ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

Mike Kennedy, 31. Senior Creative at AMV BBDO.

So what do you actually do?

I work in the creative department of a major UK advertising agency –Abbot Mead Vickers– which, at the time of writing, is the most awarded in the world.

It's my job to make ads that won't make you want to skip the ads. I do so with varying degrees of success haha!

What has your career path been?

Luckily, I knew I wanted to get into advertising before starting university. I'd filled out a form at my 6th form college that took all my recreational interests into account before giving me a bunch of courses and Uni's I should consider. Advertising Design being one of them.

We learnt to make basic ads but it taught me more about the industry than anything. Who the agencies were - what the job roles were. In my spare time I studied famous campaigns and who made them. then emailed or met with them for advice on how they got to where they did.

That turned out to be the simple bit because after leaving uni it took a year and a half of networking, internships, rejection and shameless self promotion, before I landed my first full time job. I was onto my second creative partnership ( oh yeah you actually get hired in pairs as advertising creatives) and running pretty low on morale.

Eventually I was offered a job at Grey London – a fairly corporate place at the time – luckily we were nurtured by some great Creative Directors who wanted to shake up the agency with new talent. They gave us the brands nobody wanted but being young and hungry we turned them into something fresh. We made a bit of a name for ourselves, the agency did too, and 3 years later we were headhunted by the prestigious independent agency, Mother.

Then the imposter syndrome kicked in. It felt like suddenly going from the academy to playing in the champions league! But once things settled and I realised I had every right to be there as the person sitting next to me– I spent 5 years making really fun work for brands like Stella, Boots, Amazon, KFC and IKEA. The highlight being a Christmas advert with D Double E spitting bars about someone's shitty living room. (I honestly don't think I'll ever top that so considering giving up the job now).

That campaign picked up a bunch of national press and just before lockdown, it helped fashion a move to a senior role at AMV BBDO where I am today.

Ironically it's one of the places I interned at but wasn't offered a job.

What is the best part of your job?

It sounds corny but it's the people. Not just those inside our building but also the fact we have
access to world famous talent in music, film, art, fashion and more.

As a creative, you get to dream up all kinds of silly, funny, profound, moving, or tear-jerking ideas.

And because you're working with big brands, or sometimes charities with a good cause, the most exciting musicians, filmmakers, artists and designers you can think of are willing to lend their services and make something special with you.

Why do you do your job?

I do what I do because of several things. I love creating. I love making things that people talk about or things that are part of the cultural conversation in this country. Advertising is one of only industries that use this as a barometer for every project. Literally, if people aren't talking about it - it's not working!

I also do what I do because it pays well. Okay, not astronomically well but we shouldn't shy away from talking about money. I think it's important for young people to know, especially if you don't come from money or maybe don't have a clue what an 'advertising creative' does, that it's a fun job where you can travel the world and make a good living out of. You also get to see your work on TV, in newspapers and on billboards that your family/friends interact with every day. If that isn't cool I don't know what is.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Jeeez just one? I feel like there should be a short film with stuff you should know going into a job like this 😂 Can I give two?

1 - Keep going. There will be times you want to quit. There will be times that you think you're not good enough. You might not find a job for 18 months like I did .

But the difference between those who do eventually do succeed and those who don't is massively down to resilience. About 90% of the work I write, for one reason or another, often out of my own control, never sees the light of day. So people really notice and appreciate those that can pick themselves up and go again. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rest when you need to though. You can’t keep going if you don’t recharge. So look after yourself. Don’t feel bad about clocking off at 5 or 4 or even lunchtime if you’re burnt out.

2 - Do what you think is right. I feel there's a big shortage of diverse thinking or stories in our role. And it's partly down to people trying to work out what's in their boss's head or their clients head. Too often we try to do the thing we think other people want. You don't really see this when you're starting out because you’re so wrapped up in wanting to impress. But what people actually want is what's in your head. Write the ad you want to watch or would talk about. You can also sell what's in your head a lot easier too because, well, you know it better than anyone else.

Any parting words?

Just a thank you for the exposure and featuring me on your platform! 

It’s been quite cathartic to write. Hopefully this story reaches other people from ethnic minorities, and it gets them excited about going into the industry. Over my career I’ve made things that have sent twitter into a meltdown.

I’ve got to work alongside my favourite rappers, footballers, actors, and directors. And as an agency we've made campaigns that have smashed taboos, changed laws, and saved lives. But for almost that entire time I’ve been the only one in the department that looks like me. I’d love that to start changing soon– specifically at the top level.

If you would like help getting into the industry or want to learn more about what I do, visit this page on my creative Partner and I’s website  or send us an email. We’d be more than happy to tell you what’s what. And hopefully kick a few doors down with you.

Check out Mike’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

Well WFH and switching agencies during a pandemic has totally upended my typical routine.

But generally I try to start every day with some exercise and a good coffee before 10am.
If I don’t do that I feel like I’m playing catch up all day.

Then a ‘normal’ day usually changes depending on a few things; what stage I am at with a project, whether i'm working in the office or not, and if I'm spending the day with Pauline, my long time creative partner.

If we are in creative development (i.e. brainstorming, thinking of new ideas for campaigns) then Pauline and I will research the brand/brief separately and do what we call mining for inspiration. Really it's just a fancy way of saying we flick through books, blogs, magazines, meme pages or watch film, or read interviews, or visit galleries.

Then we come together, either virtually or physically, and share what we've soaked up to. We talk shit, try and tie it back to the project we're working on. Argue a bit about what might make a good ad or not. Then we settle on the best ideas and build a deck- which is a short presentation on each idea - for our creative directors or clients. We might do this for up to 3 different projects at a time.

If we are in production (idea sold to client and we're off to make it into an actual ad) then we are working with our production partners on all the technical points to produced the advert. We'll meet with photographers/directors to agree on things like the cast, location, set design, wardrobe styling and lighting choices before eventually arriving on set to oversee the film or photography we intend to produce.

Our role here is two-fold.

Firstly, making sure the client understands and is happy with what we are getting. Meanwhile we are also working alongside the production team to ensure they are capturing the idea as we see it.

Some days we aren’t making a film or photography at all and we’re sitting with a designer making illustrations or briefing a developer to create virtual worlds for a VR experiences. It totally depends on what our initial campaign idea is.

Other days we’ll have both creative development and production running simultaneously and we’ll need to split. So Pauline might meet the photographer while I present new ideas to a client (or vice versa).

As well as these typical responsibilities we also make time to mentor young creatives/students, either in person or more recently on video calls, who are looking to get into the industry. If you have a portfolio of work we'll offer our advise on how to make it better.

We’ll give pointers on how to make agencies take notice of you and hook you up with contacts in other agencies if there’s nothing happening at our own. I feel there was a real lack of people who went to this length for us when we started out - it was very much sink or swim - but a few people we admire did do this so we try hard to replicate the way those people behaved.

That’s the gist of it. It can be pretty full on so It helps to be able to manage your own diary and make time to recharge.

Most recently I’m trying to end every day at work by cooking with my wife and turning off my phone at 10pm.