Age isn’t a disability (although it is treated as one), or the creative industry would have embraced it. Odd, isn’t it? The industry flies the flag, loud and proud, for diversity. 21% of Australia’s population is uninvited. So here’s a series to counter stereotypes with reality. To defy disdain for age. To show that experience is not a hindrance.
I think you should know that there were people afraid to participate in this series. That is shameful. Michael Knox, executive creative director of Icon Agency, wasn’t. Chris Dodds, co-founder and head of digital, Icon Agency, explains why he has no need to be, “From the day we hired Michael, we knew we’d made the right decision. He’s a safe pair of hands ready to catch and craft any brief. Calm when the pressure is on. Adept at questioning, challenging and nurturing ideas safely and inclusively. Always sharing ideas and being able to see and get the best out of others. We are lucky to have him running our creative team.”
Here is a snapshot of what makes Michael Knox an asset to the industry:
You spent nearly ten years in top creative roles at each of Grey Aus/China and Ogilvy Aus. What do you think it takes to be a great creative leader?
Michael Knox: Belief. Create a culture of belief. Belief is energy. Have belief in yourself. If you don’t, no-one else will. Experience helps here. Even though time is the enemy – you learn there’s always more, until there isn’t. On paper the job is simple – create an environment where people can make the best work of their lives. Speed up anything that makes this possible and eliminate everything that stands in its way. You’re the accelerator or the brake. Choose your pedal wisely. Rhetoric aside, get the casting right. It’s all about who you put in the room. Have a strict no d#*kheads policy. Put your best people on the biggest opportunity, shield them from any distractions and push, push, push to make epic work that gets the world talking.
A year ago, you joined Icon in a top creative role. How has the role changed?
Michael Knox: It’s a lot about connection now. The role has become a lot less about ripping up layouts and a lot more about collaboration. Connecting people with great ideas and leading projects that connect our teams. Not that I tore up many layouts. It’s a regular topic of conversation that there’s very little training for creatives to become creative directors, but 20 years in I don’t have that excuse, and fortunately the experiences that I’ve had over the years mean I don’t need them. The role has changed a lot and on some days not at all. Some rooms have open doors and others you need to pick the lock. Sometimes the work finds you and on other projects you need to chase it down. The role now has more of an expectation that you stay at the table rather than that table being in your office. Some say, ideas can come from anywhere, but so too can opinions about those ideas. Knowing how to create the right amount of room for everyone to contribute but also the confidence to know this isn’t a democracy is a balancing act taught over years of seeing it go right, and seeing it go the other way too.
Oh yeah, and technology has changed everything – data over gut AI instead of craft and dwindling attention spans have become the reason too many good ideas don’t happen – all of this is a subject for another day though.
What do you think was great about advertising 25 years ago? What are you happy to leave behind? What has endured?
Michael Knox: 25 years ago. It was my first day in a creative department. A very legit creative agency where the work, the work, the work was everything. A highly competitive culture. Prolific. Famous. I was teamed up with a brilliant art director. Clients had budgets and creatives had reputations. No one talked about the average work. Layouts stuck on walls, an urgency to sell. Culture ate strategy for lunch…. and played pool at The Snakepit afterwards. The place was fire but friendly enough. No-one turned up looking to cruise – as one of the most awarded creatives at 474 told me, “I’m here to make ads, not friends.”
So, what am I happy to leave behind? I’m not really sure.
What has endured? The resilience of creativity. The best agencies make the best work and the best work attracts the best people. We can try to rationalise it in other ways and talk about culture, or new business wins or the snacks in the cupboard …. but the list of where creatives want to work and who clients want to work with tend to be the agencies with the best work. That might be too simplistic, but it remains a simple business.
What is it about the world of advertising that gets you up in the morning?
Michael Knox: Ideas. I like the hunt. I enjoy the possibility. The problem solving. The ideas that make you nervous. The great work that makes its way out of the building and into the world. I like working across different locations, with diverse talent. Working with interesting people is the ultimate reward. Desperate people with talent. I like where ideas take us. The envy and respect you feel when you see something you wish you’d made. And I like the end of day, end of week drinks with the people I work with. I like spending time with smart people – and I like walking around empty rooms knowing there’s a good idea hiding somewhere.
What are you most proud of?
Michael Knox: The work I’ve made and the people I’ve met. From the brand campaigns with the type of budgets you rarely see any more to the smaller projects for niche audiences that go on to have massive impact. The stuff that makes headlines. To have done this in other parts of the world is a privilege. It’s a great job we have – making work that matters. I’m proud that I have helped others do the same. I have worked with great people and I have seen many on their first day in the business stare down their first brief. Some of these are now leaders in the industry running their own shops, leading tech platforms, leading networks. To spend time talking about ideas, possibilities, life and everything else with great people from around the world and from either side of the table. These experiences are plenty and shape the work we make now and push me towards bigger ideas.
