"Before meeting Alex Taylor, we were all sent her CV. WOW! If I achieve just a fraction of what Alex has achieved in her career than I'll be very happy indeed! Quick highlights include working at Saatchi & Saatchi, Wieden+Kennedy, BBH and Publicis; being featured in 2008 Creative Review in an article titled "The Changing Art of Art Direction"; Featured in Campaign's "A-list" 2004; chosen by D&AD/IPA in 2003 as one of the top creative women in Advertising due to her reputation as a D&AD award winner and outstanding contributor to Advertising; first female in Advertising to be nominated to the previous all-male D&AD Executive Board in 1998; 189 Entries in D&AD Annuals; 2 Gold Cannes and 3 Silver Cannes. OMG!!
Alex Taylor came into the studio to talk about her experiences and how she has managed to work her way up in the advertising industry. We were also shown a very inspiring interview with Helmut Krone, the man behind the classic VW and Avis campaigns. As third year students, we are constantly being told by Gyles and Mike to come up with completely new stuff that's never been done before and this is exactly what Helmut Krone did in the 1950s (showing us that it IS actually possible!).
Alex also took us through a few projects that she had worked on personally as an Art Director. It was great to actually see the person behind the ads and understand the journey that was taken to get to the final execution. It was particularly interesting when she showed us a campaign that was not finished yet and Alex wasn't completely happy with. She showed 2 different executions and asked our opinions. When we gave her feedback she genuinely seemed to consider and take on board our opinions.
Key points that Alex outlined in her talk:-
- be thinkers first and foremost
- both art directors and copywriters should learn how to write copy
- be aware of ALL new media
and
- always dress well: you never feel better than when you're in a suit (tested out successfully by Pete and Ollie in the crit the next day!!).
Alex Taylor was a real inspiration and one of the most important women in the advertising industry. What a fantastic and inspirational visiting lecture."
