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This week we shredded our vision board and fed it to some ornamental carp, purely to win the approval of author, critic and quite possibly the world first demotivational speaker, Patrick Freyne. Before becoming the enormously popular columnist and critic for the Irish Times, Patrick spent his 20s chasing the rock star dream. But while the life of big hair, hard drugs and tight trousers wasn’t to be, it did give Patrick the time and space required to be one of the creative world’s leading authors, thinkers and sense-talkers. His book ‘Ok, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea’ is a glorious celebration of curiosity, experimentation and letting your heart lead the way. And now he’s on a mission to dismantle the cult of ‘Big P’ productivity and remind people that ‘maximising your potential’ is a poor substitute for living your life.  This episode is dedicated to Patrick’s wife Anna Carey, who has been his biggest influence. She also has an amazing funny romance fiction book coming out later this year called Our Song.  ///// Follow Patrick on X and Bluesky Timestamps:  01:32 - The Concept of Demotivational Speaking 07:36 - Patrick's Early Jobs and Musical Aspirations 09:08 - The Influence of Music on Patrick's Life 12:04 - The Importance of Curiosity in Career Paths 15:18 - Exploring the Idea of 'Stupid Ideas' 17:14 - The Impact of Burnout and Productivity Culture 20:40 - Finding Peace in Accepting Average Productivity 22:37 - Cultural Expectations and Work-Life Balance 25:31 - The Role of Technology in Productivity Anxiety 30:17 - The Dangers of Measurable Metrics 32:03 - Writing Techniques and Approaches 36:30 - The Importance of Rhythm in Writing 39:01 - Listener Questions: Generational Perspectives on Productivity 42:57 - Antidotes to Hustle Culture and Finding Balance 45:27 - Final Thoughts on Productivity and Well-Being Patrick's Book Recommendations are:  The Fourth Time We Drowned – Sally Hayden  Commonwealth – Anne Patchett A Visit from Lagoon Squad – Jennifer Egan /////

This week we deliberately trapped ourselves in a cartoon like the dude from A-Ha in order to cross paths with marketing’s MirthMaster 3000, Tom Fishburne aka The Marketoonist. Apart from your CEO accidentally getting trapped in his own futuristic private bathroom over the bank holiday weekend, the funniest stuff in marketing usually comes from Tom’s brain. The comic genius behind The Marketoonist, Tom has been skewering this highly skewerable business for years – giving a reassuring chuckle to millions of marketers along the way. As well as being a famous side-splitter he’s also an expert eye-opener, with his Marketoonist agency having persuaded mega brands like Google, Microsoft and even LinkedIn of the value of having (and giving) a laugh. And, in his bid to remove the ‘po’ from the face of marketing, he also shares his wit and wisdom as one of the industry’s most in-demand keynote speakers. This episode is dedicated to David and Claire Hyatt from Wales, as without these two Tom’s cartooning may never have transitioned from hobby to work.  ///// Follow Tom on LinkedIn. Tom Fishburne's website here. The Marketoonist website here. Timestamps: 02:14 - Quick Fire Questions with Tom Fishburne 03:21 - Tom's Career Journey: From English Major to Cartoonist 07:00 - Early Influences and Inspirations 08:42 - Observations and Humour in Prague 10:09 - First Office Cartoons and Their Impact 13:49 - Humour in Marketing and Business 17:55 - Finding Material for Cartoons 19:06 - The Role of Humour in Serious Topics 23:21 - Can Any Brand Embrace Humour? 25:18 - Humour During the COVID-19 Pandemic 27:50 - Variety of Brands Tom Has Worked With 29:54 - Consistency of Human Nature in Humour 30:41 - Listener Questions: Balancing Satirical Humour 33:28 - Digital Transformation and Industry Jargon 35:07 - Listener Questions: AI and Humour 38:07 - Listener Questions: Humour Category at Cannes 39:38 - Listener Questions: AI vs. Human Comedians 42:26 - Four Pertinent Poses: Advice to Younger Self 43:23 - Four Pertinent Poses: Banish One Thing from the Industry Tom's Book Recommendations are:  Orbiting the Giant Hairball – Gordon MacKenzie  School is Hell – Matt Groening  /////

This week we shrank ourselves down to Dennis-Quaid-in-Inner-Space micro proportions to catch Spencer LaVallee and Graham Douglas, the co-founders of mega-successful micro creative agency Gus. Spencer and Graham lead a creative crew leaner than a wildebeest that got banished from its herd last Tuesday for repeatedly messing around. But size means little when you have big ideas, and the agency regularly rubs shoulders with the behemoths of the ad and marketing world when it comes to gongs and glory. From Gus being named Ad Age Small Agency of the Year, to their campaigns winning top honours at the likes of Cannes, Forbes and the New York Film Festival, Spencer and Graham are a testament that brains can beat brawn in this industry. Especially when those brains are inside the heads of a couple of fellas who’ve had such an interesting journey through it. This episode is dedicated to all the small but mighty creative agencies out there proving that size doesn't limit impact. ///// Follow GUS on LinkedIn Visit their website here. Timestamps: (01:54) - Quick Fire Questions with Spencer & Graham (03:26) - Graham & Spencer’s Career Journey (10:35) - Spencer's Inspiration from an Outdoor Ad (12:08) - Working at Campfire and True Blood Campaign (15:54) - Graham & Spencer's Partnership and Founding of Gus (18:56) - Strategy and Creativity Silos in Agencies and Clients (20:32) - The Importance of Singular Creative Statements (22:33) - The Mural Test for Brand Platforms (24:56) - Internal vs. External Brand Positioning (26:36) - The Role of Simplicity in Branding (28:05) - Optimism About AI in Creativity (30:01) - The Threat of AI in Strategy and Research (32:29) - Staying Small on Purpose (36:18) - The Changing Shape of Agencies (42:18) - The Gus Grid and Creative Strategy (43:13) - Breaking Norms with Back Market Campaign (44:48) - Four Pertinent Poses: Advice to Younger Self (47:59) - Banish One Thing from the Industry: Lack of Mentorship Spencer and Graham's Book Recommendations are:  Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin The Artists Way by Julia Cameron Essentialism by Greg McKeown  /////

This week we stopped writing 80085 on our pocket calculator and started doing proper sums in order to catch the mathematical eye of one of the world’s leading financial and marketing thinkers, Moira Creedon. If there’s a fancy, famous and highly respected teaching institute in the world, then Moira has almost certainly been there, sharing the stuff in her enormous brain with students, leaders and top businesses. From Fontainebleau to UCC and the IMI – not to mention the legendary Mark Ritson Mini MBA – Moira has taught at them all, passing on her knowledge and experience as one of the world’s leading financial strategists. Also, as well as being multi-brilliant and multi-nice, she’s multi-lingual and often delivers her talks and lectures in English, Spanish, French and German. This episode is proudly dedicated to the late and great Gail Gunderson. ///// Follow Moira on LinkedIn Visit her website here. Timestamps: (02:19) - Quick fire Questions: (05:47) - Moira's Career Path: Early Jobs and Experiences (09:51) - First Proper Job: General Motors (12:02) - Moira's Extensive Travel Experience (17:16) - Marketing and Finance: Bridging the Gap (19:12) - Understanding the Language of Finance (23:43) - Career Management for Marketers (25:50) - The Role of CMOs in Organisations (28:18) - Low Margin Industries and Marketing Budgets (32:04) - Cultural Differences in High vs. Low Margin Companies (35:00) - Jaguar's Marketing Strategy Discussion (39:51) - Perception of Marketing in the C-Suite (41:06) - Finance's View of Marketing as a Cost Centre (44:33) - Finance and Marketing Decision-Making (46:54) - The Role of Finance in Modern Business Moira’s Book Recommendation is:  The ascent of money by Neil Ferguson  /////

This week we strapped on a Motorola pager and stole a briefcase off our dad in order to look businessy enough to chat to the Batman of the B2B world, LinkedIn legend and co-founder of Evidenza, Peter Weinberg. Peter Weinberg has effectively grabbed B2B marketing by the ankles and dragged it out of the dull and dreary hole into which it had buried its head. World famous for his time in charge of the game-changing B2B institute at LinkedIn – alongside his pal Jon Lombardo – Peter is now the extraordinary human brains behind AI powered research platform Evidenza, where he continues to be a champion for the kind of B2B that’s never bland. ///// Follow Peter on LinkedIn Here’s his website Here is Rory Sutherland Eurostar TED Talk Timestamps (02:37) - Quickfire Questions (03:34) - Peter's Career Path (06:36) - Transition to Advertising (11:22) - The B2B Institute at LinkedIn (15:50) - Pivotal Moments in B2B Marketing (17:37) - Contrarian Views in Marketing (19:05) - The Role of Synthetic Data (24:32) - Launching Evidenza (30:50) - Validating Synthetic Research (34:13) - Scepticism Towards AI in Marketing (40:15) - AI and Advertising Effectiveness (45:45) - Using AI for Strategic Planning Peter’s Book Recommendations are: Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson How Brands Grow by Bryon Sharp   Building Distinctive Brand Assets by Jenni Romaniuk  How Not To Plan – Les Binet & Sarah Carter Antifragile by Nassim Taleb  The Elephant In The Brain by Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson /////

This week we very tentatively clambered on top of our desks to bellow ‘Oh Captain, my Captain’ to the most inspirational educator in advertising, Ally Owen. The brains behind one ad-lands most invaluable teaching programmes, Brixton Finishing School, Ally has done more than literally anyone to help young, multicultural and neurodiverse creatives find a way into advertising – kickstarting hundreds and hundreds of creative careers, while most big agencies were sat fiddling with the font on their DEI policy PowerPoints. For most people, transforming all those lives would have been enough – but Ally has also gone on to launch ADcademy, a free virtual programme that provides 2,500 students a year with top-class creative training. Ally is also one of the brains behind Visible Start, an incredible program designed to help women over 45 to re-enter the workforce. So, in a nutshell, just imagine what a huge stinky poo-fire the creative industries would be without her. In this episode we ponder everything from the real value of diversity and inclusion in all kinds of business, the financial and emotional hurdles she helps young creatives navigate at Brixton and how a Friday-night shift at Portsmouth McDonald's gave her the skills of a UN negotiator. ///// Follow Ally on LinkedIn Visit the Brixton Finishing School website or follow them on Instagram Head to Career Adventures where tomorrow’s creatives are being inspired ///// Timestamps  (04:10) - From Selling Shoes to McDonald's: The Early Gigs (06:49) - The Skills of a UN negotiator: Friday night in McDonald's Portsmouth (09:23) - The Great Escape to University (10:56) - From Pharaohs to Advertising and the House of Stolen Things (13:39) - Pure Luck or Destiny, The Path to Advertising?  (15:22) - A Relentless Career Pursuit (18:04) - Setting out to make things better with Brixton Finishing School (24:13) - Building a Bridge into Advertising  (28:04) - Office Etiquette, Don’t Microwave Fish (31:36) - How to Support Brixton Finishing School  (33:07) - The Finishing School Foundation: Practical Help for the NEET  (41:19) - Four Pertinent Poses  (45:45) - Honouring Carol Tully     Ally’s book recommendation is: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. /////

This week we pulled on our most dramatic tights and tried not to mumble our lines in order to catch the attention of one of the theatre world’s most charismatic – and mischievous – characters, Christian Edwards. The comedy genius behind one of Twitter’s greatest spoofs – the mysterious West End Producer – Christian eventually pulled back the curtain to reveal, with glorious theatrically, that it was him all along. And this is entirely typical of a man whose creative adventures, and commitment to putting on a show, encompass writing regularly for The Stage and starring in sell-out shows in both the West End and Edinburgh Fringe. Like a nonchalant spoon, he has never been afraid to cause a stir, and while that may have knocked the occasional nose out of joint, he has amassed a cult following and a well-earned reputation for being one of theatre-lands wittiest wags. As well as re-living his starring role in that big, weird show we used to call Twitter, we chat about the life – and challenges – of a professional actor, what the future holds for both Christian and his West End Producer, and hear a magnificent yarn about the time he ran into an ex-fiancée dressed as a giant cigarette. Discover the homepage of the latex mask The Twitter account that launched the star View West End Producer’s snaps on Instagram Follow Christian Edwards (the real one) on Instagram Follow the real Christian Edwards on X ///// Timestamps (02:15) - Early Jobs and Humorous Experiences (05:06) - First Proper Acting Role: A Journey Begins (06:05) - Discovering a Passion for Acting (08:41) - The Challenges of Early Acting Roles (10:08) - The Variety of In-Between Jobs (12:10) - Lessons from Early Jobs in Acting (14:09) - The Birth of the West End Producer Persona (18:31) - The Rise of West End Producer on Twitter (20:31) - Validation and Identity: Christian vs. West End Producer (23:30) - The Evolution of the West End Producer Character (25:51) - Impact on the Theatre Industry (30:06) - The Importance of Mental Health Advocacy (32:22) - Unmasking: The Transition from West End Producer (35:21) - Future Projects and Creative Outlets (41:21) – Listener Questions (53:00) – Four Pertinent Posers ///// Christians Book Recommendations are: Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop? by Chris van Tulleken Year of the King by Anthony Sher Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Acting (But Were Afraid to Ask, Dear) by West End Producer Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Going to the Theatre (But Were Too Sloshed to Ask, Dear) by West End Producer

This week we deliberately kept standing on rakes and getting repeatedly thwacked in the face in order to lure out the king of creative nonsense, Mr Mark Denton esq. The creative hero that advertising needs, but doesn’t entirely deserve, Mark Denton is the once-in-many-lifetimes imagination behind more than 500 commercials – scooping up so many awards he could spend all day throwing them at passing canoeists and still have armfuls to spare. With even the biggest creative industry on the planet unable to entirely hold Mark’s interest, he’s flitted magnificently between the worlds of art, fashion and furniture design – Dentonising each field to glorious effect. Currently chief of COY! Communications, Mark is surgically re-implanting advertising’s forgotten sense of fun, and putting the ‘big idea’ back on the table. Teetering gloriously at the edge of what he calls ‘old geezership’, Mark has a lifetime of stories, adventures and quadruple-strength whimsy to impart – covering everything from stumbling into advertising, why he’s embracing new creative spaces and his famous experiment as a 65-year-old intern. ///// Visit Mark Denton's Website Dig through Dave Dye’s Mark Denton Archive Follow Mark on Instagram Connect with Mark on LinkedIn Mark’s first ever TV ad for Cadbury’s Cream Eggs Mark’s scamp for Samsung car batteries A showcase of Mark’s work in his interview with the peerless Dave Dye A tribute to his dedication, and former boss Norman Icke (creator of the Milk Tray man), Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Case advert:  Timestamps (03:55) - Mark Meets Duncan (07:00) - Family Background and Career Choices (09:15) - First Job and Sneaking in Creative Ideas (12:25) - The Cadbury's Cream Eggs Breakthrough (18:10) - Adapting to Different Agency Styles (23:30) - Interning at St. Luke's (30:00) - The Role of Process in Agencies (32:00) - The Decline of Quirkiness in Advertising (35:00) - The Need for Entertainment in Ads (37:00) - The Creative Fulfilment in the Ads Your Working On (39:00) - Encouraging Young Creatives (40:30) - Visual Posters Make Great Ads (43:00) - Encouraging Enthusiasm in Advertising (46:00) - Allowing Creatives to be Creative (49:00) - Conclusion and Reflection on Change (51:00) - Getting his head round TikTok (57:10) - Listener questions (01:01:25) - 4 pertinent posers Mark's book recommendations are:   How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Unleash the Power of Puerility by Mark Denton /////

This week we just kept on making the logo bigger and bigger (and bigger) until we caught the despairing eye of legendary art director, author and, let’s face it, visual Jesus, Mr Dave Dye. The art director’s art director, Dave is the architect of some of the coolest advertising you’ve ever seen – with a hit-list of iconic ads for everyone from Adidas to Volkswagen to The Economist. He’s also a champion for advertising with more wit and brains, expertly rummaging back through some forgotten ad masterpieces via his wildly popular blog and podcast, Stuff From The Loft. Finally, he’s the co-author of the excellent The Howard Gossage Show, a book created with another friend of CTA, Steve Harrison. A guest so entertaining we genuinely forgot there was a running time, Dave shares the stories behind his most memorable campaigns, the lessons we can all learn from past masters, a philosophy that’s all about making ads people enjoy and his optimism for the creative future of the industry. ///// Rummage around Dave's Stuff from the Loft Timestamps (05:00) - From Paperboy to Trying to Get a Job in Advertising (08:04) - Creating His Own Ads (10:25) - Changing the Approach to Cover Letters (12:33) - Getting Interviews and a Foot in the Door (20:03) - Being Bold and Distinct in Job Applications (25:27) – Optimism and Naivety in Advertising (30:02) - Challenges of Working with Established Brands (31:18) - The Potential of Digital Advertising (34:47) - The Origins of Stuff From The Loft (36:58) - The Purpose of Archiving Work (40:12) - Transitioning to a Public Archive (43:10) - Accidental Evolution into Podcasting (56:50) – Listener Questions Dave's book recommendations are:   A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters by Dan Nelken  The Howard Gossage Show by Steve Harrison & Dave Dye /////

This week, we got into a thumb-war-to-the-death with our inner critic in order to lure over legendary copywriter, speaker, coach, author and all-round good Canada goose egg Dan Nelken. The alphabetical genius behind the bestselling Self Help Guide for Copywriters, and his 5-star online course ‘Writing Under Pressure’, Dan has made it his mission to rescue writers and brands all over the world from the malign influence of the dreaded inner critic – a character that Dan describes, with characteristic politeness, as a ‘ding dong’. The true Canadian king of creativity (shut your face Reynolds) Dan chats to CTA about the importance of creating stuff that’s just for you, the long-game of any creative career, how to gain and maintain creative confidence, and of course his own grapplings with an inner critic he calls Alan. ///// Follow Dan on LinkedIn  Visit Dan’s site  Jerry Seinfeld's interview with Tim Ferriss, the interview every creative should watch ///// Timestamps (02:05) - Quick Fire Questions (04:05) - Dan's Early Jobs (04:53) - From Forklift Truck Driver to Copywriter (06:45) - Finding His Path into Copywriting (08:36) - First Copywriting Gig at Cosset and Breaking through with McDonald's (12:02) - Value of Getting Lost (13:21) - The inspiration behind “Writing Under Pressure” (17:59) - Creating a Course On Writing Headlines (21:03) - Response to the Book (22:40) - Maintaining Creative Confidence (24:09) - Confronting Your Inner Critic (26:07) - Structure in Creativity (29:07) - Creativity Closer to Math(s) than Magic (31:04) - Importance of Structure in Creativity (32:39) - Most Creatives Hate Brainstorming (36:57) - Naming Alan, the Inner Critic (39:21) - The Joy of Creating for Yourself (42:46) - Impact of Creating on Social Media (43:40) - Audience Questions (48:20) - Four Pertinent Posers ///// Dan's book recommendations are:   A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters by Dan Nelken  Hey Whipple, Squeeze This  by Luke Sullivan Mind Management, Not Time Management by David Kadavy /////