"If We Take Our Eye Off The Ball, These Champions of Creativity Will Disappear"

MG> My relationship with Creative Circle goes back a lot further than four years. Back when Mark Denton was chairperson, I supported the Creative Circle by making Tag Worldwide a serious sponsor.  We like to think we helped in a small way get a great creative institution to what you see today. Curious Productions continuing support is testament to those days and the fact that, if we take our eye off the ball, these champions of creativity will disappear. 

MG> For the creative community possibly more relevant than ever. They were always a great barometer of creative standards even in the days when the most celebrated work was easily accessible because it was on the TV every evening or in the newspapers every morning. Now it’s perfectly possible to never see the work unless you are the absolute target audience. Do clients still think awards are relevant? Maybe not so much - which probably manifests itself in less entry spend – but hell – who doesn’t like winning an award!

MG> I do think it’s more difficult to pick the obvious winners. Not sure if that’s good or bad to be honest. Probably like most of us I like Nike LDNR, which is one of those great ads that appeals to the whole family and pretty much reaffirmed my belief in youth culture. I was starting to worry that we maybe didn’t have one anymore – but fortunately I was wrong, and the kids have got it sorted.

MG> I think any initiative that is about putting something back into an industry that has given us so much is a good thing, which is why Curious have become a sponsor of the Foundation as well as the awards. It’s great to see young people from different backgrounds, from all over the country, coming to London and setting the creative scene alight, but in recent times that seems to have slowed down and we definitely need to find a way of getting those young people back involved.

MG> Where we’ve lost our way a little is in attracting talent that maybe aren’t university educated and maybe don’t see advertising as a career option. Supporting this initiative and others like it will hopefully start to see the sort of diversity that could make a real difference to people’s lives and our businesses.

MG> I think it’s important to have positive role models that reflect their own journey. So on that basis, a range of people is important here. Definitely senior industry heads to mentor, and that’s a part of the foundation Curious aim to work with. But also, involvement from other young people, from similar backgrounds, that can share their stories and journey, help motivate and give confidence to push on. 

MG> We need protect our industry, and keep supporting diversity, creativity and the future generations. So, it stands to reason that supporting the foundation and really putting our money - and resource - where our mouth is, is a fundamental way of achieving this.