The Work That Made Me: Alina Basu
Alina Basu joined XYZ, the creative experience agency, in October 2021 as a producer and project manager, before being appointed client director for Nike. In the last year alone, her work with the brand has taken her from Paris to Portland and London to Budapest.
The ad from my childhood that stays with me…
‘Mr Soft’ - an ad for Trebor Softmints – was a standout for me. I loved the soft world that the character lived in with its soft lampposts and the cat, the way he moved, plus that song!
Fruitella’s ‘Too Juicy’ ad from the 1990s was also an absolute classic, featuring a parody of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy. Clearly it was the sweets ads that stood out in my childhood!
The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
I studied law, so had thought I’d aim for a legal career, but I used to cycle past billboards on my way to work and ads just drew me in. I spotted JC Decaux’s name on the one in Limehouse so applied for a job there but got poached to do client services in banks. From there, I went to Jack agency, which focused on flyposting, murals and experiential.
The creative work that I keep revisiting…
Bring It On, Clueless and Mean Girls are films that I keep revisiting. I went to an all-girls school so there’s elements in all those films that make me smile and 20 years on, they are still just as relevant to this generation.
My first professional project…
It was an experiential campaign with a tiny budget and two brand ambassadors dressed up as Dolly Parton, belting out tunes as they walked around London handing out flyers to promote the Canadian film ‘The Year Dolly Parton was my Mum.’
The piece of work that still makes me jealous…
Guinness ‘Surfer’ is so iconic, from the horses jumping through the waves through to the tagline at the end, it’s an incredible story in a minute, using the metaphor of surfers waiting for that wave and waiting for the perfect pint.
The creative project that changed my career…
Depop collaborated with Selfridges for a takeover of the third floor Designer Studio space, bringing vintage finds to the luxury department. We hung products on a moving rail to mimic the feel of an online marketplace and sellers rotated across the duration of the pop-up so that the stock was constantly refreshed. We also held workshops and talks in the space – it was a bustling and vibrant space to create at a busy time for me personally – I stopped work on the Friday and gave birth on the Monday.
The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
This year there are two Nike projects that I worked on that are both career highlights. Firstly, working with the team on welcoming Erling Haaland to the brand this year at the Force9 event at Nike Town London meant pulling off all the creative and production required for such a high-profile moment in just a fortnight.
Then earlier this month, I worked on the launch of the Nike Couture luxury lifestyle range and it was such an intense and amazing project, from the initial moment of meeting Parris Goebel right at the start to choose the venue through to the final showcase itself.
