Behind The Billboard

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-101-behind-the-billboard-x-ad-club-of-new-york

Episode #101 takes us to America and the first of our New York Specials, which was a collaboration with the Ad Club of New York at their annual Breakfast Briefing “OOH NOW” in Tribeca, downtown Manhattan. It was a great event, a room full of the smartest (and loudest!) in the industry. Elicia Greenberg & Tara Claesgens were our wonderful hosts who made us feel incredibly welcome.

The theme was ‘OOH NOW - the last real thing’ a poignant topic which resonated with all guests. On the day we had 10 mi...

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Yes folks it’s here. Episode #100!! It’s been an incredible time, 100 episodes over six years. Thank you so much to all our amazing guests and listeners for being with us on this journey. It’s been rewarding, inspiring and many other things. And it feels like we’re just getting started. 2026 is going to be full of great guests and more adventures. But for now sit back with a tipple of your choice and enjoy Sir John Hegarty counting down the greatest billboards of all time, as chosen by the people that wri...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-99-best-of-2025

Here we go folks. It’s the end of year list you’ve been waiting for. Behind the Billboard’s ‘Best of 2025’ with mince pies and dodgy crackers thrown in for good measure.

In our humble opinion it’s been another great year for outdoor. Some brilliant work from the usual suspects, plus nice surprises from new agencies. Hopefully you’ll agree with our choices but if not, feel free to comment or drop us a note.

The big questions: Will BBOOH retain their Agency of the year crown? Wi...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-98-peter-heyes

Episode #98 feature Pete Heyes, award-winning creative, creative director, top northern lad and United fan.

Pete has worked in the business for over 30 years at some of the very best agencies, including DDB and Leo Burnett. He’s won awards on huge brands such as McDonald’s, VW, Marmite and Harvey Nichols. People often talk about Pete as ‘one of the nicest guys in the business’. Which we can vouch for. Fun Pete fact: he was once a Media Planner on P&G.

We started as usual with the bill...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-97-andy-clough-richard-mcgrann

Good things come to those who wait … and we’ve been waiting a while for Andy Clough & Richard McGrann, but it was thoroughly worth it. Andy & Rich are one of adland’s most brilliant and prolific teams, creating iconic award-winning work wherever they’ve worked. RKCR / Y&R, BBH, AMVBBDO, adam&eveDDB and Neverland have all benefited from their passion for big ideas, superbly executed. They’ve won awards wherever they’ve been, including 5 Grand Prix for their emotive ‘The Last Photo’ campaign for CALM, placing them amongst the world’s most awarded creati...

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Episode #96 features Ajab Samrai, Ex-CCO of Ogilvy Japan, who not only brought incredible stories of nearly four decades in the business, but two enormous bags of apples from his orchard in the Malvern Hills.

We discussed how Ajab started his career at Saatchi & Saatchi in 1987 as one of the first British born Asians to break into the industry, creating the iconic Commission for Racial Equality poster campaign. He became one of the youngest Creative Group Heads in the history of Saatchi’s going on to work on some of th...

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Episode #95 features Sim Sidhu and Katy David aka ‘SimKat’, one of BBH’s most brilliant and prolific young teams.

We talked about their rise to fame at BBH after their time spent along the corridor at The BBH Barn Adschool, where they learnt the ways of the business from legendary and much missed tutor Tony Cullingham. One of Tony’s classic questions he asked anyone at any level: “Are you having fun?”

It’s a really important question.

Fun seems to run through much of SimKat’s work...

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Episode #94 features Paul Pateman aka Pâté on Toast. Paul is a graphic artist, art director, writer, speaker and general good egg who we loved having on the show.

Paul has enjoyed an incredibly successful career as a creative / creative director at AMV and TBWA. His work has won over 130 awards. Since focussing on being an illustrator, Pâté has been shortlisted numerous times in the AOI World Illustration Awards, sat on the D&AD jury and regularly lectures around the country on the power of visual imagery.

He...

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Episode #93 features Jayne Andrew & Isobel Deevy from OOH specialists BuildHollywood, who very kindly came down from Manchester to chat about some of their amazing projects.

We’ve been saying for ages who are BuildHollywood? Their name is always on the coolest stuff.

So this was our moment to find out. It’s no exaggeration to say if you’ve seen something iconic and spectacular in the great outdoors, chances are BuildHollywood would have been behind it.

We started with a brilliant idea for a brilliant book...

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Episode #92 features Rick Brim, Co-Founder and CCO of adland’s newest agency, Ace of Hearts. Rick joined us with the agency just a few days old, so we discussed the big stuff such as if he knew how to work the photocopier, who locks up at night and how they came up with the name.

During 25 years in the industry, Rick’s won every award going, including 4 Cannes Grand Prix in the same year for Harvey Nichols Christmas campaign: “I spent it on myself.” During his tenure at adam&eveDDB t...

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Podcast episode #91 features Gary Fawcett & Lisa Nichols, ECDs at TBWA\MCR, in the second part in our Manchester special.

Gary & Lisa have worked in the business for over 25 years, for a huge array of clients including Pizza Hut, British Airways, EA Games and Harvey Nichols. Their work has been recognised at Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, New York Festivals, Epica and London International Awards.

We spent a lovely hour chatting all things Manchester, advertising and a tiny bit of football (Gary, like Hugh, is a long...

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Podcast episode #90 is the first of our Manchester special and features the charming and uber-talented Tim Jones. Tim has an incredible track record when it comes to OOH, both from his time at BBC Creative and more recently at Meanwhile, the agency he set up with long term creative partner James Cross and Al Marchant.

Meanwhile have enjoyed great success since launch in 2022, thanks not just to their creative work, but savvy association with Bez of the Happy Mondays, himself an icon of the North West. It’s no su...

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Episode #89 features Liam Bushby & Alison Steven, Global Creative Directors at Ogilvy London and two of the finest, most humble creatives you could ever meet.

We talked at length about what it’s like to work on Dove and in particular their multi award-winning campaigns Reverse Selfie and #TurnYourBack which won more metal than you can shake a stick at, including a Cannes Grand Prix.

We also discussed their first ever poster for McDonald’s, a wonderful idea that has a great story about timing, opportunity and being open...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-88-hermeti-balarin

Episode #88 features the charming, uber-talented Hermeti Balarin, joint CCO at W+K London.

Hermeti works with his wife Ana, who was Behind the Billboard guest no. 9, which means the Balarin’s are our first ever married couple on the show 🎉

Hermeti & Ana started out at as interns at Mother before rising to Partners a decade or so later. Under their leadership, Mother was named International Agency of The Year twice by Ad Age thanks to iconic award-winning work on Stella Artois, IKEA, KFC, Boots and more.

We t...

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He’s back! Jeremy Craigen returns for episode #87, talking all things VW.

Jeremy worked on the brand as a creative / CD / ECD and Global CCO for over 20 years, winning endless awards with iconic campaigns for every model in the range, even getting a free appearance on Top Gear (estimated viewing audience 90million).

How did it feel to be the creative lead on such a prestigious account? Who were his inspirations? What is the essence of VW? And did he play as hard as he worked?

Je...

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Episode #86 features legendary creative, CD, ECD, CCO, bonvivier and lover of life, Jeremy Craigen.

It’s hard to know where to start with Jeremy’s incredible body of work, which has won every gong going for just about every client going.

So we took a corporate decision and split him in two. Ooeerr.

Part one is all about Optrex, Marmite, Budweiser, The Labour Party, The Financial Times and Harvey Nichols.

Iconic work with brilliant stories told by the man himself. Hear how Jeremy’s ches...

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Episode #85 features Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, the recently appointed ECD at BBH. It was a real pleasure talking with Felipe, who we think is the only creative ever to go from being on placement at BBH, to being the ECD at BBH. That is some achievement, but no surprise considering his portfolio of work. During his 14 years with the Black Sheep, Felipe has been behind some incredible campaigns and yet feels like he’s only getting started.

We discussed Tesco’s and discovered the stories behind the recent ‘Bags’ campaign. We also...

To (belatedly) welcome in the new year, we decided to go forth into The Great Outdoors and discuss plans for 2025.

We covered all sorts of stuff: the need for a new sponsor, upcoming guests, a book of the show, masterclasses, talks, merchandise and more. Let us know if you have any feelings about any of this as we always want to hear what our listeners think.

The hoody tops are amazing - high quality stitch and super warm - if there’s a desire we can deffo put in an order. More details on this to...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-83-aidan-mcclure

Episode #83 features the super-charming, super-talented Aidan McClure, CCO and co-founder of Wonderhood Studios.

We caught up with Aidan just before Christmas and had a great natter.

We heard the story of how he got onto the Watford Copywriting course by pretending to be the Queen.

We discovered how Aidan (and partner Laurent Simon) got their first job after winning the Diageo Best Student Team in the UK doing placements at Mother, BBH and JWT before settling at AMV. Not a bad start.

We...

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BtB best of 2024 / Christmas special

Yes folks it’s the biggie. The one you’ve been waiting for. Behind the Billboard’s ‘Best of 2024’ with some mince pies and festive cheer thrown in for good measure. Plus some big news from our Dan.

In our humble opinion it’s been another great year for outdoor. Some brilliant work from the usual suspects, plus nice surprises from new agencies. Hopefully you’ll agree with our choices but if not feel free to comment or drop us a note.

We decide...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-81-helen-rhodes

Episode #81 features Helen Rhodes, ECD at BBH.

We’ve been asking Helen to come on the show for ages, so we’re super chuffed she came on, not just for the stories behind her incredible portfolio of work, but also because we devoured her gift of cinnamon buns which were sensational.

The campaign for Stranger Things was enough for a whole episode - how the project came to be, the craft that went into making the fake 80’s posters and the secret pop-up experiences. Listen out for our ch...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-80-mary-wear

Episode #80 features copywriter extraordinaire Mary Wear.

Mary wrote possibly the most important endline in the history of advertising: ‘Make Poverty History’ for Comic Relief in 2004 … a line and movement that involved Richard Curtis, World Leaders and saving lives. The line was everywhere - posters, bus sides, advans, on underpants, on Bono’s arm, on the side of St Paul’s Cathedral and the coup de grâce, on a lectern in front of Nelson Mandela, who was chanting the words ‘Make Poverty History’ to thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square.

That is mo...

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Episode #79 features the charming and super-talented Dan Watts, ECD at Pablo, London.

Hugh & Dan spent a fascinating hour hearing about Dan’s eclectic career that has seen him work at some of the industry’s finest agencies - Fallon / 4Creative / Crispin Porter / Pablo - on some amazing projects.

We discussed how to fit an entire book onto a poster. How to write great ooh … in Ghana. How to ‘Skip the cow’ for Flora in one of the best new product launches of the past few years. How to launch...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-78-andy-jex

After what seems like a lifetime away, we’re back. And who better than Andy Jex, the TBWA\London CCO to usher us into Autumn. ‘Jexy’ as he’s affectionately known, is the epitome of positivity and creativity, which is exactly what the world needs right now. Hugh & Dan enjoyed an hour in his company where many things were discussed:

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-77-british-airways/

Sorry for the brief delay, but It’s finally landed ✈️

The story behind the Cannes Grand Prix winning British Airways work is here.

A few weeks ago we sat with Nils and some of the BA team (Nick Stanley, Benny Everett, Ellie & Elisa and ‘Chips’ Pomfret) and discovered the story behind one of the most iconic OOH campaigns in recent times.

It was an enthralling chat. We heard how the pitch was won, how 500 executions came to be, why ‘A British Original’ was only half the story, and...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-76-brian-connolly

Episode #76 features Brian Connolly.

Brian is brilliant on many levels. His billboards are amazing, some of them very close to art. The level of purity and craft is second to none.

He is also a United fan, which is also brilliant (for Hugh at least).

And on top of all that, he’s just a really decent human being who - after many years smashing it in the UK - is now smashing it stateside in New York.

We started with Eurostar and fo...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-75-phil-and-graham

Episode #75 features Phil Cockrell & Graham Storey.

Humble, funny, gracious and massively talented, Phil & Graham have quietly created some of the most iconic billboards of the past 30 years.

In that time they have won most major awards including 4 Cannes Golds, 5 BTA arrows, 7 Campaign Poster awards and 26 D&AD in book entries.

It seems a bit of a crime that we haven’t had them on the show before. But due to various circumstances / holidays / other guests taking their slot, we’ve only just got them on.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-74-kate-congreve

We love firsts on the podcast. So episode #74 is a treat for Dan and Huge who hosted Kate Congreve our first ever producer. And not just any producer, but a producer at Mother, Campaign’s current agency of the year.

Kate shared many brilliant stories from her career to date, having worked both agency and production side.

We talked Snickers and skateboarding and how she helped put together the shoot for Paul Belford while at AMV. Shot by James Dimmock it’s a beautiful campaign with some eye...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-73-nicola-wood

Podcast episode #73 features Nicola Wood, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy London, winner of many shiny prizes and someone with a liking for a farty Valentine’s Day card.

Strap in folks. This is an absolute belter of an episode.

The farty card was a good start. But the story behind the Relate campaign shot by Rankin is something we’d never heard before. And we’ve heard quite a bit in the past five years.

We don’t want to reveal too much but let’s just say...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-72-rachel-miles

Episode #72 features Rachel Miles, BAFTA award-winning creative and Creative Director at Meanwhile Campaign Start-up Agency of the Year 2024.

Rachel not only brought stories from behind her billboards but also some sensational pies from Great North Pie which usurped Hugh’s ‘tiny flapjacks’ as Dan calls them.

Dan and Hugh discussed many things with Rachel. We covered her six year tenure at BBC Creative where, along with creative partner Michael Tsim she created many iconic campaigns, including setting a billboard on fire for the Perfect Planet series, which made t...

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Podcast episode #71 features the super talented Steve Hudson.

Not only is Steve one of the industry’s most awarded creatives, he’s a brilliant director and also the founder of The Power of Advertising (TPOA) platform.

We covered a great deal in the hour or so together, in particular Steve’s prolific time at BBH where together with creative partner Victoria Fallon, he created iconic work for Audi, Levi’s, Polaroid, one2one, Electrolux and more.

Obv we focused on the billboards and two campaigns in parti...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-70-paul-banham

Can you project the two moons from Mars into the night sky?

Can you sell over 1,000,000 lights in the world’s tallest building?

Can you build an underwater mobile phone store to sell a waterproof phone?

These are just some of the questions, answered by MullenLowe MENA CCO Paul Banham on episode #70, where we take a deep dive into life as a creative in Dubai.

It’s an absolute fascinating chat and one we’ve been wanting to have for ages. We caught up Pau...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-69-paul-brazier

Episode #69 features Paul Brazier and his brilliant billboards. The Economist, Guinness, Think!, Aer Lingus, Wrangler, Museum of Childhood, Walkers, Cancer Research…every one of them a banger. Paul has created and presided over some of the greatest work of the past 30 years. And he’s spent the best part of these years at @amvbbdo, as Creative Director, Executive Creative Director, CCO and Chairman. During this time, Paul and his partners (@psouter and @Nick Worthington) and his creative department have amassed a mountain of awards, including an incredible 239 entries into D&AD, whic...

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Episode #68 features two titans of the industry, huge characters with oodles of charm, awards and humility. Yep, we’re talking to ourselves, finding out what’s going on in each of our worlds.

We covered the following:

Watch advertising in Geneva Airport

Three dimensional screen mapping in Barcelona and New York

The delayed launch of Hugh’s novel

The billboards at the end of our streets

News of upcoming guests including Rachel Miles and the billboar...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-67-matt-lever

We’re back folks. Dry BtB Jan is over. And we’re starting the year with a belter in Matt Lever.

Multi talented.
Multi awarded.
Funny.
Charming.
Loves a big idea.
Loves a gag.
And loves the in-house BtB flapjacks.

We spent a leisurely hour with Matt chatting billboards, from his very first one for Macallan that he bizarrely spotted while on holiday in New York…to DOH anti-smoking, Tfl, Trident Gum, Gym Box and closing on Breast Cancer Now and the pe...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-best-of-2023

Best of 2023

We’re nearly there folks. 2023 just about done. How was it for you?

For us it was a year of amazing guests, incredible stories, home-made cake, some lovely beards (esp our Dan’s) and best of all, broadcasting from our new home at Soho Radio. Thank you Rachel and Adrian for putting up with us. You guys are the best.

So in episode #66 @hughtodd and @mymatedan look back over the year in outdoor…any and everything ooh, billboards projections, adshels, stunts, special builds, enormous shoppi...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-65-dan-fisher

Podcast episode #65 features Dan Fisher, Global ECD at Ogilvy and WPP, the man behind a vast portfolio of award-winning billboards and the owner of a classy beard.

With Christmas nearly upon us, it was most apt we discussed the brilliant “I spent it on myself” Harvey Nichols campaign which on its own could’ve filled an entire episode. Listen out for how Dan had to haggle on the price of gravel to get the campaign through. A real lesson in the lengths you have to go to for great work...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-64-neil-dawson

Episode #64 features Neil A Dawson.

We spent a lovely couple of hours discussing his career which has featured many iconic billboards, notably the VW surprisingly ordinary prices campaign. Classic VW. Classic DDB. Every one of them a cracker with Weddings still the most awarded print ad of all time. Neil drew us a billboard live in the studio, recreating his first ever billboard for Sanyo. We also discovered what the ‘A’ stands for, if he is related to our Dan Dawson and of course Clive Pickering, Neil’s partner for ma...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-63-guy-murphy

Episode #63 features our first ever planner, which seems a bit overdue considering the best planners are often the best creatives and vice versa. And we’ve haven’t got just any old planner, but one who’s been round the block with tread to spare. Guy Murphy many things: award-winning strategist, big creative thinker, agency leader, but also someone who just loves ideas and the chat about strat and tech and how they’re all joined up. Plus he’s a footy fan. All of which makes him perfect for the pod.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-62-peter-souter

Rarely have we had such a talented, humble and unanimously respected guest as Peter Souter. Our teaser earlier this week had an amazing response with many waxing lyrical about his creative talent and what a great person he is. So we’re hoping this episode lives up to the hype.

We talked about any and everything. And managed to fit in some OOH along the way 🤓 The story behind the shredded ‘Industrial secrets’ poster he wrote with Paul Brazier is a belter, esp when you hear the final execution didn’t ac...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-61-shish-patel

Podcast episode #61 features one of the industry’s good guys, Shish Patel. Talented, funny, charming, thoughtful and extremely humble, it was a great hour with Shish, who regaled us with brilliant stories behind brilliant billboards.

The baby in the marmite poster is a cracker. A story that involved another DDB creative Pete Hayes and a photo of his child never intended for a Marmite billboard, but ended up being the actual shot in the ad.

There’s also the Comfort poster that appeared outside Shish’s parents shop w...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-60-specsavers-part-1

Podcast #60 is part 1 of our Specsavers Special, featuring the brilliant outdoor campaign from creative team Jon Morgan & Bertie Rapkin.

We explore the background to the work, how the craft played a huge part in making these such a success (kudos to GSA and Lee Bofkin from episode #59) and we hear about the (equally brilliant) executions that never made it. The busker covered in billboard paper a true delight. Please get it to run!

There’s also a very funny story involving Leeds Art University and one of th...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-59-lee-bofkin/

Murals special with Lee Bofkin

If you’ve seen an amazing mural lately, there’s a pretty good chance Lee Bofkin was involved. Lee is Co Founder and CEO at Global Street Art who are the go-to agency for creating big messages on big walls.

Peaky Blinders, Valentino, Oatly,
Invesco, Beats, FIFA, VW, Baileys, Glenfiddich and many others have had their moment on bricks and mortar thanks to Lee and his crew at GSA.

We spoke with Lee about murals. Their history. Their resurgence. The...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-58-nils-leonard

AI / Elderflower cordial  / B&Q / Inflatable cushions / Cannes / Air conditioning / Awards

It went pretty much in that order on a warm day earlier this week, where the air con and Hugh’s home brew kept us cool.

Episode #58 features a fascinating chat with Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon, who became our first ever returning guest.

We first spoke to Nils back in Feb 2021 when we were remote, stuck in various houses and offices trying to have spontaneous conversations on Zoom. So it was wonderful to mee...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-57-alex-abrantes/

Ever seen a billboard used as a music stage? Or a vodka ad invade a beer ad? Or John McEnroe of today play John McEnroe of 1979?

Podcast #57 features Alex Abrantes, who epitomises the belief that if you can think it, you can do it. And if you surround yourself with the right people even the most audacious ideas are possible.

We could have dedicated the entire show to the McEnroe vs McEnroe campaign alone:

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-56-james-day/

Podcast episode #56 features one of the sharpest snappers in the business. And one of the nicest and most charming guests we’ve had on the show.

It’s James Day on Good Friday folks. Settle down with a cuppa and a hot cross bun. This is a belter.

James has had his name attached to some of the most iconic billboards of the past 30 years.

He’s come a long way since picking up his first camera, which was a foggy affair:

“I spent qu...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-55-jo-moore

Episode #55 has a bit of everything.

Mostly it has the charming, humble and uber talented Jo Moore, ECD at House 337, discussing her OOH work.

In particular we chatted about the domestic violence campaign for Women’s Aid that ran during last year’s World Cup.

“He’s coming home” was a chilling reminder of the domestic abuse suffered by women during major tournaments. The poster (and film which is equally brilliant) gained huge publicity and awareness on virtually no budget.

It led us to a wider...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-54-emma-brooke

For episode #54 we spoke to Emma Brooke, Writer and Creative Director at Leo Burnett and originator of some of the very best OOH work in recent years for the BBC.

We started with her campaign for Peaky Blinders which featured fan art from devotees of the show. This big bucket of UGC resulted in over a dozen brilliant pieces of outdoor that stood out from your everyday air brushed advertising image thanks to their gritty hand crafted style. Whether it was Tommy, Polly or Arthur - the image always...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-53-david-masterman/

Episode #53 of the podcast features the super talented ever ebullient Dave Masterman.  

It was a great session that encompassed Dave’s incredible collection of OOH work both as creative and CD.

Many highlights: VW, Marmite, Kit Kat, Mr Kipling and esp Ben & Jerry’s - the homemade look ‘n feel still fresh today.

More up to date work included the audio mnemonic led Domin-oh-hoo-hoo campaign which works surprisingly well on murals and special builds.

We finished on ‘I Spy Maynard’s’ (Wine Gums) which is poss...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-52-mark-tutssel-part-2/

Part 2 of our conversation with Tuts took us to the very heart the world’s most famous fast food brand. We spoke at length about McDonald’s and Tuts incredible time at the helm of the account, first in London, then Chicago, then around the world.

There was so much work it would’ve been impossible to cover it all. But we’re pretty sure we got the best bits:

Golf, Mouse-holes, Hot dog, 20p, Fresh Salads, Milkshake and our absolute favourite, Sundial (featured on Episode 5 with creative...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-51-mark-tutssel-part-1/

Mark Tutssel aka ’Tuts’

Part 1

To say we’re excited about our latest guest on the podcast is somewhat of an understatement.

Mark Tutssel aka ’Tuts’, is one of the biggest names in the business.

And when it comes to billboards and OOH, he has few rivals.

His overall award record is staggering - 600 Cannes Lions, inc 10 Grand Prix, two D&AD Black Pencils, the first ever White Pencil, 25 D&AD Yellow Pencils, Grand Clios and many more - you name, he’s won i...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-50-david-kolbusz/

BtB in 2023.

And who better to kick off the year and podcast #50 than David Kolbusz, CCO of Orchard New York. A man of many talents and looks. And a blast of fresh air to blow away the January blues.

We actually spoke before Christmas on a crisp winters day in New York. In fact it was Thanksgiving as we recall, so we’re hugely appreciative of DK’s time on such a big day Stateside.

The sun was out and through his bedroom window we coul...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/12/31/episode-49-best-of-2022/

Of all the end of year lists, this is obv the one you’ve been waiting for.

Yes, it’s Behind the Billboard’s Best of 2022.

And what a year it’s been.

So much great work to choose from.

Digital posters, traditional posters, fly posters, posters made from fruit juice, posters towed by horse drawn carriages, posters of cute cats and dogs, posters with 500 different executions in the campaign. Posters that had been put up wrong. Posters that came alive at night. And then...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-48-scott-silvey/

You wait for a D&AD black pencil winner for nearly 50 episodes…then two come along at once.

Shelley Smoler for The Zimbabwean last time and now Scott Silvey for Hopeline 19.

We talked about the work in depth and discovered how the campaign actually put Scott and the creative team Darren Beresford & Richard Gayton at the forefront of the pandemic, talking and listening to nurses and doctors trying to cope with Covid. A brilliant campaign that shone the spotlight on these amazing people who keep this country on...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-47-shelley-smoler/

Our first South African.

Our first D&AD black pencil winner.

Our first guest with a sparkly (possibility pitch winning) top.

Shelly Smoler, thank you so much for taking the Behind the Billboard podcast to new heights.

The Zimbabwean campaign is one of the most famous in history and one we’ve been longing to discuss. Such was the parlous state of the Zimbabwean economy back in 2009, money was literally not worth the paper it was printed on, with people paying for goods wi...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-46-russell-ramsey

We’re back!

Series 4 is here and first up is Russell Ramsey, ECD of Pulse Creative and the brains behind some of the most famous OOH from the past 30 years.

Audi, Paddy Power, Toohey’s, Levi’s, Polo, Kit Kat, Kleenex, The Times - the list of clients that have benefited from Russell’s craft is long and impressive.

And yet he remains incredibly humble and hungry for more. The Times Queen’s Platinum Jubilee billboard was shortlisted at last night’s prestigious Campaign BIG awards.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-45-guy-moore/

We’re back.

And most appropriately we’re back with a Cannes man.

None other than Guy Moore, who amidst many career highlights, won the Cannes OOH Grand Prix in 2018 with McDonalds ‘Signs’ campaign, which has a brilliant back story.

And coming in a close second is Guy’s British Heart Foundation campaign which involved calling Saul Bass - yes the legendary Saul Bass - in the middle of the night in New York for a little art direction chat.

Smart, funny, wise (and wearin...

See pictures and watch a video of the panel here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-44-behind-the-billboard-cannes/

C’est ici!

Yes, podcast #44 is here and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before.

It was live in the South of France and despite a few technical glitches, it was tres bon.

A lovely hour at LBB beach chatting with our esteemed panel of Daniel Fisher, Keka Morelle and Sanjiv Mistry about all things OOH @Cannes 2022.

Sanjiv was our man in the judging room, giving a real insight into this year’s winner...

Beady eyed followers will know we’ve already posted about our #CopySafari with Vikki Ross.

But today we’re pleased to say the podcast episode is available.

During the trek through the wilds of Shoreditch, there were a few technical problems which slowed down the editing process - we think the issue was extreme humidity in Dan’s trouser pocket.

But thankfully the recording has been rescued by intrepid IT pioneer Mr Jon Jones, who has not only salvaged the audio file, but edited it into a fully fledged episode.

And it’s q...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-42-ewan-paterson/

‘How about Carl Lewis in his running gear, but instead of wearing spikes that normally propel him to 100m in 9.86 seconds, we put him in a pair of size 12 red stilettos with the headline ’Power is nothing without control’. Oh and let’s insist on getting legendary photographer Annie Liebvitz to shoot it. What do you reckon?’

This is why we love advertising. The dreamers. The moon shooters. The creatives who think nothing of putting the most famous athlete in the world in a pair of shiny red high heels.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-41-ed-morris/

Podcast 41 features one of the industry’s greatest talents - Ed Morris.

Ed has flexed his creative muscles across just about every discipline you can think of.

Art direction, writing, typography, creative direction, photography, commercials direction and most recently turning his hand to film, directing his brilliant debut movie ‘How to stop a recurring dream’.

There’s no end to his talent. He even plays the ukulele. But thankfully he can’t do the Rubik’s cube ;-)

We spent a wonderful hour hearing how t...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-40-graham-fink-pt2/

Is the sequel ever as good as the original? For Graham Fink Part 2, think Godfather Part 2 (but without all the killing).

More brilliant cigarette billboards. This time for Silk Cut and the iconic Shower Curtain and Birds executions.

Then Dixons….’the last place you want to go’ which started life on the radio but thankfully ended up on billboards, winning at every award show around the world.

Graham then literally gave blood for the (billboard) cause with the seminal ‘Blood’ poster (and film) for Playstation when he an...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/03/04/episode-39-graham-fink-pt1/

Episode 39 features an icon of the industry, Graham Fink.

It feels a bit strange to think we got this far without talking to Graham who was D&AD’s youngest ever president and winner of China’s first ever Cannes Grand Prix.

But as you can imagine for someone who is now a multi-media artist, agent to Sophia the world’s first humanoid robot and finktank founder, his time is limited.

So we felt especially lucky to have him on to talk billboards.

And bo...

Ep38 features Jo Arscott - a true creative pioneer, who mastered the art of the ’Integrated’ campaign long before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon and called it ‘360’.

Her billboard for the National Asthma Campaign in 1996 was a great example of this, being more like an event than a piece of OOH. Painted in clear glue, the poster was pure white when it went up at Vauxhall Roundabout for the press launch. When the journalists came back 14 days later; they were amazed. The pollution had stuck to the glue revealing the headline.

Hear the full story behi...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/02/04/episode-37-vikki-ross/

Writing copy about Vikki Ross - the Queen of Copy - is a daunting task.

Was that really a proper sentence? Could it have been a bit pithier? How about the grammar? Were those dashes really necessary? And how about the tone? Is this copy on brand? Is it Behind the Billboardy enough?

So many questions about so much copy.

Vikki has the answers.

Copy is her thang, having written many brilliant words for many global brands for the past 24 years.

...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/01/21/episode-36-justin-tindall/

Dead cats, sharing a flat with Damien Hirst, painting your toenails purple in Cannes…just when you thought’d you’d heard it all, along comes podcast number 36 with Justin Tindall.

Amazing stories…some of which were actually about billboards ;-)

Of course Justin is much more than dead moggys, friend of YBA’s and dodgy pedicures.

He is one of the world’s most awarded creatives and ECD’s - winning big at every show in the world during tenures at FCA!, DDB, Red Brick Road, Le...

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2022/01/07/episode-35-malcolm-venville

Podcast episode #35 features one of adland’s most brilliant and loved photographers, Malcolm Venville, who’s portfolio is bulging with great billboards.

Every one of them shot through with wit and style and every one shot by the same wonderful man.

We spent an absorbing hour with Malc discussing the work that teamed him up with the the cream of British agencies.

So many great stories behind so many billboards.

We barely got to mention his other creative outlets - direct...

So the question on everybody’s lips this Friday…what will be the number 1 billboard of 2021?

Last week the pod counted down from 21 to 11. Now we’re in with the big guns. Who’s your money on?

Marmite? Everyone seems to love (not hate!) their exploding special builds from earlier this year. Or McDonalds Delivery - classic adshels - a campaign of beauty and simplicity.

How about BBC Creative and the billboard they set on fire for The Perfect Planet season? Or maybe switch channels to C4 and see tha...

2021 - VISUALS: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/12/10/episode-33-bestof21pt1/

How was it for you?

At Behind the Billboard we were genuinely surprised at the quality of this year’s output. And ended up conveniently🤔

with 21 pieces from 2021 worthy of discussion in our end of year pod.

The chat went fairly deep and crisp and even, aided by some chilled beers and delicious pigs in blanket flavoured crisps (cheers Jon).

We went on a bit like you do…and ended up with a two-parter...

FOLLOW WITH VISUALS: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/11/26/episode-32-mike-nicholson

We’d heard so many good things about Mike over the years and seen his work at all the award shows, but our paths had never crossed.

Until now.

The pod was the perfect opportunity for Hugh and Dan to find out more about one of adlands most talented and nicest blokes.

And he didn’t disappoint (esp in the wardrobe department, the signature Hawaiian shirt setting a bright positive mood from the get-go)

Mike’s...

We’re back. Behind the Billboard is back.

Amazing guests are back

Hugh’s heavy breathing

Dan’s crap jokes

Jon’s off-mic eye rolls.

Overly long social posts.…they’re all back.

And we’re starting Series 3 where we left off…with Tiger Savage, talking us through her time at Leagas Delaney and M&C Saatchi. Full disclosure we recorded this earlier in the year but we've held it back to launch series 3!

Hear the stories behind billboard brilliance for Adidas, Vogue.com, Becks, Briti...

Dan and Hugh finally sit down with Tiger Savage, having talked about much of her work on previous shows with her peers. It was so good to talk through her incredible body of work for some of the best agencies in the country.  

Visuals :  https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-30-tiger-savage-part-1/

Also - buy some SHUGS: www.shugs.co.uk

Also -  keep checking this link out for some lip balms: www.aandb.world

Dan and Hugh talk with Michael [or Mike] Lee, Creative Director at Oatly who has presided over some of the most iconic outdoor ads our industry has seen in the last few years. Polarising the creative community and prompting complaints and legal action from the dairy lobbyists... we get behind it all. visuals:  https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/04/01/episode-29-micheal-lee/

Dan and Hugh talk with Copywriter extraordinaire Sue Higgs, going through her amazing body of billboards and posters for Vauxhall, Smirnoff, Regal and BA... among many others. Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/03/26/episode-28-sue-higgs/

Hugh and Dan talk with Dave Buonaguidi AKA @RealHackneyDave about his time in Adland and about what he's up to now... still making posters for walls... but in galleries and homes around the world!  Visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=942

Dan and Hugh virtually meet up with the legend that is Sir John Hegarty. I'm not sure what else to add in this intro as... well.... its John Hegarty. He's a frikkin' legend. Just listen in..... it's a proper belter this one. Visuals [as if you need them for this one] - https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/02/11/episode-26-sir-john-hegarty/

Dan and Hugh meet with founder of Uncommon London Nils Leonard, covering Outdoor work for Volvo, Tate, Habito, Brewdog and the 2020 Outdoor hall of fame campaign for B&Q.  Follow the visuals here:  https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=820

Hugh and Dan chat to Rich Denney, ECD @ St Lukes London about his billboard work for Carlsberg, NSPCC, Morrisons and of course last years impressive NHS/SHN proactive concept that took the world by storm. Visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2021/01/28/episode-24-rich-denney/

The Bird is back... and this time it's the Publicis years.... From London to New York, we hear about some of the amazing OOH work he's presided over.  Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=752

Dan and Hugh meet up with Andy Bird, CCO of Publicis New York - albeit remotely for a chat about his amazing life and experiences behind many many billboards. Andy is an incredibly talented person who puts his success down to luck... well, we're sorry buddy.... but we're saying you make your own luck... and that's with your skills. Listen to part 1 as we journey through YTS all the way through to senior creative at some of the best creative agencies in the world, helping deliver some of the most iconic Billboard work the world has ever seen. That's...

Recorded just before Christmas, Dan and Hugh talk to Group Strategy Director from Talon Outdoor, Ninja and by far the smartest person in the room Sophie Pemberton. Sophie takes us through her role, and some highlights working Behind the Billboard on campaigns for Google, Virgin and even on a crazy blimp for TSB. 

Follow the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=709

Dan and Hugh welcome 2020 to the podcast. After the initial jokes about 2020 being a bit of a shit, we soon got into some of the amazing work 2020 supplied us under the duress of the COVID pandemic.  Follow with visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=668

Dan and Hugh virtually catch up with Ben, from their respective homes, and from his home in LA. The trio talk all things creative OOH, looking at his incredible back catalogue of work. We're talking, Economist, Samaritans, Snickers and Apple as well as hearing all about Ben's amazing new ventures. Follow the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=643

Typical. You wait 17 episodes to hear from a photographer and then 2 come along at once. Hugh and Dan shared an epic few hours with Adam Hinton, another awesome photographer who has helped create some of the most iconic billboards in the last 2 decades. Hear all about his life as a 'part-time punk', getting stabbed, photographing warzones, and shooting some of the worlds most iconic athletes for Nike, some of the least iconic athletes for This Girl Can and some incredible work for the NHS and Cancer Research. It's no wonder it's an epic 2 hour long. And yeah... apologies for...

Dan and Hugh meet up [virtually] with legendary fashion photographer and director, publisher of 4 magazines to date, the man, the brand - Rankin. Whether he is photographing the Muppets or shooting Dove’s seminal "Real beauty" campaign, Rankin has built a career on taking risks. Along with his portraits, he has created editorial and ad campaigns for Nike, Diageo, Vogue and Rolling Stone among others, and launched four magazines, starting with culture bible Dazed & Confused in the 1990s.  For visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/11/11/episode-17-rankin/

Dan and Hugh talk to Publicis ECD Dave Monk, covering his creative career through BBH, Grey and Publicis including his OOH work for Lynx, Sunday Times and Tourism Ireland - See the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/11/04/episode-16-dave-monk/

Dan and Hugh meet with Mark Roalfe, to talk pandemic, posters, partnerships and process.  View the visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/mark-roalfe/

Dan and Hugh virtually meet with Sanjiv Mistry and Jamie Mietz from McCann to talk about the XBOX Survival Billboard. Check out the visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=520

Dan and Hugh talk with Alex Taylor about her incredible career creating some of the best billboards the UK has ever seen for Silk Cut, XXXX, The Army and Parkinsons. We also talk about life in Agency land in London and presenting to work to people like Charles Saatchi. Check out the images to support the show here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/10/14/episode-13-alex-taylor/

Hugh and Dan talk to Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland about Outdoor, Billboards and creativity throughout their time as a creative partnership all the way to their current roles as ECDs at Adam & Eve DDB.

See the images at: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=462

Hugh and Dan catch up with Dave Dye on all things billboards and creativity. What's been happening over this summer, and some of the career highlights from Dave's huge and wonderful portfolio of work. See this link for the visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=433

There have been a couple of recurring themes in our Behind the Billboard series to date: our guests always seem to reference Dave Dye and cite The Economist work as their favourite. So we thought we’d bring the great man and great campaign together in EP10 for an Economist special, where we’ve delved deep into what goes behind possibly the most famous billboard campaign of all time.

Follow along with the visual here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/2020/03/18/dave-dye

One of Dave’s recent favourites in the billboard world creatively has been...

Episode 9 of Behind the Billboard features the enormously talented Ana Balarin ECD of Mother tells us about her (and husband Hermeti’s) OOH work - from the #freethefeed breast to a life-sized toy boat for IKEA and even a few traditional billboards for KFC. Thank you Ana for sharing some of the best Behind the Billboard stories we’ve ever heard.

Follow along the audio with visuals here: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/anabalarin/

We toyed with the idea of renaming this episode ‘Beyond the Billboard’ given Anas passion for breaking out of the tradit...

Mark joined us in his finery of a Denton branded tracksuit, peaky blinder cap complete with bobble on top and of course trainers and sunnies. What more could we have expected from one of the most incredible London ad men over the last 40 years. Although don’t call him an ad man… he makes films…. “Please send your scripts to www.thomasthomasfilms.co.uk”.

Please visit https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=340 for the images to follow along.

Mark joined us with gifts [others take note, we like gifts], we talked briefly about his book the Power of Purelit...

Episode 7 features Rosie Arnold.

Employee number 11 at BBH, D&AD’s first ever female president, multi award-winner, part time fencer and general lover of life, Rosie has done it all. Click this link to see the visuals and the story that goes with the episode. 

https://www.getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=320

Her favourite recent billboard campaign was this one for Budweiser:

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/05/31/budweiser-plays-up-its-music-cred-search-oriented-ooh-campaign

And her first ever Billboard was for Levi’s… Spray on Jeans

We can’t find...

This week we welcome the incredible talent that is Martha Riley to the show. Martha has forged her career at some awesome agencies working on some incredible brands. Her stand out billboards however have all seem to come for the Airline industry.

Don't forget to head to https://www.getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=307 for the supporting artwork.

Once Hugh got all the airline gags away in the safety announcement, we managed to get behind why Martha loves the Outdoor medium, and what makes it first class [I can’t help myself now].

<...

Episode 5 of Behind the Billboard features a number of firsts.

See the website post for the images and videos that we talk about in the podcast...

https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-5-vince-cook-gary-fox-robinson/

Our first creative team, our first BlueJeans powered remote interview and our first (but no means last) OOH work from McDonald’s.

We talked about them meeting on the set of a TV commercial shoot on a US Army base, having been thrown together to make it happen.

Their creative relationship blossomed and...

Episode 4 of Behind the Billboard features Tony Davidson.

You can see all of the work on the blog post... There's a tonne of great work! https://getbehindthebillboard.com/?p=259

Tony is many wonderful things. Global partner at Wieden & Kennedy, 196 times ‘in-book’ at D&AD (a record) as well being its former President, Cannes Grand Prix winner, strong hugger and just a great big kid who adores ideas and making stuff.

He turned up 30 mins early and left 30 mins late, still texting thoughts and ideas on his way back to...

Episode 3 features Tim Riley, one of the most famous writers in our industry.

IMAGE OF TIM: http://bit.ly/TimRileyMadMag

We say ‘writer’ rather than Creative Director or Head of Copy (both roles he excels at too), because deep down Tim is a man of words. Pithy, witty, cheeky, emotional, funny words. In his career he has written for John Smiths, The Economist, The Guardian, Boddingtons, Sony, Nike, Snickers, Sainsbury’s, winning awards on virtually every account he’s put his pen to.
 

Economist Array: http://bit.ly/36cH6vM

 ...

In episode 2 we’re with Art Director extraordinaire Paul Belford.

Paul has worked at more agencies than most of us have had hot dinners…. and that was before he worked anywhere half decent (his words not ours!). Interestingly all of these jobs followed a degree in bio-chemistry! As ever, there are no straight routes into a career in advertising, and what an incredible career Paul has had so far.

Spanning over 30 years at agencies such as TBWA, LEAGAS DELANEY and AMVBBDO, Paul has produced award-winning work for Waterstones, the Economist, PlayStation, Le Creuset, The Guardian to n...