Dream Teams: The Mutual Understanding of Rana Chatterjee and Jeff Cheung

A healthy diet of ‘90s hip-hop and a similar set of pop culture reference points. According to Rana Chatterjee, this is a recipe for collaborative success. Or, at the very least, the shared experience of being reared on Nas, Wu-Tang and Tribe certainly factors into the creative director partnership that is shared between himself and Jeff Cheung at LG2. 

Introduced at a ‘Watch The Throne’ show, the pair have friends to thank for their more than eight years of partnership. In the case of the former, a mutual friend was responsible for offering Rana and Jeff tickets. And, in 2014, Jeff’s former partner, Perdue - also a friend of Rana’s - pointed the two at each other, leading to a hang and discussion of ‘90s hip-hop at a local pub and, as Rana says, “the rest is history.”

However, history deserves exploring! As it happens, even at that point, the team of Rana and Jeff wasn’t a certainty. While they would immediately be assigned two briefs - one for Juicy Fruit gum, and one for Quaker Oats - Rana, having lost his previous gig a few weeks earlier was basically on a trial run as a freelancer to see if the partnership was good not just for its members, but for the agency itself. “The process was fun,” he recalls. “We had a few epic patio brainstorms, and it only lasted two weeks before they offered me the position.” 

Although neither piece of work would come to pass - now residing in a place Jeff affectionately calls ‘Deadlandia’ - this period would serve as a great opportunity for the duo to really learn about each other. “My first impression of Jeff was that he was a passionate, but pretty chill and easygoing dude,” says Rana, thinking back to their early days. “This hasn’t really changed, but I really had no idea how hard he worked until we started working together! He has a really strong work ethic, and he’s also the more organised one out of the two of us, despite the fact his desktop is a screenshot graveyard.”

Similarly, Jeff’s initial impression also proved to be spot on. “My first thoughts on Rana? ‘Wow, this guy talks a lot!’. All jokes aside, I thought he was a very thoughtful, collaborative creative. He really thinks things through at every stage in the process and he is very meticulous when it comes to the craft of writing.” 

While mutual respect is essential, the relationship is further bolstered by the fact that fundamentally, the two just seem to ‘get’ each other. Admittedly, Jeff is more of a sports guy, and Rana is more of a music guy, but conversation between the pair is always loose and fun, they’re both in the same stage of life, and notably, neither is willing to bring lunch from home, meaning they’re ‘forced’ to spend at least one hour every day in the office together. 

And this time is certainly not wasted. Every project that comes from the team receives love, care and precision, as evidenced by the work they did for ‘Parkscapes’ and The Community Music Schools of Toronto (formerly Regent Park School of Music) - an after school program that makes music classes more accessible to kids in at-risk neighbourhoods. “Our idea was to use the students to help to create an album full of samples, targeting musicians and producers to use them,” Rana says. “The thinking was not only that proceeds from album sales would go to the school, but that if the song was sampled by a major artist, a portion of the long term royalties and income generated by the song would also go back to the school.”

That’s exactly what happened. With the help of partner and music producer Frank Dukes (now known as ‘Ging’), one of the samples from ‘Parkscapes’ was used by Taylor Swift and ended up on the biggest album of the year. “To see the impact that it had not only on the school but the kids themselves puts a smile on my face,” Jeff adds. “We recorded the album over three days, and after each day, you saw each kid’s confidence grow and mature by the hour. Not only did it give them valuable experience, but it also connects them to Taylor Swift for the rest of their lives!”

Unfortunately, not every project can match this level of success. In fact, as Rana puts it, every project has a good number of difficulties and challenges - not all of which can be easily overcome. “We recently went through the painful process of selling an idea and failing to execute it due to production limitations,” he laments. “It was a tough one to lose because we had a tremendous amount of heart for the idea, but due to some unforeseen challenges, budget and logistics got the best of us.”

In fact, the pair note that they’re still thinking about it, albeit after giving it some space. “Even though the job died a year ago, we just thought of a cost effective way to bring it to life and are thinking about how to re-pitch and resurrect it” Rana continues, to which Jeff adds that this time allowed them to see the work in a different light. “We realised we could spin the disadvantage of the problem and make it our advantage as the solution!”  

Processes like this are only made easier by the fact that, according to Rana, he and Jeff almost always view things the same way. “Having similar tastes makes our relationship much easier to navigate,” he says. “There's mutual respect and understanding, and it’s rare that we’re not on the same page, or that we have fundamentally opposing positions.”

In fact, at most, the two only have minor grievances to share regarding their partnership. For Jeff, this is the fact that, as he said earlier, Rana talks… a lot. “Did I mention that he talks too much already??? Rana talks me to death until I cave, haha. In seriousness, we’ve never had a big disagreement, as like Rana said, we’re on the same page the majority of the time, which makes the day go by faster.”

Meanwhile, Rana laughingly says his only gripe is the fact that Jeff doesn’t need him as much as he needs Jeff. “Occasionally, when we have to manage a job individually, I’m like ‘Who is going to judge these layouts?’ or ‘Who is going to help the AD brief the colourist?’,” he says. “I’m but a lowly copywriter - I can only do so much! But I wish this feeling was even remotely mutual. When Jeff has to CD a job on his own, he’s like, ‘I got this.’ Really Jeff? JUST ADMIT YOU NEED MY HELP TO REVIEW HEADLINES, MAN!”

However, when considering the benefit of having a creative partner within the industry, it becomes abundantly clear that Jeff does in fact need Rana equally. Headline reviews notwithstanding, he highlights the invaluable nature of the trust and transparency shared between this dream team. “It’s not easy being vulnerable in this industry,” he says. “But, when you have someone that you can be with, it makes that part of the job easier. 

Rana echoes the same sentiment. “I think having a trusted sounding board for your ideas is crucial - that person who is always going to keep it real with you, and who you feel comfortable sharing the stupidest of thoughts with. If a situation arises, we just talk it out and make a call. And also, vacation coverage is way better with a partner! Ever try managing coverage for a solo account director? Total nightmare.”

But, the benefits of partnership don’t end here. Rana and Jeff also add that their friendship leads to great social opportunities outside of work - the majority of which revolve around delicious meals, tasty drinks, good tunes, lots of laughs, and naturally, further opportunities to learn from one another - something both find invaluable.  

Reflecting on what Rana has shown him, Jeff first praises his partner’s passion for the work, before adding that he embodies what it means to be true to one’s self. “Rana’s taught me that you can’t steer away from who you are, and you can’t be afraid to speak your mind,” he continues. “Sometimes that can get him in trouble, haha, but it’s always coming from a genuine place. And lastly, you must always time your scripts!”

Returning the praise, Rana believes that Jeff’s perspective on creating is a strong trait worth learning from. “Working with Jeff has taught me to be at peace no matter how a job ends up,” he says. “I used to put myself under so much pressure with every single assignment, and I would often let feelings of defeat fester when an opportunity was lost. Losing is a normal part of what we do, and it’s OK when it happens.” After all, as both partners will tell you, there’ll always be another brief tomorrow, and a further chance to balance their creative karma.