Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Adnan Arnautlija
24th Golden Drum is just around the corner. From 18th to 20th of October communications industry of the region, and wider, will pour into Ljubljana, where the Grand Hotel Union will host this year’s festival.
In order to remind you of what you can expect at this year’s festival, we have conducted a series of short interviews with some of the participants in the program.
First on our list is John Mescall, Global Executive Creative Director and President of McCann Global Creative Leadership Council.
John is an industry powerhouse with an impressive tally of awards, too many to list in this short interview, from all the major festivals around the globe. At this year’s Golden Drum he will give the opening speech, and will chair the Best Practice Jury. Read on and see where he finds inspiration, what he will be looking for in winning campaigns of this Golden Drum and what he will share with the audience.
Media Marketing: You have won a host of awards during your career, including whopping 60 Cannes Lions. How important are awards for creatives?
John Mescall: Awards aren’t the goal, but they do serve two very important purposes for both creatives and everyone else in the advertising industry.
Firstly, they remind us of what great work looks like, and constantly challenge us to push beyond work that just does the job. Awards show us what is possible and set the standard for our industry. Without them, the work would suffer.
Secondly, the ability to consistently win awards proves to the industry that as a creative you have the tenacity to keep pushing despite constant rejection, setbacks and difficulties. It’s not easy to do work good enough to win awards, and if you do it says quite a bit about you.
Media Marketing: Where do you find inspiration for so much ground breaking works? What is it that drives you in work?
John Mescall: Inspiration is all around you. It’s really just a matter of paying attention to the world, rather than just living in your own little bubble. I think I’m driven because I have a deep need to prove myself, which is a subject best reserved for my therapist I think.
Media Marketing: Do you have a favorite campaign – one that you believe hit all the marks?
John Mescall: Dumb Ways to Die is pretty hard to beat in that regard: it achieved incredible levels of engagement, virality and awareness and also did the hard job in helping to reduce accidents and deaths. It proved my theory that odd and charming work can do the heaviest possible lifting.
Media Marketing: You are a regular member in juries at festivals of creativity. This year you chair the Best Practice Jury at the Golden Drum. What are the criteria you focus the most on when selecting your favorites?
John Mescall: I want to be jealous and joyous in equal measure. I want to see ideas that solve tough problems, not ideas that seize upon easy opportunities. And I want to see ideas that are hugely ambitious. Even if the idea is being executed on a small scale, it should be seeking to do something significant.
Media Marketing: You will also give the opening speech at the Golden Drum titled “How to Win When You Can’t”. What is it about?
John Mescall: It’s just a little talk about what I think it takes to make great work and build a career under tough circumstances, when nothing seems easy and there are all the excuses in the world to just accept mediocrity.