Levi’s ‘Spaceman’, David Bowie and Classic Adventure Games: The Work That Made Khalid Latif

Creativity with purpose – that’s what has driven Khalid Latif for over 20 years in healthcare advertising and PR. He’s built teams, brought great ideas to life, and helped shape an industry dedicated to making a real difference.

As global executive creative director at VML, Khalid spends his days helping creatives across Europe make impactful, meaningful work with radical empathy. So far, their efforts have been celebrated at shows including Cannes Lions, Clio Health, the LIAs, Eurobest, The British Arrows, and The One Show. Not that he’s counting.

Khalid has also judged a smorgasbord of PR and advertising shows from Eurobest and Dubai Lynx to the Creative Circle and Clio Health. Oh, and he’s served on criminal trial juries – twice.

As a big supporter of the next generation of creative minds, Khalid is active in the VML Incubator Program, which gives 16-18-year-olds a glimpse into the world of advertising. He’s also a Cannes Lions Ambassador and recently shared his career journey at BAFTA House in London, alongside industry legends Nils Leonard and Jane Evans.

Fun fact: Khalid has a degree in biochemistry. So, in addition to his creativity, he brings a healthy dose of scientific rigour to his work.

LBB> The ad from my childhood that stays with me…

Khalid> I still remember random ads from way back when. I even remember jingles and lyrics.

I’m pretty sure my dog barks along with me (or at me) when I sing them around the house.

But there’s one ad that’ll always stick – Levi’s ‘Spaceman’ from a little shop called BBH. A weird, outlandish vision of suburban life in another galaxy. That wicked soundtrack by Babylon Zoo. Yeah, that one isn’t going away.

LBB> The creative work that I keep revisiting…

Khalid> I’ve fully accepted and embraced moving through a nostalgia-seeking phase of my life.

Plus, being a gamer at heart, this means I have no shame in admitting I play classic point-and-click adventure games over and over. ‘Day of the Tentacle’, ‘Sam & Max’, ‘Monkey Island’.

These games tell some of the best stories I’ve encountered and continue to be a fount of inspiration.

I quite like David Bowie too, so his music tends to hang around on various playlists.

LBB> The piece of work that still makes me jealous…

Khalid> As a copywriter by trade, I absolutely love and am aggressively jealous of Droga5’s 2019 work for The New York Times – ‘The Truth Is Worth It’.​

It’s a compelling portrayal of proper investigative journalism and really puts you in the shoes of someone working to uncover the truth behind a story. The writing craft and storytelling is wonderful, and it deserves every award it got.

LBB> The creative project that changed my career…

Khalid> I worked on a project with Tony Kaye, the infamous, heavily awarded director of countless adverts, music videos and films, most notably ‘American History X’.

For six months, I received a masterclass in filmmaking and cinematography. That experience changed the way I look at and evaluate ideas and craft. Absolutely priceless. The mad stories I collected along the way provided a bit of colour!

LBB> The work that I’m proudest of…

Khalid> The great thing about working in healthcare advertising is there are a lot of opportunities to do work that can really impact people’s lives. That means there’s loads of work I’m proud of.

‘Making Blood Cancer Visible’ was a public installation in London that raised awareness of blood cancer in the UK and featured in Design Week. ‘The Last Mile’ highlighted the challenges of vaccine delivery in conflict areas and was shown in New York’s Times Square and Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. And we worked with the designer of the US $100 bill to create a series of bank notes called ‘The Cancer Currency’ to prove that women with metastatic breast cancer still have value. That campaign influenced EU policy change.

Loads to be proud of!

LBB> I was involved in this, and it makes me cringe.

Khalid> I was on an episode of ‘Antiques Roadshow’ to get a book featuring all four Beatles’ autographs valued. Before you ask, I’ve conveniently lost the YouTube link.

LBB> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…

Khalid> We’re working on something now. I’m afraid it’s the classic, ‘I can’t talk about it yet because I’ll jinx it!’, but I am really excited about making it.