Ad Chat - Gideon Amichay

Gideon and fan Liat in Cannes this summer

This week we put Gideon Amichay, Creative Chairman of Shalmor Avnon Amichay Y&R Tel Aviv in our spotlight. You can find his blog at gideonamichay.com, and if you're lucky you'll pass him on the Croisette in Cannes as he cruises along eating ice-cream and he'll high-five you as you walk past each other (I am that kind of lucky, that was funny Gideon).

What's your favorite funny story about yourself?
My first career was as a cartoonist.

What piece of art (movie, book, music, painting, etc) has influenced you most? How or why?
The Fountainhead, the book and the movie. The book is about believing in your way and follow it till the end.

Who was your favorite mentor and why?
Michael Conrad, and The Berlin School of Creative Leadership, who taught me how to reinvent myself again.

What's one thing that excites you about the future of advertising?
The opportunities to do unbelievable things, like never before

If you could meet with anyone in history (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
Saul Steinberg. The greatest illustration Artist ever. His simplicity is pure genius.

What’s your favorite website/blog, and why?
TED. Any questions?

What's your trick to break out of a creative block?
Museums, Theatre, Movies,Ballet, Opera, and walking. Just walking. No music, no mobile and without knowing where.

Who is your advertising hero and why?
Lee Clow. Think Different.

Tell us one of the things on your bucket list.
Children.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
Life is not the roughcut, it is the real thing.

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