
