Ad Chat - Evan Brown

Give it up for our dear friend and sharp-as-a-tack creative, Evan Brown, Sr. Copywriter at TBWA\Chiat\Day. Get to know him a bit better by following him on Twitter at @strawberrycough.

Let's get it started...

What's your favorite funny story about yourself?
Three days after 9/11, I was in London, walking with a friend when we were stopped by some BBC reporters. I thought they wanted to interview us about what happened and started to panic. But they were doing a show on Britain's best loved children's poems. They asked us to read the first stanza of "On The Ning Nang Nong." I ended up reading it jointly with my friend to hide my non-Britishness. Wait. Was it supposed to be a "ha ha" funny story?

What piece of art (movie, book, music, painting, etc) has influenced you most? How or why?
David Byrne. Everything he does has a concept and it's never the same thing twice. And Warhol, too. He was a master of social media decades before that phrase existed. I wish he were alive so I could follow him on Twitter.

Who was your favorite mentor and why?
Never had a mentor per se. But Brian Gill and Yann Mooney (two Montrealers) were bosses who inspired me. Kim Rushton is most likely the best planner in the business, and Christina Cairo one of the best producers. All are crazy talented. All lead by example. And all are amazingly nice, too.

What's one thing that excites you about the future of advertising?
More and more creatives are trying to find fundamental solutions to the problems in our industry. Asking questions that have nothing to do with the words "social media' or "content." I can't wait to see what happens when these questions get answered.

If you could meet with anyone in history (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
Joseph Heller. It's a rare person who can make dark things funny.

What’s your favorite website/blog, and why?
theawesomeworld.tumblr.com for various reasons. The Guardian for understanding technology better than any newspaper. And adland.tv. I've been a proud adgrunt for 11 years.

What's your trick to break out of a creative block?
Change the scenery. Make a cup of tea. Background music. Anything, really.

Who is your advertising hero and why?
Who was the first person who said no to a client? That person deserves high recognition.

Tell us one of the things on your bucket list.
I'm not a list-maker.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
Reputation is everything.


Other Ad Chats:
Keith Ruggiero Synth loving composer and sound designer at "Sounds Red"
Jill Spradley Associate Creative Director at 160over90
Brian Bronaugh President at Mullen, Pittsburgh, PA
Bo Hellberg, Swedish ECD in France, at Brave and Billington Cartmell, Paris
Jane Goldman Creative Director/Copywriter & Strategist, Boston, MA
Jonah Otieno - Executive Creative Director 5ive Ltd, Nairobi
Anne-Cécile Tauleigne ECD at JWT Paris
Esther Clerehan, Headhunter, Sydney, Australia
Ad chat: Manuel Bordé Creative copy at BBDO Dubai
Rance Randle Art Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day\LA
Åsk 'Dabitch' Wäppling the force behind Adland
Dave Trott creative mischief chief
Arnie DiGeorge Executive Creative Director of RR Partners
Andy Kinsella Innovation Director at Glue Isobar
Koert Bakker Director of Strategy at Victor & Spoils
Evan Brown, Sr. Copywriter at TBWA\Chiat\Day
Dena Walker, Digital Strategist at Irish International in Dublin, Ireland
Bernie Watt, copywriter at Make, in Sydney, Australia
Ron Smrczek, Executive Creative Director of TAXI Europe
Vincent Vella, Creative Director - Grey Paris, Euro RSCG and Publicis.
Gideon Amichay, Creative Chairman of Shalmor Avnon Amichay Y&R Tel Aviv
Richard Tseng, Freelance Copywriter at CP+B
Claudiu Florea, Managing Partner - Wunderkid, Romania
Snorre Martinsen creative at Saatchi & Saatchi Oslo
Laura Jordan Bambach, Executive Creative Director LBi
Simon White Creative Lead from Rapp, London
Richard Gorodecky Executive Creative Director at Amsterdam Worldwide
Ray Page Creative Director at Tribal DDB
Adam Pierno of Off Madison Ave.
Edward Boches of Mullen
Dirk Singer of Rabbit, UK
Gareth Kay of Goodby, Silverstein and Partners
Tim Brunelle of Hello Viking
Rob Schwartz of TBWA\Chiat\Day
Super bowl ad chats

Super Bowl Ad Chat: Vinny Warren, on Wassup humor & preachy advertising
Ad Chat Super Bowl: John Kritch creator of "My Bold Dad" Toyota #SBads

Adland® is supported by your donations alone. You can help us out by buying us a Ko-Fi coffee.
Anonymous Adgrunt's picture
comment_node_story
Files must be less than 5 MB.
Allowed file types: jpg jpeg gif png wav avi mpeg mpg mov rm flv wmv 3gp mp4 m4v.