Three Questions for Craig Brooks

Three Questions For... Craig Brooks, Deputy Executive Creative Director, TBWASydney

1. What inspires you outside of the industry?

Trailers. I prefer them to films these days. They promise so much, and leave you desiring to see the film - something I think we've lost in advertising these days as data drives us to be more and more rational.

2. What brands do you relate to and why?

Ugh, do I want to relate to a brand? They're not people. And I don't think most consumers want to 'relate' with a brand. Sure I have brands that I like that reflect my approach to fashion, my environmental ethos , or brands that allow me to work with their products the way I want to work, but I certainly wouldn't want to take a brand out for a drink to talk about its feelings.

3. What is the biggest barrier you face when trying to get unexpected ideas across the line?

Great clients should always be looking for unexpected responses to their briefs, if they already expect their agency to respond with a particular execution then there isn't much point working with that agency. But of course selling in a truly unexpected idea first takes a leap of faith. By their very nature these ideas won't have been explored by their competitors, there won't be a perfect piece of reference to show exactly how the idea could be executed, and they are never going to test well in consumer research. But that leap of faith can be constructed through positive momentum, generated from the client wanting ground breaking work, from creative agencies forming positive tension with the client, from positive energy inside the agency around fragile ideas, and from positive drive with production partners. It takes a perfect storm, but I like to think the best people can create those conditions.