Creative Is Native: Peter Dobbyn Always Asks, “How Do We Make It Better?”
Colouring outside the lines has always been Peter Dobbyn’s creative approach. And that’s not a metaphor – when he was six, Peter won a colouring competition by ignoring the Little Mermaid that he was supposed to colour and drawing his own sea creatures instead. “I went a little off-brief,” he says. That innovative and creative attitude is with Peter to this day and in all the work he touches like Heineken’s ‘Unwasted Beer’, Virgin Media’s ‘Pick Up the Pace, and Standard Life’s ‘End of Career Guidance Counsellor’.
Now the creative director at Publicis Dublin, Peter spent the first nine years of his career as a copywriter and he’s open that the adjustment has been a big one. With his eye firmly on the work, Peter is also looking at the bigger vision for the agency and continuing to a build a culture that serves everyone who works there. As for his leadership style, he says he’ll never be the CD with the “poker face” preferring instead to express his excitement at briefs and ideas. “How do we make it better?” is the question that Peter has been asking from the start of his career to help guide and push him to do ever greater work; now he’s helping his team to do the same.
Charley Stoney, CEO of IAPI says: “Peter is one of the leading creatives in the country right now. He is incredibly talented, which is why his work has been recognised at national and international awards shows, including: Cannes lions, Eurobest, D&AD, Clios and The One Show. The passion he has for the industry is infectious and he’s relentless in his drive to make the work the best it can be."
Today LBB spoke to Peter about why landing an idea is only ever the beginning, how becoming a great copywriter is possible with the right attitude and not innate skill, and shares advice on how to navigate a career transition.
LBB> Peter, what are your earliest memories of being creative? Did you always want to work in a creative field?
Peter> The 1992 Xtra-vision Monkstown Annual Colouring Competition. I was six. Instead of simply colouring in the Little Mermaid like the other participants, I went a little off-brief; I drew my own sea creatures and coloured them in instead. It was no Rembrandt, but I won. Some 31 years on, I’m still trying to find ways to cut through the noise, and if that means incorporating random sea creatures into an ad, so be it.
I remember visiting the career guidance counsellor in fourth year. She told me I should be looking at third-level courses relating to creative and media. She also told me to consider retail management. Well, after a brief stint stocking cordials in the local supermarket at the age of 16, the decision was made. Creative it was.
LBB> You joined the industry as a copywriter - what attracted you to this career path?
Peter> Although I wasn’t an amazing English student by any means, I always loved to write. I had been writing songs since my teens. The serious stuff and the silly stuff. I actually played a gig with Sylvester Stallone’s brother, but that’s for another day. Music was my creative outlet while I worked in a job that wasn’t particularly creative at all. Then one day I was told about the postgrad in Advertising and Digital Comms in Aungier Street. So, I looked into it. The idea that I could make a living doing the things I loved – film, music, art, comedy, performance – blew my mind. You could do it all as a creative in advertising. Besides, it seemed much more fun than trying to explain to an old lady why all her phone credit has miraculously disappeared. So I quit the day job and signed up for a life in advertising.
LBB> You’ve been with Publicis Dublin for over eight years, joining first as a copywriter and now you’re the creative director. Tell us a little bit about moving from one role to another - how much of an adjustment was it?
Peter> It’s a big adjustment. Anyone who has made the move and tells you different is lying. Before, my focus was solely on doing the best job possible with whatever brief was thrown my way. Now there is so much more to consider. You really need to ask yourself what is keeping your clients awake at night? How can I get the best work out of the team? How do I help build a culture where people love coming in every day? I need to consider the overall vision of the agency. I’ve honestly learned so much from Ger, Ro and Carol over the years and I can’t thank them enough. I feel they had been prepping me for this transition for a long time. So although it is a big adjustment, it’s felt like natural progression. We’re building something pretty special here. We’ve an amazing team, the energy is good on the floor and under the leadership of Ger Jones, it feels the future is bright for Publicis Dublin.
LBB> Do you ever miss copywriting? How does your copywriting background inform your creative direction?
Peter> I’m still writing. Of course, I have my accounts as creative director where my role is more to guide the work, but there are also times when I’m required to work on briefs as part of a creative team, and I’m more than happy to!
As a creative, I would never be content with simply landing the idea. For me, that’s only the beginning. I’d always be looking for ways to notch it up in the execution. So, say it’s a film. There’s the cast, the performance, improvisation on the day, wardrobe, the edit, the end line, the titling, the grade. Everything is an opportunity for improvement. I think this informs my approach as a creative director. I get super excited when I see a great idea. I won’t be that CD with the poker face. If it’s good, I wouldn’t be able to hide it. And why should I? We have an awesome creative team, with different skill sets, so everyone offers up something different. My aim is to work with the team to try find the best idea on the table, protect it and make sure it becomes everything it should be. That comes from continually posing the same question I’ve asked since the beginning of my career, “How do we make it better?”
LBB> In your opinion, what makes a good copywriter? How much of that skill is learned versus innate?
Peter> I think when it comes to what makes a good copywriter, a lot of it can be learned. Read the books. Start from the beginning. ‘Hey Whipple, Squeeze This’ by Luke Sullivan. It’s basically the bible for junior copywriters. Then the more experienced you get, the more you’ll learn and the better you’ll become. But it’s not that simple to become a great copywriter. You really need to love what you do. I think, generally speaking, the creatives who expose themselves to the best work in the world generally go on to do the best work. Their reference points for what’s good and what’s great is different. They will go far and wide, as lateral as possible to get something truly original. That insatiable hunger is hard to find and it can’t really be learned.
I also think there is a lot to be said for just being sound too. That goes a long way in our industry.
Above: Standard Life – ‘End of Career Guidance Counsellor’
LBB> What kind of work/clients do you find yourself most drawn to or seek out deliberately?
Peter> Advertising that doesn’t necessary feel like advertising. As Howard Gossage said, “People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.” An example of a brand that is leading the charge here is Liquid Death. They know exactly who they are, who they are talking to, and none of their work could ever be misattributed to another brand. It’s not advertising, it’s branded entertainment.
In saying that, I’m a sucker for the traditional stuff too. British Airways’ ‘A British Original’ campaign simply blew me away. The writing is outstanding and the ambition to go for 500 original executions is to be commended. I love everything about that piece. I think anything Uncommon touches turns to gold and for good reason. Also, Rethink are killing it.
I’m also drawn to big ideas that can be expressed in a single headline. Ideas that make you go, I can’t believe they did that. It’s something that started in CPB with Alex Bogusky and has been adopted by agencies all around the world. It’s something I encourage here in Publicis Dublin.
LBB> What are some of the pieces of work that you’re most proud of? What makes them stand out?
There are three projects that are jumping out at me right now:
Virgin Media – ‘Pick up the Pace’
To promote Ireland’s fastest broadband (1Gig), we partnered with Ireland’s fastest rapper to create a track that celebrated speed. But we didn’t stop there. We made it available on all streaming platforms, we created a vinyl edition and, when gigs were still being held on Zoom, we invited JyellowL to perform live at the Virgin Media 1Gig concert. To do all of this remotely during a pandemic is something we’re incredibly proud of.
Heineken – ‘The Unwasted Beer’
Instead of letting millions of pints of beer be poured down the drain during the pandemic, Heineken took the beer back and transformed it into a range of sustainable solutions to serve to the community. Many a late night was spent on this one with Heineken and the team in Publicis Italy. I was actually working with my cousin who is a global ECD in Milan. But, after such a mammoth project, everyone who worked on it is now family. I’m seriously proud not only of the recognition it got globally, but the good it did in the community.
Standard Life – ‘End of Career Guidance Counsellor’
Most Irish schools have Career Guidance Counsellors to help students figure out what to do when they graduate, but there was no role to help those figure out what they should do in retirement. So we worked with Standard Life in creating a new role – The End of Career Guidance Counsellor. The perfect candidate? A retired Career Guidance Counsellor with 43 years’ experience. I’m proud of this as it was a lateral solution to a very real problem. Instead of just comms, we decided to hire someone. This service genuinely helped a lot of people retire.
I also have a soft spot for Gas Networks Ireland’s ‘Poxy Chores’, as it’s one my kids love to sing along to!
LBB> What inspires you outside of work? How do you relax?
Peter> My kids. I have three boys, all under the age of five, and they are absolutely hilarious. The way they look at the world with pure wonderment at that age is inspiring.
In terms of relaxing, I love to run. Something about that statement doesn’t quite make sense, I know, but it’s like meditation for me.
Also, being on the water. I grew up sailing and even got the opportunity to teach in Los Angeles and Sydney. I love to surf as well. The surf trips are few and far between at the moment, given the boys’ ages, but I can’t wait to bring the kids surfing when they’re older.
LBB> What kind of advice can you share with anyone looking to take their career in a new direction?
Peter> Back yourself. It is hard at the beginning, but be a sponge. Take it all in. Read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, watch the Cannes-winning case studies. We’re all still learning. That’s the great thing about this industry.
And if you’re ever offered to play a gig with Frank Stallone, say yes.
