Welcome back to Creativity Talks – the blog that proves ‘Creativity Changes Everything’.
This week, we spoke to Kevin Earland (who began his career at M&C Saatchi a whole 22 years ago). He could be considered the GOAT of production, and one of the agency’s biggest mysteries…
Kev’s Fact File:
- Morning alarm: 6.30AM; “That’s the normal time for getting to work”
- Song of the week: “None in particular, there’s a big variation” (though, we did learn that he’s not a fan of One Direction – so obviously we’ve added that in below)
- Ad of the week: “Having worked in advertising for 22 years, I think you can sometimes [switch off] from adverts. There’s not really anything in particular”
We work in advertising. What’s your viewpoint on the strength of advertising in the world we currently live in?
“That’s a difficult question. It’s a good informational platform to get stuff out there that you need to, and it [can be] used for a range of different things. [For instance], advertising is really useful for things like Public Health England – raising awareness for the most important topics. But it’s changed over the last 22 years, you can be scrutinised for what you advertise now – certain things you cannot go near or touch, that’s a big change. Still, it’s the freedom to get out there what you need to.”
Which ad captures creativity within advertising to you?
“When it comes to creativity, it needs to be something that’s different. We did a Garmin one ages ago which was an image with coding over the top of it – it was very good visually. Things like that are the best, they’re different and they’ve not been done before – because sometimes you find what you’re doing has already been done.”
If you could teach yourself any skill to help you in your role – what would it be? And why?
“Probably working better on Google sheets – that’s the thing for me. It’s plugging in information very quickly.”
Boy George had a sandwich named after him in 1984. What would you consider your proudest moment?
“My proudest moment? There’s so many. It would be getting married to my wife, I think. It was 25 years ago, and we met through my best mate. We already knew each other, but we got together and within 6 months we were married. There’s always things through your life – kids, holidays, things you’ve done yourself – there are always bits and pieces [you’ll be proud of].”
And finally, we know inspiration can come from anywhere – you don’t need to work in an agency to see it in action. What book/podcast/shows have had you thinking recently? Guilty pleasures welcome!
“[There isn’t one specific thing], I think you have to look at all platforms. Over the years it’ll change very quickly; one minute it’ll be digital, next it’ll be OOH, next it’ll be a podcast – next it’ll be something else. You need the flexibility to move around quickly across all platforms to make sure you’re always ahead of the next thing.”
Kev also wanted to know what we are trying to achieve out of the blog; Tariro believes her sense of achievement will come when she gets to know more people within the agency: “When you know more people, you can know what they’re working on – and it shows there’s a bigger cause that pulls us together.” Millie wanted to get a bit more creativity out there, and the blog is a good way to do that; “Just generally [though], I want to make myself proud and happy.”
Kev has also challenged us with a great task: “get something out there creatively during your time at the agency.”
