Love Our Work: Jimmy Williams on Innocean’s Rowdy Pub Scene
The humble ute is one of Australia’s favourite vehicles. Whether you are a country farmer or someone with a passion for picking things up from the side of the road, the right ute will find you.
Seeing a gap in the market, KIA and Innocean jumped at the opportunity to remind Aussies of their beloved vehicle with the help of some sporting world legends.
Jimmy WIlliams, art director at Cocogun admires Innocean’s bravery and artistry. Not once is the vehicle seen but rather a rowdy pub where patrons debate on what to name the new ute.
Jimmy spoke to LBB’s Casey Martin about the craft presented in the spot.
LBB> Firstly, why do you like this particular piece of work? Does it solve a problem in a creative way? Does it make you jealous? I want your professional and personal opinion on why the work is great!
Jimmy> I love seeing agencies run towards the fire with briefs that are not commonly thought of as a huge 'creative opportunity'. And KIA’s launch of their new ute is a great example of what can be gained by doing so. KIA is a well known brand, but it's not known for its advertising. This work left me jealous, suddenly and unexpectedly wishing for a car brief. As for my personal envy… making this ad would have meant I’d meet the faces that made up about 70% of my childhood bedroom wall space.
LBB> In your opinion, what makes work great?
Jimmy> Great work comes from caring about it. From the early stages before the brief is even typed up right through to the polished piece of work you put in front of your nan at Christmas. This campaign stood out to me because you could tell all of its stages were considered deeply.
The exit of the iconic Holden ute left a void in Aussie culture that’s hard to fill. Especially by a foreign car manufacturer that hasn’t made utes before. So the idea for KIA to give it a crack with our love of nicknames and sporting legends was a clever move. Directing this amount of sporting talent could have been a sport in itself, yet Ariel Martin managed to get performances out of them that were almost as good as their moments on the field (how good was Ash Barty's deadpan, "I got it for a couple of weeks' work"?!)
What I most admired though was the bravery to create a spot for a car without featuring it. At all. Not even its name (to start with anyway). They were confident in our confidence with these Aussie legends and left it at that. Showing the ute alongside them would have changed our perception of their role - from vessels of Aussie culture to plain old endorsements. It’s clear they cared enough to show restraint when needed, and as a result they smashed the category.
LBB> When looking for inspiration, do you believe it is important to look outside of your own agency?
Jimmy> Absolutely. When you see agencies produce category-breaking work such as this, it’s often a good reminder for the rest of us in adland to work harder. I think it’s important to look at the people (and agencies) next to you, because the benchmarks are always climbing and the goal posts are always shifting. People will think twice now before assuming that a car ad can only be a grab bag of cliches about freedom strung together with an ‘80s track. And it’s thanks to those who approached it differently.
Simply put, it’s just nice to see what can be revealed when we see others tear away the wallpaper. And beyond agency land, I think it's imperative to look for and be inspired by creativity in other areas - in art, sport, business and so on. Recently, I’ve been stuck into Larry David’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’. Mainly for its abundance of human truths. It gets me thinking more about how we relate and interact with one another and definitely impacts the way I look at the stuff I make.
LBB> How do you hone your own creativity and how do you foster the creativity of the team around you?
Jimmy> I often find doing something completely uncreative lets me think creatively. My mind can wander to whatever and wherever- so doing the dishes isn’t all bad. There’s also an ever-growing amount of games at Cocogun that helps the team break things up. I remember hearing a talk from Alex Derwin where he mentioned the notion of ‘transient hypofrontality’, which is essentially taking your mind off what you’re doing and coming back to it with fresh eyes, and playing foosball does just this for many of us.
