10min chapter

#715: Chris Beresford-Hill — A Master Ad Man on Superbowl Confessions, How to Come Up with Great Ideas, Cold Emailing Mark Cuban, Doing Naughty Things, Poetic Mind Control, Creative Process and Insider Tips, How to Negotiate with Bosses and Clients, and The Power of a Stolen Snickers

The Tim Ferriss Show

notes

CHAPTER

The Importance of Being Proactive in the Creative Industry

This chapter explores the control that creative professionals have over their work in a big agency, emphasizing the need to be proactive and forge their own opportunities. It also discusses the hierarchical nature of the industry and how expressing enthusiasm and willingness to work on a project can lead to exciting opportunities.

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Transcript

Episode notes

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Chris Beresford-Hill is one of the most sought-after creative leaders in advertising and has led brands with a combined market cap of over $1 trillion. He was recently named Chief Creative Officer of the Americas at BBDO Worldwide.

Previously, Chris served as North America President and Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy and Chief Creative Officer at TBWA\Chiat\Day. His work for clients like Guinness, Mtn Dew, Dove, Workday, Adidas, FedEx, McDonalds, HBO, and Foot Locker has driven sales while putting dent after dent into pop culture.

Chris and his teams have won every award for creativity and effectiveness many times over, including five campaigns in the permanent collection at MoMA. He has been named to Adweek’s list of best creatives — Adweek’s Creative 100 — Business Insider’s Most Creative People in Advertising, and the Ad Age 40 Under 40, back when he was under 40.

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[00:00] Start

[09:45] How Chris landed his first job with the help of Mark Cuban.

[16:28] Lessons learned from first boss Lance Jensen.

[20:37] Writing cold emails that work.

[25:27] What Chris's dad taught him about workarounds.

[34:41] A golf strategy that inspired Super Bowl aspirations.

[37:07] Good taste and the Modernista style.

[41:22] Portfolio building.

[45:15] How Chris landed his first Super Bowl ad.

[58:46] Editing and expectations.

[1:02:58] Critical acclaim.