Melbourne's Adlanders Reveal their After Hours Escapades

Clemenger BBDO/Melbourne interactive creative director Ben Keenan’s gives LBB a friendly nudge in the right direction to uncover some of the most talented entrepreneurs he calls colleagues and the mischief they brew up when off-the-clock.

I can recall seeing a chart that plotted the size of Melbourne’s black collar working community. It’s big, everyone in Melbourne is a maker, doer, writer, designer, musician, entrepreneur – or they aspire to be one.

What sets the true doers from the air guitarists is that they create because they can’t help themselves. Usually this manifests in the form of side projects. This seems to be a common trait of some of the most creative and talented people I have worked with past and present.

So here are just some of my friends from the Melbourne advertising hinterland that will make you think, “What the hell have I been doing with my spare time?”

JAY CHAPMAN

If you’ve ever bought a coffee, or had your hair cut in one of Melbourne’s more artisan establishments, you would have already seen Jay Chapman’s design work. His eye, his craft and his ability to make pieces that straddle yester-year, yet comes at you as remarkably fresh has made him a bit a local legend.

What is your day job in advertising?
During the daylight hours my form takes shape as a designer within a creative department.

What is your main side-project outside of your work life?
The main one would be my freelance design work (imjaychapman.com), though where I get my kicks from is my own little brand (Cronies Company), where I make enamel pins and small run clothing pieces. Though lately I’ve been getting hooked on creating visual works for projection.

What motivates you to create outside of your day job?
It’s a whole different world outside of the restraints of advertising, where I’m the boss and the client. 

How would you fill your days if you suddenly didn’t need to work for money?
Still just making my own shit. I’m not doing it for money; it’s where I get my creative kicks.

EMILY NAISMITH 

Em is a genius; she is like the Hunter S Thomson of food blogging. She regularly breaks the Internet with self-experimentations involving out-there junk food combinations. When we finally lull ourselves out of the delusion that we’d actually like to eat a kale salad over a Buffalo Bill, we’ll have Emily to thank for it.

What is your day job in advertising?
Senior Creative 

What is your main side-project outside of your work life?
Emoji Food Review: a blog where I review restaurants and write recipes in Emojis. I have a few other food related projects on the go. Snackmybitchup is an Instagram account dedicated to food and fashion. I’m also working on a snack project called Snackdown, where we put two snacks up against each other and let them battle it out through illustration and words.

What motivates you to create outside of your day job?
An excruciatingly strong love for food. 

How would you fill your days if you suddenly didn’t need to work for money?
Eating. And going on the Internet. But mainly eating. And reading about food, while eating.

TERRY MANN

Terry creates music under the guise of Coach Bombay, but his endeavours go far beyond that. Although he can’t claim top ten hits, Terry can claim something far more relevant in this day and age; he’s made serious dints in popular culture. If you’re a parent, you would have heard his song “Giggle Galaxy” on ABC 2. His sharp parodies of Lorde’s Royals, and more recently his “Straya” to the tune of Outcasts' “Hey Ya” were post-modern mash-up masterpieces clocking up a million plus views.

What is your day job in advertising?
Digital Producer

What is your main side-project outside of your work life?
Writing and producing music. My main project is Coach Bombay and I make kids music. I also play in band Sonsofrico, I make the occasional viral video, and I’m working on some new music projects with other vocalists, soon to be released.

What motivates you to create outside of your day job?
My goals are purely creative – to make songs and albums that I am proud of. Anything beyond that (i.e. acclaim, recognition or money) is a bonus, if and when it happens.

There are two elements to it – process and legacy. The process of creating music is the best bit. It’s extremely fun, and when you nail it, the inspiration to make more is replenished. Rinse and repeat. But also, it’s rewarding to have a legacy that lives on beyond the process of making it. This can range from being able to listen back to one of your own creations, even if the rest of the world didn’t get involved, right through to more successful endeavours, where you can see your creation play out in the world and find its audience. 

How would you fill your days if you suddenly didn’t need to work for money?
As much as the dream was always to make music full time at some point, I’ve been rather enjoying living a 50/50 life-style, where you have to make (most of) your living doing something else. It allows you to crave the creative side projects, and to put more effort and pent-up inspiration into them when you do make the time. When I have too much time for music, I eventually get burnt out and end up making more and more silly videos. So it’s good to be grounded in a Joe Citizen job.

SAM HODGSON

Sam is a force of nature; the only reason why she is not your favourite person right now is because you haven’t met her yet. While many Melbournians try their luck in New York and only come back with sleeve tatts, Sam’s creativity and smarts turned her side project into a start-up that’s now expanding across the US of A.

What is your day job in advertising?
Interactive Business Director 

What is your main side-project outside of your work life?
My main side project is an events business called ‘The Artful Bachelorette’ that operates in NY and LA. I just moved back to Melbourne after five years in The States. New York was key to unleashing my entrepreneurial spirit. I’d always thought running my own business was where I wanted to get to, but New York’s creative energy and the start-up community inspired me to make things happen, not just dream. And once you’ve made it happen once, you catch the bug. I can’t wait to start working on some new side projects now that I’m back in Melbs. 

What motivates you to create outside of your day job?
A primal need to discover and create things. There is no better buzz than cracking an idea. If I’d lived in the 18th century, I would have been sailing around to find new things or I would have invented random things like sporks. 

How would you fill your days if you suddenly didn’t need to work for money?
I would spend two months off to rest and connect back with RL, followed by one month somewhere new doing some community work, then a three month contract on a biz problem to reconnect with NotRL and to get the brain firing. Then I would spend the last six months on a start–up or personal project. 

JACK WHITE

Jack came into Clems Melbourne as an AE, when charged with the task of doing the Monday morning, “Wish I thought of that” presentation to the agency. However, Jack didn’t share a campaign, instead, he told a harrowing and hilarious tale of his unsuccessful attempts to charm a girl. A natural storyteller, Jack has jumped from being a suit, to winning this year’s Tropfest, to starting his brand new production company. Be nice to him, you’ll be working for him some day.

What is your day job in advertising? 
Senior Account Director  

What is your main side-project outside of your work life? 
Writing and acting in short/online films. I’m pretty keen to start directing too – I just directed my first film on the weekend… I had no idea what I was doing! 

What motivates you to create outside of your day job? 
It keeps me sane and gives me something to look forward to when I leave work. I don’t really have a hobby like woodcraft, footy or golf. So it’s sort of becoming my hobby too. 

How would you fill your days if you suddenly didn’t need to work for money? 
I feel like I should say something charitable? But to be honest, I would be living in Red Hill trying to replicate the life of Robert Redford (Tom Booker) in The Horse Whisperer. I think every redhead man has that dream. 

HILARY BADGER

After a ridiculously awarded ad career I think it’s fair to say that for Hilary, writing books is her main job and adland is the bit on the side now. Where most copywriters imply they are tapping out a book at home, Hilary’s done it, dozens of times. Her Zac Power children’s books are read the world over, and she’s just recently published her first adult fiction novel.

What is your day job in advertising?
Copywriter

What is your main side-project outside of your work life?
I am a children’s and young adult’s author.

What motivates you to create outside of your day job?
With a book, the audience mostly wants to be engaged. Not so much with an ad. I’ve done lots of school visits where kids have wanted hugs and or autographs, which has definitely never happened after a creative presentation to a client. Also, I’ve had a lot of parents say their sons never read until they got into my books. Must stop reflecting now. Getting weepy.

How would you fill your days if you suddenly didn’t need to work for money?
I’d definitely do something where I got to talk to people. I finished my last novel whilst on maternity leave and it was a fairly intense and lonely experience. There’s a lot of introspection involved with writing. I like a balance between working alone and being with other people. 

Ben Keenan is an agency interactive creative director and copywriter. 

Ben’s own side projects include a Brunswick dad band called “The Grateful Dad”, and an iPhone app (http://www.lookbirdy.com) that solved a first-world parenting problem. He also teaches regular workshops on digital thinking, creativity and writing.

And, if you don’t share this article on your social media right now he will punish you by starting a podcast.