The first work to come out of Marcel Australia is not advertising. It’s art and it’s running on a channel on the ABC’s online iview platform. The experimental short film project is the product of many creative talents, expressing themselves in the way they want to, unshackled by briefs or budget watchdogs.

In the ABC’s words, “Artbreaks is what happens when artists are given the space to breathe.”

At its core is a collection of poems written by Marcel Australia’s creative head, David Nobay.

The Stable: Where did the poems came from and what do they mean to you?

David Nobay: Poetry kind of fell out of the long form creative writing I’ve been doing for years. Plays, film scripts, even lyrics for songs. As a format, it just made sense, given the fact I rarely have more than a few hours to myself. The subjects are all personal. For instance, my daughter was taken out by a rip at Bondi when she was only ten. I got dragged out trying to save her (fortunately, she was rescued by a surfer and I got washed up on the beach!)

In fact, the poems were a digression from a follow up that David was writing to his first play, Moving Parts, suggested by Colin Friels, who had starred in the production.

Other creatives gravitated to the fledgling poetry project – jazz pianist, Gerard Masters; to DoP and director, Susan Stitt, the ABC Head of Programming, Adrian Swift; Nylon Studios creative director, Simon Lister; photographer, Warwick Thornton…

…and Marcel’s head of content, Holly Alexander, took it on as a passion project, where passion describes the time and energy she put into getting it off the ground.

TS: What’s in ArtBreaks for you and what message is there in it for advertising and production industries?

DN: I guess what I crave more than anything as a creative person is the space to be left alone to just let my writing and thinking develop. These days, advertising is so controlled and confined by process. Be it a committee or a focus group. “Being nibbled to death by ducks” is something most of us in advertising can relate to. Artbreaks, as Mandy Chang, Head of Arts at the ABC says, “is an antidote”. Given how many actors, directors and producers gave up their time to work on them, I’m obviously not alone in wanting more creative freedom.

Nobay didn’t hide his feelings about his working life in 2015. He called it “disenchanted”. Often.

TS: What was behind that?

DN: It’s no secret that the last couple of years at Droga5 were hard on all of us. We knew what we were capable of creatively, but it takes more than confidence and craft to succeed in this business. You have to find client partners that trust and respect you if you want to see your best work come to fruition. Artbeaks and the ABC gave me the chance to prove to myself and those around me that there’s life I this old dog yet.

TS: What do you want ArtBreaks to say about you and Marcel? What do you want Marcel to be?

DN: I’m not sure what I want Marcel to be, to be honest. I’m just one of the voices that are guiding the direction of the agency. Scott Huebscher, our ECD, for instance, has his own distinct voice. I respect that. It’s why I was so eager to bring him in. I guess I’m more sure “of what I don’t want Marcel to be”. Let’s face it, Sydney has more than enough strong advertising companies. More than we’ve got brave clients, I’d argue. So the last thing we need is someone trying to do more of the same. I’m wary of making bold promises. Ultimately, we need to create work that attracts clients with shared ambitions. That’s it.

TS: Is advertising missing a trick? What are the solutions?

DN: I think there’s too much talk about great work in this business. It’s not a great idea, if you don’t make it. And that’s the hard bit. For me, the real game changer isn’t technology or new media. It’s trust. Without that, you’ll never be given the time and breadth to do your idea justice. Regardless of whether it’s a new product, a stunt or a TV spot. That’s the real elephant in the room. I truly believe that if client’s genuinely doubled the trust, they could halve their budgets. Too much money is wasted in proving ideas wrong.

Marcel Australia is open for business. A new way of doing the business of creating great advertising work, perhaps? Given the mood of the moment in the industry, that might be a very good thing.