"Lucky and Privileged": Josh Stein Discusses His Move to LG2
If you’re at all familiar with Canada’s advertising scene, then earlier this month, you probably heard the news that Josh Stein is headed to LG2, becoming a partner and taking over as CCO of its Toronto office.
Make no mistake, this wasn’t a decision he made lightly. After nearly eight years at McCann - helping to redefine the work and reputation of the network’s Canadian branch - jumping to an indie agency is an exciting prospect, but also creates a moment for bittersweet reflection. There’s much that Josh will be saying goodbye to, but also great new opportunities and hellos to be had - something he eagerly anticipates in the coming days leading up to his December 4th start.
So, to chat a little bit about this, explore where he’s at, and find out exactly why he chose LG2, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Josh for a chat.
LBB> Obviously, the big news is that you just traded McCann for LG2, taking on the role of CCO and partner. Congratulations! What inspired this decision?
Josh> You really don't get too many opportunities like this. So, I felt incredibly lucky and privileged to get a call. That, for me, was all the inspiration I needed!
Since then, every person I've met from LG2 has inspired me even more, and reminded me that this was a great choice. The agency has such a fantastic reputation in the industry. It's so well-respected, and when people talk about the culture, the people, and the product, they have nothing but great things to say. Now, having met people like Luc Du Sault (CCO at LG2 Quebec), Jeremy Gayton (president of LG2 Toronto), Ryan Crouchman (VP, ECD design), Keith Barry (VP strategy), Shelly-Ann Scott (VP client services) and Marc Fortin (VP product at LG2 Montreal), you can see why it's easier for independent agencies like LG2 to take on the spirit and energy of the founders and partners. And to me, that's what LG2 is, and that's why the work is so smart, well-designed, positive and beautiful - because the people that are responsible for the place are as well. I really like that!
From left to right: Ryan Crouchman, Josh Stein, Jeremy Gayton, Keith Barry, Shelly-Ann Scott
LBB> And what are you hoping to accomplish?
Josh> To me, my job is to help LG2 Toronto make its mark on the industry. Now, I think it has already done some great work; it's an agency filled with such potential - great creative directors, a great creative team, a great strategy department, great production, a great business leadership group, and arguably the best designer in Canada, Ryan - so now it's a matter of bringing a new voice. I'm going to do what I do in a way that's right for LG2, and not just try to replicate what I've already done.
But, it's a new beast. So, after a few months of really understanding and learning about how the agency operates and seeing where I can tinker and push some stuff, I'll have a more detailed answer. But for now, I want LG2 to be the best agency in Canada. I'm going to help them try and do that by raising the creative bar, raising the creative potential, and helping the great creatives realise their full potential and what they're capable of.
LBB> You’ve been at McCann for almost eight years - not a small amount of time. How’re you wrapping things up, and gearing up ahead of your December 4th start date?
Josh> I'm still at McCann until the 17th (I don’t like not being busy), and everything has been handled so respectfully, but it’s bittersweet. For a start, there are a lot of lovely people who I want to stay close with for as long as possible. But, and I said this in my speech to McCann, there’s no finish line in this industry. So, in briefly stepping off the track and having the chance to look back, I'm proud of what we've accomplished. When I took over as CCO, I made the ‘enemy’ the perception that McCann was an old, traditional, slow-moving dinosaur of an agency. Now, I see work like 'Famous Fingers' where we made latex gloves out of famous people to help encourage men to get prostate cancer exams. I see things like our campaign with Love & Nudes where we made bras for Black women to help identify signs of cancer. I see 'French Toast Guy', and it’s just a body of work that, I think, fought that original perception. So, I'm proud of everyone for helping the agency change that. Today’s McCann feels like a creative place, and the group there has so much potential.
I know sports better than I know advertising, so I'll put it like this. Sometimes, a team can use a new voice to get to the next level, and I think that’s especially true there. There is another level for McCann, and that next voice is going to help them find that groove. Even though I'll be in healthy competition with McCann, I hope they'll do well!
LBB> On a more future-facing note, what are the most exciting aspects of this jump to LG2? And will your way of working be changing at all?
Josh> There's a lot! I'm excited to become a part of that leadership team in Toronto, I'm excited to be able to say I'm a partner and CCO at LG2 - I think that's super cool - I'm excited about getting to work with new people, and I'm excited to learn new ways of working, a new culture, the inner workings of LG2 and what makes each office unique. That's going to enlighten me, and help me find a new way of doing things for myself too.
Beyond that, I have a hunch as to what the Toronto office needs to start punching above its weight, but I'm telling you, the talent is there, the clients are there, and it's such a great group. Maybe I'm the new voice that they need just to help them reach their full potential. I'm not a top-down CCO. I don't point and say 'do this, do that' - I'm going to sit alongside a lot of the senior people and encourage the junior people to make me look great, haha!
LBB> Building on this, are there any particular clients you’re excited to work with? And why?
Josh> There's a great energy when it comes to LG2’s client roster, and I think they're just getting started. There's Under Armour, Domino's, a new one that I don't think they've announced yet that I'm really hyped about… So, I'm excited not only to meet the clients and understand what they're looking for, but really sink my teeth in.
I also know that all clients are looking for different things from their agencies, and for me, I'm excited to find the potential in what those things are. Because I think what differentiates LG2 from a lot of other agencies is its design capabilities, the question, for me, is, ‘how do you infuse that with some of the things our clients are leaning on us to do?’. Personally, I want to establish stronger partnerships, I want to move forward with the clients in a brave but measured way, and I just want them to be successful and stand out from their competitors.
LBB> With this in mind, when looking at LG2’s past body of work, were there any pieces that you found particularly inspirational?
Josh> As a matter of fact, yes! When I took over as ECD at Tribal Worldwide, LG2 had just done this campaign for a product called Reviveaphone. It was this wicked stunt - they flew to Australia where the first new version of the iPhone was going to be released. Filming the whole thing, they paid someone to cut the line so that they could get the first one, and then they took the phone to a pub and dropped the phone and a pitcher of beer. (This was all to help promote this product, which could salvage your phone from being dropped in water.) So, then they took it back to the hotel, threw it in Reviveaphone, and lo and behold, the phone was OK.
When I first saw that, I was like, 'That's fucking great. I'm putting this on the wall because that is now my enemy!'. It's so wonderfully creative. It's a stunt, it's smart, it's a product demo, it's so intelligent but dumb at the same time - I just love it. And since then, I've just been a fan of the agency and all that they've done. It's just hard not to when that's part of LG2’s spirit and DNA.
LBB> Another big factor - you’re trading a network agency for an indie. Why was this appealing to you? And why do you think the best work is coming out of indie agencies at this present time?
Josh> For me, jealousy is a great motivator. So, when I see work that Broken Heart Love Affair, Rethink, Zulu Alpha Kilo and Courage is doing, it becomes clear that these independent agencies in Canada are killing it. They're doing the most interesting work, and I want that competition. I embrace it, and I want to be a part of that movement. I think it's fantastic!
That's not to take away from networks, of course. Look at FCB - to me it's in a world of its own. That’s a network that has cracked the code. It’s doing some of the best work for some of the toughest clients, and that’s amazing. But for me, the independents are not just doing some of the best work in Canada - they're doing some of the best work around the world. Getting into the ring with those types of agencies - I feel good about that. It's keeping me motivated.
LBB> Tell us more about your thoughts on the state of advertising in Canada right now!
Josh> Recently, I was a juror for the Canadian round of The Immortal Awards, and I think we saw such a lovely set of ideas for a broad range of clients. I love that supporting causes is still part of our DNA! It's remarkable, because when we do help those causes, we do it in a way that really transcends. I love the range of thinking; every agency has its own DNA and stamp. Rethink's body of work is so different from what Graham Lang (NA CCO) is doing at TAXI. It's healthy competition, and I think the industry is better because of it. We're not apologetic for the work we do anymore. We're brave, we're out there, and even though an idea is small, it feels so unique and interesting, and that's because up here, the people are just hell bent on still making a name for the Canadian ad industry. Just look at how we did as a country at Cannes this year! It’s pretty telling of what our scene is capable of.
LBB> Speaking of The Immortal Awards, of the three finalists that made it to the global judging round, two were Canadian pieces. What are your thoughts on this?
Josh> Personally, I'm really surprised and a little bit heartbroken for 'Missing Matoaka' and BBDO. But, this is great news for Rethink. Heinz aside, the Decathlon stuff is so smart. That agency - there's a hunger and an ambition to keep pushing ideas to their fullest potential. They're relentless, and to me, that is such an important element of creativity. It needs to never stop - always push, push, push, push, push. So, I'm happy to see that the Decathlon campaign made it, because initially, even I was guilty of just saying, 'Oh, they did the small one-off just to win awards'. No, it was a smart idea that actually impacted the real world, so much so it was embraced by the Olympics. It's beautiful, well-crafted, and simple. It could have just stayed at 'let's go change some signs in a parking lot', but there were bigger ambitions, dreams and hopes for that idea. I love that.
LBB> Moving back to you, how would you define your leadership style, and what factors have played the biggest influence on this?
Josh> I'm a bigger guy, but I don't talk very loud. I'm more of a thinker, and I like to ask questions to help get a solution that we all feel is the right way forward. I like to put what I think is the best idea at the moment on the table and say, 'Hey, this is what I think we should do. Throw it in the garbage, but if you do, just come back with something better'. And I think I've done a good job at helping creatives understand why I think that way, but also inspiring them to think differently about how they might solve a problem.
I've also worked alongside really great people whose advice I still seek. I've had great strategy partners like Dino Demopoulos, the chief strategy officer of Gut, and we still talk a lot about the business. The leadership team at Broken Heart Love Affair - Denise Rossetto, Carlos Moreno and Todd Mackie - are some others. When I was at Proximity, I saw the way they worked, the way they handled their department and the way that they were respected, and that was inspirational. You see how they make a place great and you want to copy them - how they handle a top client or a top account. Learning from people like them and keeping your ears and eyes wide open is always going to help you improve.
Finally, Eric Silver, formerly North American CCO at McCann, was also a huge mentor to me, and a major support for my career. I just loved watching him work, and the way he could take a simple idea and, all of a sudden, after a quick conversation, get everyone moving for him - it was incredible. He was a massive influence for me when it came to creativity and how to get the most out of even the simplest ideas.
LBB> For any younger creatives reading this, is there anything you’d like to tell them, or advice you’d like to offer?
Josh> Your money in the bank isn't your paycheck… it's your work. So, just remember that your currency is your ideas, and stop jumping around so much! Get that work in the bank.
It's funny, I tell every junior kid who comes to work for me the same thing, so anyone reading this who I’ve ever hired has heard me say this before: 'Number one, we need you more than you need us. Never forget that. Number two, in three years, you're going to quit and you're going to quit for one of two reasons. The first reason is, you've just done something spectacular, another agency noticed, and they're going to pay your buttload of money because they want what you did here. The other reason is, it's been three years and you haven't done anything, and you're going to go somewhere else and try it over there'. I want it to be that first reason. It's win-win when it’s the first reason. And that's what we're going to do together. I'm going to try and help you do something famous, and you're going to quit, and we're both going to feel great about it!
So, just know that the agencies need you, take advantage of it, put your head down, and just have a relentless pursuit of the best ideas.
LBB> Finally, with the brief period off between the 17th and the 4th, do you have any big plans for how you’ll spend your free time?
Josh> We're right in the middle of my son's hockey season, so I don't think I'm going to be doing much!
In seriousness, I'm very much a creature of habit. I have a routine - I wake up at six, I go to the gym, so if I could just hang out at the gym for a few more hours a day during my time off, that'd be great. I'm also going to start to get a little more familiar with LG2's body of work, and I want to start diving into the cases more. I’ll probably have coffee with some people there and get familiar with the briefing process, and ensure I don't come in totally fresh. And, if my wife and I can find a couple of days to kick our feet up somewhere, that would be great… but my son's hockey schedule may put an axe in that real quick!
