Dream Teams: Graeme and Shish on Their Voyage of Discovery
This dream teams is a bit different. Usually, in this column we spotlight creative duos that have been together from the jump and foster a creative relationship through tens, if not hundreds, of projects to show for their impeccable match.
Today, we’re focusing on a team that has just recently decided to become one – three months ago, to be precise. They’ve grown up parallel to each other in the industry, starting together at DDB and then trying to one-up each other every step of the way.
A true example of academic (or professional) frienemies, and ones that have heaps of iconic work behind their backs too, Graeme Hall and Shishir Patel have decided to grace LBB with their story – art of which they have already sketched out in their professional-duo website –so we’re all caught up with the chronology.
Back at DDB about 20 years ago, they both had different creative partners, ever since then the two have been friends. “The stars aligned recently and we decided to team up at the beginning of this year,” says Shish.
At DDB he was teamed up with Sam Oliver, while Graeme was with Gavin Siakimotu. Last year, Graeme was in a permanent role at Revolt, which he’d left, deciding to go freelance after a long career of incredible brand and agency work. “He was feeling lonely out there, all by himself,” says Shish. “In the big wide world of freelance. And I took pity on him.”
Graeme tells it another way - in his view, both him and Shish were “navigating” the freelance market as solo creative directors, but he does admit that it was rough. “Barren might actually be the best word for it,” he adds. “Very few gigs, and a billion people applying for each meagre morsel of creative project.”
He describes himself as a “relative rookie” in this brave new freelance world, so he had met up with Shish to get some advice. “We both noticed gigs appearing for teams more than solos, so we got chatting. And hey presto, Graeme and Shish was born!”
Trawling through the murky depths of his memory, Graeme manages to summon the first impression he had of Shish in the noughties and one feeling prevails - intense jealousy. Specifically of all the work Shish was putting out – VW ‘Nightdrive’, Philips ‘Parallel Lines’ - “seminal pieces of creativity.”
VW’s ‘Nightdrive’ specifically provoked Graeme to roll up his sleeves and create the VW Cinema Sponsorship campaign, which in turn pulled out another hit for VW from Shish. A back and forth which definitely benefited the automotive industry.
On the other hand, Shish looks back on his first memory of Graeme as having “the boundless enthusiasm of a puppy.” But also “the smarts of a…” (here he asks me to insert a metaphor for someone intelligent). “He’s not so much of a puppy anymore,” Shish adds. “More of an old farting labrador.”
“We’ve both changed,” says Graeme. “We’re both family men now. With slightly more grey hair. But it’s testament to Shish that both his talent and his laugh are still operating at full strength.”
While this is a relatively new duo, they did come together while freelancing at Uncommon for a couple of projects, “a good bounce,” as Shish says. Both of them had been in the industry for a couple of decades at that point, and were used to working by themselves, so it was “refreshing to have someone else to riff with.”
“We’d share our ideas with each other and build on the good stuff. It definitely took my thinking to unexpected places,” says Shish.
“We’ve also freelanced at WhoWotWhy and it’s fair to say that collaborating is still a voyage of discovery,” continues Graeme. “Figuring out our respective strengths, what makes each other tick, that kind of thing. But that’s the beauty of being in a team – empathy, awareness, collaboration, all the skills that help you develop a great idea also help you develop into a great team.”
Collaboration also comes easiest when two people naturally tend to complement each other. Shish says: “I respect Graeme’s talent and opinion, and he listens and he builds, which is a productive way to be. He has a positive energy.”
The two creatives’ journeys have doubtless been a mirror of each other - both Watford alumni and DDB Londoners, so they share “a foundation when it comes to advertising.”
Both Graeme and Shish also worked in-house for a part of their careers, at Google and Facebook respectively. Because of this period they share an understanding of the ‘other’ side of the business, “that is more and more essential nowadays,” in Graeme’s words.
“But at the heart of it, it comes down to respect. Shish is a world-class creative. End of.”
Today, both of them feel they’ve grown up enough to be honest with each other too. “We have our different tastes, but we’re also experienced enough to have our own internal quality filter,” explains Shish.
And while it’s still early days, so no real ‘crunch’ moments have been reached yet, Graeme knows that if they agreed on everything “[they’d] be a shit team.” “Friction is essential for any idea. So, we embrace it.”
After long solo careers, both of them are getting to grips with the ‘team dynamic’, but they already see the benefits. “Being able to flex and bend to different challenges,” says Graeme. “Having a trusted opinion always, on tap. Knowing there will be a different approach on the table. We bring a cumulative 40 years of experience to the table. And experience at the very top of the trade. Internationally, in-house, and award winning. That’s an attractive offer to any agency or brand.” So, watch this space.
