Connecting Wth Consumers
Liam Bushby and Alison Steven talk about their work as an advertising creative team
Images courtesy of Ogilvy and Unilever.
Liam Bushby and Alison Steven
Scholastic Art: What are your jobs?
Liam Bushby: We’re a creative team at Ogilvy, an advertising company in London. We come up with ideas together for TV ads and posters. We’re given a problem by a client, and we figure out the best way to solve it.
Alison Steven: Some people say, “You need two people to do that?” But working in a team means we have two brains we can just Ping- Pong ideas between. It really helps.
SA: What is your process?
LB: At first we just talk, writing down phrases and scraps of ideas.
AS: That progresses to writing a script. Then we find images to illustrate what’s in our heads and present them alongside the script to the client. We discuss, refine, and simplify the idea. Then, if we’ve been chosen by the client for the job, we meet with directors to find the right person to bring the idea to life. Once the film has been shot, it goes through edit, color, and finishing off.
Images courtesy of Ogilvy and Unilever.
Bushby and Steven begin with storyboards to develop a narrative.
SA: How did you come up with Dove’s Reverse Selfie campaign?
LB: We needed a film that talked about how social media is affecting young girls, and how they’re distorting their photos online.
AS: We wanted it to be about a girl who didn’t have to do this to herself to be beautiful. We asked, what if we peel back the layers? Start at the end, and then reverse it.
SA: What was challenging about developing this campaign?
AS: We felt that we had a massive responsibility to young girls, and to Grace, the girl our film was about. We wanted to make sure everything we did is something she might have done herself.
Images courtesy of Ogilvy and Unilever.
They oversee the team that films the video. Here’s Grace during filming.
SA: What was your path to advertising—and to working together?
AS: I studied applied design and graphic design. I wanted to be a graphic designer, but once I saw advertising briefs, I thought they were much more interesting.
LB: I studied advertising in college, and started out as a copywriter. When Alison and I were first put together on a freelance job in the North of England, she was already established as a copywriter, so I said I’d be the art director. We realized that together we were quite good. We put together a portfolio and went to London to meet with different agencies. That was 14 years ago, and we’ve been either freelancing or moving from company to company together since then.
Images courtesy of Ogilvy and Unilever.
Next they retouch the images, adjusting color and lighting.
SA: What skills do you need to be successful in your field?
AS: Hard work and passion. Sometimes you’ll wake up in the morning, and even if you’ve just created a campaign as successful as Reverse Selfie, it’s back to the drawing board with a new brief. It’s not very glamorous, so you have to love it.
LB: Imagination. You don’t need to be able to draw, though it’s good if you can. Copywriting can be learned, but you can’t be taught imagination.
Images courtesy of Ogilvy and Unilever.
This is one of the ads for the print campaign, which appeared in magazines.
SA: What advice do you have about careers in advertising?
AS: Within advertising, there are so many different departments you can go into. But as a creative, you have to be resilient and develop a thick skin.
LB: You’ve got to believe in what you do and stand up for your ideas, but you’ve also got to be willing to listen.
Images courtesy of Ogilvy and Unilever.
The campaign featured several real girls and appeared in public spaces like this newsstand.
