Creative Is Native: Running with the Pack and Why Creativity Isn’t Fluffy with Aoife McCleary

Aoife> I started my advertising adventure as a planner in a small agency. And loved it. So much so, I kept trying to answer the briefs I was writing. So one day, the Creative Director and Head of Planning sat me down - mom and dad divorce style - and told me to choose. Off I sauntered after the CD, and never looked back. 

I honed my creative skills at Ogilvy and Karmarama in London, where I spent many fun years spreading self-esteem with Dove, making “Britain’s weirdest Christmas ad” for Iceland and interviewing the Queen of Sweden for Unilever. After taking over a year off to gallivant around South America, I made a ‘pit stop’ in Ireland. There must have been something in the Tayto, as I’m still here. 

I’ve been running with the pack at In the Company of Huskies for the last three years as a senior creative. And here is where I’ve made some of the best work of my career, with some of the best people I’ve ever worked with. 

Aoife> The agency was founded back when we were all boogying to Mambo No. 5, playing with Furbies and welcoming the Euro into circulation. That was 1999. Undeterred by Y2Ks threat to make computers self-destruct, Dublin’s first digital agency threw open its door with big ambitions to disrupt the advertising sphere. 

Over the last 24 years, we’ve grown in so many ways. And now describe ourselves as an international, award-winning creative agency, with a goal to create the best work in the world. We’re still faithful to our deep digital DNA, but we’ve strengthened our offering even more with big brand thinking, behavioural science and creative fire power.

In a world where attention is often bought (and have ye seen the price of it!?), at Huskies, we use innovation and the power of creativity to pull people in. This ‘pulling power for brands’ ultimately grows the brand, impacts the bottom line, and builds long-term brand value. All the good stuff. Huskies was ranked in the top three creative agencies in the Effie Awards Index, so it seems to be working.

In a nutshell: It's an exciting place to work. 

Aoife> Creative departments are filled with naturally creative people. So coming up with an idea is often the easiest part. Everyone has their own process*. And like many things, it's cumulative. As the years roll by, you get better and quicker at spotting the rough diamonds.

However. A good idea does not make a campaign. 

You may think you’ve got an award-winner on the table, but actually, A) getting it made, and B) to a quality standard, is a very different story. These are all fairly obvious, but here’s what I’ve learned along the way: 

1. Pick holes in your work. Before someone else does. You don’t need to have all the details figured out straight away, but be prepared. All it takes is one doubter to kill your baby.

2. Befriend your whole project team. You will become each other’s therapist and ally. Then when things go wrong - which they will, everyone will problem-solve, rather than finger-point. 

3. Get shit-hot at presenting. (Still working on this one myself.) You ideally want your client to buy into your idea in the first few minutes. The dream, right?

4. Creep at other creatives. Be it directors, illustrators or French progressive psytrance DJs, invest time in seeing what interesting people are doing. That way, when you want to take your idea from great to wow, you know who to call. 

5. It’s only advertising. One day, mid-meltdown after work went wrong, a wise person said this to us. We instantly laughed, calmed down and figured it out. So next time you find yourself freaking out about last-minute script changes or whatever, take a deep breath and repeat that line.

(*Usually it’s talking pure shite to your creative partner for hours on end, until eventually something decent falls out.)

Aoife> For me, it’s all about original thinking. 

When you boil it down, creativity isn’t a fluffy, magical process, it’s a set of decisions. You take the brief and interpret it by putting existing things together in new ways. And the most exciting thing about this: the endless possibilities. But in order to stand out, you have to be brave and confident with your choices.

That’s why it’s always so important to be curious. The more you soak up in your day-to-day life, the more inspiration you have when it comes to that decision-making. 

Aoife> In Ye Olde Days of Huskies, we were very digital focused, constantly growing as an agency and seeking out the latest developments to bring brands to life in new, exciting ways, and landing international awards to boot. 

More recently, we took things to the next level with the Nissan Micra Revolution - No More Nice Car. What started with: “No one ever aspired to own a Micra. You just ended up with one if life didn’t go your way”. Resulted in: the brand doubling its market share, and Huskies winning the ADFX Grand Prix.

And we’re particularly proud of Remember the Rainbow for BelongTo. What started with an old king and an outdated mnemonic: Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain. Transformed into: Respect Others You Grow By Including Variety - a more reflective and inclusive statement of what the rainbow signifies today. And one that has gone on to become part of the school curriculum in Ireland.

Aoife> First up, we have the Allianz and Women’s Aid partnership. This is me and my amazing work wife / partner-in-crime Laura (Rice’s) project, that’s very close to our hearts. Despite society often viewing domestic abuse survivors as weak, in reality, it’s quite the opposite. So to empower more women to speak up and redefine strength, we flipped the narrative on domestic abuse and introduced everyone to ‘The World’s Strongest Women’.

Then to mark International Women's Day, a day dedicated to women’s empowerment, we launched The Last Incident. This harrowing and innovative online tracker shows real-time data (to the minute) from Women’s Aid, highlighting that for the World’s Strongest Women, there are no days off.

Famine Food Bank is another exciting project. To protest Ireland’s ongoing food poverty issue and raise money, we helped Little Flower Penny Dinners place the ultimate symbol of modern hunger - a food bank installation, where people definitely couldn’t ignore it: at the historic Famine Memorial. 

And finally, we’ve got Apaché. Because who doesn’t love pizza. This mobile augmented reality game celebrated the return of the St Patrick’s Day Parade and gave people a playful opportunity to engage with the brand in an interactive interface.

Aoife> Over the years, I’ve worked with many different people, from different countries. But the Irish are a unique breed. 

How could a country as full of messers as Ireland NOT be creative? Never mind The Palais, you just need to walk into a pub toilet on Camden St to see a Cannes-winning one-liner.

But it’s not just dry humour that comes to life in Irish advertising, it's our craic - It’s Play Time for Virgin Media (Publicis), our charm - An Post’s Tin Man (Folk) and our innovative spirit - UnFair City for Dublin Simon Community (BBDO). 

Despite being such a small country, the talent here is insane and 100% matches up to international standards. The above campaigns are just the tip of the iceberg. Just take a look at Creative Is Native to see this for yourself. 

Aoife> There’s two things.

Firstly, I can’t wait to see more of the incredible female creative talent that’s currently rising rapidly up the ranks leading creative departments. That’s a gap that still needs to close. 

Secondly, I’m unbelievably excited to see more and more Irish agencies up on big shiny international stages, collecting big shiny international awards. Because that’s what the future holds for Ireland.