Having worked for giants like Ogilvy North America, Cheil USA, Rosetta and now Google’s creative think tank, The ZOO, there are few in the advertising world that don’t recognise Lars Bastholm’s name.
Now the Global Chief Creative Officer of The ZOO, Lars will be speaking at Dubai Lynx 2016 on Monday, March 7 at 11am, in a talk titled ‘YOUTUBE (WITH SIMULTANEOUS TRANSLATION INTO ARABIC): WHY IS NOBODY WATCHING MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL?‘
Go for a walk, watch a movie, cook dinner. Remove yourself from the blinking cursor on the screen, and your subconscious will do the thinking for you.
We caught up with him before the festival to ask him a few fun questions:
1. Tell us about your journey to the field of advertising – Did it find you or did you find it?
I had never had any particular interest in advertising, until one day I fell into a conversation with a friend of a friend in a bar. He was an art director, and he told me that they were looking for a copywriter in his agency. I asked what a copywriter did, and he explained it to me. It sounded like a great way of making a living, making up stories for brands.
Cut to 3 months later, and I was a copywriter at Grey in Copenhagen. That’s 22 years ago. Damn, I’m getting old…
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2. What’s the most exciting component of the creative process for you?
Getting a fresh brief. Everything is possible. Nothing is off the table. They world is your oyster. Your imagination can truly soar.
Then eventually reality usually kicks in, but sometimes you get to pull off the idea that came out of those wonderful first few moments.
3. Tell us about the funniest/wackiest/most fanciful idea you’ve ever had.
Oh, there was the singing midget with the ball gag, the Star Wars rap that I found myself writing over the course of a VERY long weekend, and the print idea inspired by the movie “Freaks”.
So many weird ideas. Some of them even got made!
4. Tell us about how you overcome productive blocks.
Changing the scenery tends to be what gets me out of a rut. I can’t spend much time in offices without losing the will to live. Go for a walk, watch a movie, cook dinner. Remove yourself from the blinking cursor on the screen, and your subconscious will do the thinking for you.
Watch: I Do Not Get Creative Blocks | Interview With David Carson
5. How do you tell when an idea is good enough?
It’s never good enough. But there’s a deadline. So you do it as best as you can with what you have.
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6. For all those who are considering attending Lynx, tell us in 40 words or less why they shouldn’t miss your session.
Because it’s gonna be awesome. And there will be funny videos!
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