5 Minutes with… Lyle Yetman
Lyle Yetman lives for stories. As a kid he was happiest consuming them. And in advertising he has found his happy place being able to tell them, day in and day out.
Lyle does this as an executive creative director at McKinney, based out of its Durham, North Carolina headquarters. Alongside fellow ECD Suz Keen, Lyle took on the role one year ago after spending seven years with the Cheil-associated agency. The year since has seen McKinney’s most successful year award-wise on Little Caesars, thanks to its wonderfully nostalgic ‘Thin Crust Summer’ campaign. Working on that account is somewhat of a “fantasy” for Lyle.
To find out more, LBB’s Addison Capper spoke with him.
LBB> I'm going to start this interview with a couple of questions I've previously asked your partner in crime, Suz Keen. You were appointed ECD for McKinney around about a year ago - how is the new role going so far? What were the main challenges and aims when you took that title?
Lyle> I’ve been doing this for just about a year. And it’s been a great year. The challenge, which is always the challenge, is to elevate the work. That was my aim when I took on the role. And we’ve had an amazing year of growth and new opportunities. We’ve had our most successful year award-wise on Little Caesars. But there’s always room for more and better and that’s what I’m focused on.
LBB> Being an ECD must mean that your role is a bit more about managing and inspiring your creative teams. How are you finding that challenge and how are you going about that process?
Lyle> I think everyone lives into this role in different ways. My style is lead from the front. Whether or not that’s a strength or a shortcoming, I’m not sure. Sometimes it’s both. But I tend to get into it and that’s where I’m most effective, when I’m working with teams and not just directing them from afar. I do think that a critical component of doing this effectively is helping to inspire teams, and sometimes that does require stepping back and taking a more holistic view of what’s going on in our business. What’s winning awards, what’s getting attention, what’s cutting through? I try to give that time as well. Everyone needs to know where the bar is.
LBB> Growing up, what kind of content and entertainment were you into? Has any of it had a lasting effect on who you are and how you work today?
Lyle> Well, I’ve always been a reader. Books got their claws in me at a young age. I think I was in fifth grade when I first read a book that, when it ended, I mourned the fact that the experience was over. I also did a lot of theatre as a kid and all the way through college. It was the telling of stories that fascinated me, that held my attention. I think what we do for brands is find interesting and unique ways to tell their story, so in a lot of ways I’m doing what always interested me as a kid.
LBB> How did you wind up in advertising?
Lyle> I knew I couldn’t sit in an office all day and be bored. I just didn’t have it in me. So, I set out to find something that didn’t seem boring. I found advertising. I knew nothing about it. I tracked down an alum of my high school who was in the business and he told me, “You want to be a writer, trust me.” So, I became a writer. I put a portfolio together, went to what was then the Adcenter and started making my way into the business. And it has been nothing like I thought it would be and everything I thought it would be all rolled into one.
LBB> I loved your ‘Thin Crust Summer’ work for Little Caesars. So silly in the best of ways. Can you tell me more about how it came to be?
Lyle> The ‘Thin Crust Summer’ work came out of this place of sheer nostalgia for the summers of our youth. The ‘80s summer movie aesthetic. That’s where we started. We wanted to try to recreate some of that magic. The actual task at hand was to communicate how thin and crispy this pizza was. My partner, Will Dean, had sent me a mind dump of ideas and one just said, ‘skip it across a lake’. And I thought that was funny, but there needed to be more to it. There needed to be a twist. So, we came up with the idea of two families, one who has been skipping slices of pizza for years across the lake. And the other who has been coming to the lake for years to witness the bizarre phenomena of pizza flying out of the lake…
It just worked. Even on paper. And despite the fact that we violated the age-old practice of not ‘doing weird stuff with the food’, we were able to sell it. In fact, after we read it to our client the first time, he said, “I hate how much I love that.”
LBB> What other work have you been most proud of in your career and why?
Lyle> I’m really proud of all the Little Caesars work we’ve done. That was sort of a fantasy brand for me and it has lived up to every single one of my expectations. Surpassed them, even. I’m proud of our work over the years on ESPN and the new work we’re doing for Popeyes. Our work for the Ad Council to help end gun violence. Going way far back, I worked on MINI for years and years at Butler Shine and that was an amazing experience with great clients who believed in doing good work. And that’s really the secret. It always has been. Great clients who want to do great work usually lead to something you can be proud of.
LBB> Your bio on LinkedIn stresses your love or telling stories, as do some of your answers to this interview. Leaving advertising aside for a minute, what are some of your favourite stories of all time and why?
Lyle> To be honest, my favourite story is whatever one I’m reading right now. That’s not to say I haven’t read some stinkers, but it’s the immersive experience, the getting sucked into a world that isn’t mine that I truly enjoy.
LBB> Are there any tools or platforms (analogue or digital) that you find particularly helpful for gathering or iterating ideas?
Lyle> I think the Cannes website is a great place to see what the calibre of work can be. I still tell young creatives to go find old copies of Communication Arts and pour through them. What I love about them is that the scripts and radio are written out, so you can start to see the mechanics of how an award-winning script comes together. Also, data. I think a compelling piece of data is a great tool or jumping-off point for ideas.
LBB> Outside of work, what are you into?
Lyle> Outside of work I’m interested in raising two good humans. I love to cook. I love being outdoors on a boat or in the mountains. I’m currently coaching a Little League team, which is about 30 times harder than I ever imagined. We’re called the Dirt Dogs, I’m sure you’ll hear about us...
