Jonathan Kneebone is not only the co-founder of The Glue Society, the Aussie agency that won’t be fettered by the limits of commercial creativity, he’s also a force of change – the change the creative industry has to have. That aligns him with the ambitions of D&AD. What the pair are achieving already in Australia is remarkable.
The Stable talked to Kneebone about supporting and developing the industry he, clearly, loves.
The Stable: How and why did you get involved with D&AD (Brief to Broadcast & RARE)?
Jonathan Kneebone: From the beginning of my career, D&AD was a very strong influence on me as someone learning in the business and trying to make a name for myself. I think I was extremely lucky as a young writer and creative, as I was exposed to a lot of extraordinarily talented people and all of them made me realise that an award at D&AD was something to aim for because of the show’s integrity and consistently high standards. It has always showcased work which moves the world forward, as opposed to being a self-congratulatory exercise.
At college also, I was taught by the people who were winning the yellow and black pencils at the time – John Hegarty, Paul Arden, Barbara Nokes, Indra Sinha…And then when I started working, I was lucky enough to have Tony Brignull, Steve Henry and Axel Chaldecott as my CDs.
Their desire to encourage people’s individual creativity to flourish was inspiring. And I equated that very much with D&AD. So when the opportunity came to pass on some of the things I had learned with D&AD’s support, I jumped at the chance.
Brief to Broadcast was somewhere I felt could help young people get a chance to get their hands dirty. Sometimes it can take a while before you get the chance to make an idea. And increasingly, making is just as important a creative opportunity as originating. We’ve done three Briefs to Broadcast now. And the results of what young creatives can achieve in a single day are always amazing.
RARE was something I was determined to support. Tara (McKenty) and Stef (Stefanie DiGiavincenzo) had this brilliant idea to create a vibrant community of truly diverse talent – and I knew if I could help make it real it could help change the industry for the better. D&AD’s CEO, Tim Lindsay, saw these as opportunities to help foster creative talent – and having its support has allowed them both to flourish as programmes.
I am also keen to bring D&AD Shift to Australia, as it aims to seek out the people that wouldn’t otherwise find advertising as a career. And I’m hoping that now I am also on the AWARD committee I can help unify both organisations behind these worthwhile initiatives.
TS: What does it mean to you to be on the D&AD Advisory Board and what are your personal goals within it?
JK: The main aim of the board is to ensure D&AD stays relevant and valuable to the global creative business. D&AD has its own goals and agendas which, as a non-profit charity, can be distilled as aiming to inspire and encourage creativity around the world. To do that it does need the support of the business. But it also wants to provide the industry with the raw, fresh talent it needs to maintain its edge.
The board is made up of some extraordinarily high profile creative directors from every corner of the world and every aspect of the advertising and design business – and I do feel somewhat out of my depth among the likes of John Hegarty and Colleen DeCourcy. But so far, we have recognised that the most important changes needed now are to embrace diversity and discover and support raw talent.
I believe D&AD is the first awards show to have true gender balance across the entire judging group. And that is undoubtedly already having a positive influence.
Personally, I hope that Australia can play a role in amplifying how creativity is valued in the world. The unique set of circumstances that affect us and the work we make down under makes us different. And recently we have punched above our weight at D&AD. If I can learn from other countries as to what they’re doing well and spread that news – and expose them to what we’re doing well – then I think it’s a win-win.
TS: RARE’s motto is “because one day we hope labels won’t matter.” What needs to happen in Australia to make that come true?
JK: The extraordinary thing is that once Australians get hold of an idea, they can be very quick to embrace change. I’d say it is something that makes us who we are. We love new thinking and new ideas – IF they can be made to feel right and relevant to us. What RARE has already done is prove that there is a community of people who were being undervalued, overlooked or taken for granted. And having established that there is an inequality, I think Australians will be very quick to want to change that.
Once people realised that same sex marriage was an equality issue, the swing of opinion was virtually immediate. And I think the same will be true here in Australia with workplace inequality. We like to be seen to be fair. And now that the level of discrimination is in the public eye, change will happen. It won’t happen by itself. But the mood for change is palpable now that people like Tara and Stef have brought its existence to a broader audience.
TS: What do you think are the challenges to achieving D&AD’s level of creative excellence in the present climate?
JK: Undoubtedly, the biggest challenge for creative people everywhere is the devaluation of time. You cannot innovate or invent or be truly original without time. Having no time to do something means we jump to the most immediate quick fix or the first thing that does the job. Creative people need time to make mistakes, time for accidents to happen, for weird ideas to collide, for experimentation, for ideas to fail and for the flaws to reveal something better.
And the stuff, that we all feel rewarded when we come into contact with, is the stuff in which someone has had the time to be truly fresh and original. Nike London, Breaking 2, Audi Clowns – these are all things that will do well this year. Today you almost need to create an exceptional case to create something exceptional. It takes a concerted effort.
I think the current short-term nature of the business needs to be challenged. Having the time to create something far more inspiring may take longer, but it may also have a significantly more potent impact on sales, on the world in general, and perhaps be far more rewarding for everyone involved. Whether it wins an award or not. But hey, it might even get recognised too.
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