Hosted by Dan Balser, Advertising Department Head at The Creative Circus in Atlanta, this is a biweekly conversation about advertising. But it’s not just about the industry; it’s about the people in it.
The Academy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is the brainchild of Zach Canfield, the agency's Director of Talent. Dan is now its director, and this episode marks a personally significant moment of transition.
Leaving agency life in his past, Sean shares his thoughts on start-up culture, imposter syndrome, and the overemphasis put on deck perfection.
A natural strategist at heart, Nathalie shares her thoughts on how to best work with strategists, the genesis of insight, and moving to a new job. She also has some profound advice for young professionals (esp. women).
This one manages to cover Wordsworth's Ode; feeling different and integrating; the value of a good strategy; the making of an epic, celebrity-laden commercial; levity; and finding a family at work. It wraps up with a generous offer from Omid.
On finding your professional family, inner workings of e-commerce marketing, and uncovering opportunities in unlikely places
An inside view of a great agency, from a leader's perspective
Advertising as a platform, the value of a good presentation, some real talk, and the power of truth well expressed
An online, mid-pandemic chat about a cookie vault, Seinfeld, sketch comedy and one copywriter’s process
The power of asking questions, being humble, and acting with intention. The value of going in-house, self-analysis, and knowing what matters to you.
A conversation with an award-winning, bi-cultural agency leader on creating not only great work, but also your own autonomy, your own agency within an agency, and originality within familiarity
Aaron, an intern with Mischief and Brandon, a freelancer with Arts & Letters Creative Co., discuss resourcefulness, resilience, mental exhaustion, and life as creatives of color.
Life in the Covid-19 pandemic, burnout, the ethos of Dara Khosrowshahi, empathy, and a short commercial for Funworks
The ongoing struggle with race in advertising, how to talk about bias, learning the craft in the Covid era, and squeezing the lemon
Making sense of this moment, a hard talk about being Black in a mostly White industry, and using your platform for good
Visiting from Birmingham, Jason shares his thoughts on content creation, partnerships, career moves, asking for what you need, and the value of saying yes.
Returning to The Circus after seven years, Erin covers starting over, the value of diversity, and her first big-budget TV shoot.
Recorded pre-COVID, this chat with two Circus alumni (replete with a gamified Q&A) covers advice for young creatives, a really bad portfolio review, acknowledging misery, and idea harvesting.
Directly off of a flight from Minneapolis, the two CDs sat down to talk about their agency, their careers, and important lessons learned.
Steve brings his dry wit to a conversation about embarrassment, revisions, bad work, ideas vs. executions, and career moves.
Kevin shares a sliver of his wisdom regarding personal growth, finding a place to find your strength, strategy vs. concept, and partnerships.
The real job of a creative director, the English FA, and doing work worth doing
From Canada to Idaho to Atlanta to Detroit to Las Vegas and back to Atlanta, Kam has picked up some knowledge and is happy to discuss.
Funworks, an AdAge Small Agency of the Year, has upended conventions of how creative work is generated and presented. And its engaging, energetic CEO is more than happy to enthusiastically discuss it.
The longtime listener and first-time guest discusses Steph Curry, China, YouTube and TikTok, empathy, insight and behavior, and lessons learned at Apple.
Turning the proverbial tables, Brian (a copywriting student in his final quarter at The Creative Circus) asks Dan some questions.
A creative of and for today's ad culture, Diana shares thoughts on social as the new print, doing good, and learning new skills. Also: how a doctor's path led to art direction; art school vs. ad school; and some very real, real-world advice.
Visiting from New York, Fabio discusses Corel Draw, work visas, and Dubai. He also shares some very poignant advice.
Lessons learned from Maxx’s first professional half-decade include the dynamic anatomy of a creative and some real-world struggles.
Erwin has brought world-class creative pedigree to the skater footwear brand after years at W+K NY, Deutsch, and 180LA.
Zach's second visit to the podcast is packed with great advice for all levels.
On his second visit to the podcast, Rich covers The Lion of St. Mark, winning, dealing with roadblocks, wit, design, and personal growth.
The author of Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead In Advertising discusses craft, load-bearing ideas, partnerships, and Jeff Goodby.
In his second visit to DGMS, Prentice covers focus groups, kids as inspiration, the value of core values, and challenger brands.
Kat, an ACD at Spotify and Vig, an ACD at Fig, discuss big agencies, student competitions and adapting to new cultures.
Dan and Erin discuss New York City, typos, post-school adjustments and (yay!) mental health.
Reflecting on a career journey. Marc talks about the benefits of low expectations, the origin of the internet, and fear.
Lennie is a facilitator, observer, designer and problem solver. Listen carefully to this one.
Wally and Dan talk about pica rulers, UX, mentors, tech nerdom, and cities.
Kate, an Adweek Top-100 Creative, talks about asking for a raise, bots, having fun, working well with clients, and agency models.
Visiting from Minneapolis, Laura shares perpsective on a career that has taken her from New York to the heart of the American midwest.
The former Chair of Advertising at SCAD discusses podcasting, portfolios, career pivoting, progress – both personal and professional, and plenty more.
Jason, copywriter on the iconic “Get a Mac” campaign, is now Sr. VP, Chief, Creative Development at RPA in Los Angeles.
Recorded live with the MOJO Ad Capstone group at University of Missouri, this was an insightful chat with some very intelligent questions from the audience.
On making the right moves, effort, and bringing more to every project
Dan (AD) and Mike (CW) share thoughts on partnerships, juniors, and being interesting.
Making. Heebie-jeebies avoidance. Freelancing. Inspiration from peeves. Three definitions of the word "hit."
Visiting from KC, Katy and Cady share thoughts on looking at books, inspriration, religion, leaps of faith, the creative process, and staying in discovery mode.
The creator of "Stong is the New Pretty" discusses finding your creative outlet, collaboration, soccer, the purpose of her work, and ASMR.
The importance of mentorship, navigating agency politics, developing empathy, career navigation, the future of the industry, having a life partner who is also a creative, first-job advice
The Argentine photographer and director discusses philosophy, finding your voice, watching 200 movies a year, self-doubt, wabi-sabi, collaboration, and Zac Brown.
On shifting and rebalancing, insight, what kind of work should be in your book, and being a minority in advertising
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