This week on The MCA Prodcast Pat Murphy talks to Matt Miller, President and CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). AICP represents the interests of independent companies that specialise in the production and post production of commercials in various media—film, video, digital—for advertisers and agencies.

Matt looks back on his 30 years with AICP and considers how the industry has changed (or not) in that time. “I think probably more has stayed the same than changed”, he says. He also reveals how he ended up on The Today Show many times as a correspondent for all things advertising, often explaining the cultural phenomena of Super Bowl advertising to the US audience.

Pat and Matt discuss the changing nature of production and procurement – how production costs vary around the world and why the US is amongst the most expensive. Matt explains the balancing act for any brand is between the value of US talent and expertise versus potential cost-savings elsewhere. They also discuss the shift we’re seeing where more and more creative agencies are bringing their production in-house. What does this mean for creative output and what are the broader implications for our industry? Is there a potential conflict where agencies may not provide the best outcome for their client? Also, what do these shifts mean for talent, talent development and people thinking about their career trajectory?

Matt explores the dangers of AI and why he thinks strong regulation is required to safeguard our industry and protect the work of creatives. “We got so much wrong with the creation of social media and this is so much more powerful than social media. We need to get this right for the good of the world” Matt says.

Outside of work, Matt is a keen golfer and his family foster cats. Matt says about the cats in his home ‘I never know when one is going to show up!’. He estimates they’ve rescued over a hundred cats since COVID... Incredible!

Watch Matt’s favourite ad: Nike – Tiger Woods’ Perfect Golf Swing

Hosted by Pat Murphy

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This week on The MCA Prodcast Pat Murphy talks with Wesley ter Haar. Wesley is the co-founder of Media.Monks, a digital-first marketing and advertising services company that connects content, data, digital media and technology services across one global team built from the bottom up. He sits on the boards of SoDA (The Digital Society) The One Club and S4Capital.

Wesley shares with us how he went from being an intern at Vodafone, to founding Media.Monks, and then merging with S4Capital. Wesley explains how they set about establishing a company culture, whilst bringing two organisations together. How do you ensure company values remain consistent across separate geographical locations

Wesley considers the revolutionary technologies in advertising production, such as Virtual Production and AI, and considers where we might go next. He considers the possibility that we may look back on VP as simply an bridge-gap between traditional production methods and AI. He also considers how the craft will improve as the ‘baseline’ for quality increases. As AI can produce a better product for less cost, agencies and advertisers will have to up their game to stand out!

For creators, Wesley argues that understanding and utilising AI is similar to the advent of computers. ‘We used to say if you're a creative, try at least to get an understanding for coding. We're not expecting you to be a great developer, but it's really meaningful to understand the machines that have to translate your craft and creativity. I think it's the next version of that.’

Despite the threats posed by AI, Wesley describes himself as an optimist. He shares his view on the societal impact that technology could have on jobs and the economy and describes Elon Musk as a ‘doomer’ for suggesting that nobody will ever need a job!

See Wesley’s favourite ad: Guinness – Surfer

Hosted by Pat Murphy

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This week on The MCA Prodcast Pat Murphy talks to John Hegarty, Co-founder and Creative Director at The Garage Soho & The Business of Creativity. He was a founding partner of Saatchi and Saatchi in 1970 and founded Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 1982.

John looks back on his career, including launching Saatchi and Saatchi and reveals why his name isn’t above the door! He also tells the story of receiving his knighthood from The Queen and describes the event as ‘all the pomp without the pomposity’!

When it comes to modern marketing, John argues that brands have a tendency to forget two crucial ingredients - persuasion and promotion. John suggests that many brands’ approaches to advertising can verge on stalking their audience rather than trying to engage them, and suggests ways this can be avoided. Have brands and advertisers become too obsessed and reliant upon measurement? Successful ads create empathy with the brand but ‘trying to measure that becomes an impossibility’ says John.

John also suggests that brands can be persuaded too by market research and tend to avoid using gut instinct. He uses the example of Abba having recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. At the time, the British public gave the song nul points. That is arguably consumer research that didn’t suggest the song would do very well, however it went on to become a huge hit!

John shares the creative process behind some of his most iconic ads, including the 15-year campaign for Levis. John explains the process that would involve creating as many as 50 ideas on paper, whittling them down, scripting and turning the best ideas into ads. What skills and specialisms are required to successfully turn an idea into reality? John also highlights the importance of music in advertising and explains why it should feature highly on any production budget.

John and Pat also discuss what creativity is, fundamentally. How are we creative? How does our creative ability separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom, and to what extent can AI begin to replicate human creativity? John explains how you can take part in his course ‘The Business of Creativity’ and how it is for everyone in all organisations to help them understand the role of creativity and how it leads to success. It’s not just for creatives!

For more from John, read his books:

Hegarty on Creativity: There are No Rules

Hegarty on Advertising: Turning Intelligence into Magic

Watch John’s favourite ad: Volkswagen - Funeral

Hosted by Pat Murphy

Connect with Murphy Cobb and The Prodcast:

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