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Category : Podcast

The A-List Podcast with Bobby C. Martin Jr.

On this week’s episode of The A-List Podcast, host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann is joined by Bobby C. Martin Jr., founding partner of Original Champions of Design, a design and branding agency that builds better brands through informed and strategic identity system design.

In 2017, FastCompany named Martin Jr. one of the Most Creative People in Business. At OCD, Martin Jr. has led design projects for a wide range of clients such as the Girl Scouts of the USA, MTV, The New York Times, the National Basketball Association and the Studio Museum in Harlem to ensure their growth and creative goals.

Martin Jr. is one of the first pure designers to join The A-List Podcast, and offers a unique perspective having worked both in-house at brands and for external agencies. Tune in below!

Show Notes:

  • [0:00 – 0:54] Intro
  • [0:55 – 5:53] Growing up in Virginia to parents who were both educators, and how he still applies what of much he learned in his childhood to his career today
  • [5:54 – 9:59] Falling in love with design in High School, and learning how to express himself visually
  • [10:00 – 11:10] What he learned from design legend Paula Scher and “painting with type”
  • [11:11 – 18:30] Martin Jr. talks about his early career and the job that introduced him to graphic design
  • [18:31 – 20:40] How to manage young talent, the importance of being patient, and giving people the freedom to make mistakes
  • [20:41 – 24:16] How to push clients to be bold while still being respectful
  • [24:17 – 27:45] Why agencies and design firms need to be more integrated, and how the best campaigns have a seamlessness between advertising and design
  • [27:46 – 33:34] Moving to New York City to work for Gear Magazine,  and how that experience taught him relentless work ethic
  • [33:35 – 38:35] Going back to graduate school, why he chose The School of Visual Arts, and the importance of osmosis learning
  • [38:36 – 40:40] Martin Jr. dives into the research tactics that inform design
  • [40:41 – 47:03] His experience as design director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center, and how he sold his ideas to Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis
  • [47:04 – 50:10] Launching Original Champions of Design, and the philosophy of the agency
  • [50:11 – 53:26] The pros and cons of both external and in-house agencies
  • [53:27 – 56:31] How to help people understand design work, and why the designer needs to be involved at every step of the process
  • [56:32 – 1:05:16] Rebranding the NBA logo for the first time in 48 years
  • [1:05:17 – 1:06:12] Outro

“The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter.

 

The A-List Podcast with Anselmo Ramos

The wait is over… The A-List Podcast is back and we’re starting off HOT!

For the season’s premiere episode, host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann is joined by creative junkie and self-proclaimed ad nerd Anselmo Ramos, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of GUT, an independent agency for brave clients and bold brands with offices in Miami, São Paolo and Beunos Aires.

Prior to launching GUT with co-founder Gastón Bigio, the two partners also founded DAVID The Agency. Under their leadership, the agency became a creative juggernaut and in 2017 was selected as Adweek’s Breakthrough Agency of the Year and Ad Age’s A-List Innovator Agency of the Year. In 2013, while serving as Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy & Mather São Paulo, Ramos led the famous “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” campaign, which considered to be the most watched piece of branded content in history.

In this episode, Ramos shares the story behind that campaign, talks about writing ads in secondary languages and how it can make you a better writer, the legacy of David Ogilvy, the importance of discomfort, and much, much more. Hear it all below!

Show Notes:

  • [0:00 – 1:58] Intro
  • [1:59 – 7:59] Growing up in Brazil, attending a very creative High School with no grades, and his first job in advertising
  • [8:00 – 13:34] Leaving Brazil to become a writer at Y&R Lisbon before moving again to Y&R Madrid
  • [13:35 – 18:44] Coming to the U.S. to work for Y&R Miami, how writing in a foreign language strengthened his writing skills, and the strong advertising culture of São Paulo
  • [18:45 – 24:47] His experience working at Lowe NY for Gary Goldsmith, turning down a dream offer from Tony Granger at Saatchi, and getting the call to become CCO at Ogilvy & Mather São Paulo
  • [24:48 – 30:54] Living David Ogilvy’s legacy, creative visualization and believing in yourself, and how he used “Moneyball” tactics to recruit and turn the São Paulo office into the most creative Ogilvy office in the world
  • [30:56 – 42:36] The story behind the famous “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” campaign, and the importance of finding brave clients
  • [42:37 – 45:17] Opening DAVID, the amazing partnership with Fernando Machado of Burger King, and why he ultimately decided to take the leap and start GUT
  • [45:18 – 49:22] Starting from scratch with GUT, the importance of discomfort, and moving fast and making mistakes
  • [49:23 – 58:30] Ramos talks about the importance of continued learning, the Harvard course he is currently taking, and shares advice on leadership
  • [58:31 – 1:02:55] The current state of advertising
  • [1:02:56 – 1:04:07] Outro

 “The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter

The Power of Inspiring Action: The A-List Podcast Turns 3

In the booth with Terri and Sandy (Season Two)

“Have you heard our podcast?”

Yes, we’ve become “that guy.” DiMassimo Goldstein has a podcast. No big deal. (Eyeroll emoji.) In all seriousness, we don’t actually talk about The A-List Podcast that much. Because we didn’t do it to make ourselves famous. We did it because we’re curious about creativity and we’re obsessed with starting conversations. Here’s how it happened:

My friend Lauren Slaff has an ad school called Adhouse. A couple of years ago, I noticed that her Facebook presence for the class needed an upgrade and offered to help. At DIGO, we talk a lot about Inspiring Action and resisting the urge to just make a straight-up ad hawking your wares, so of course my first thought was, “We need some hard-hitting print and banner ads!” It’s amazing how theories become so hard to follow in practice. Duh!

Yes, paid ads are important, but the first thing we needed to do was to get across the difference of Adhouse. As I say in every episode of The A-List Podcast, “[Adhouse’s] philosophy? An ad class is only as good as the professional who teaches it.” At Adhouse, you learn from the people who do the work in the very places where they do it. You literally go to the agency where your teacher works one night a week and show them your ideas. It’s the closest thing to breaking into the business you can get for six hundred bucks.

So a team worked on some ads. They were funny. But mostly they were ads. Clever headlines. Hard-hitting copy. Blah blah blah. And in the end, while they might get some people to notice Adhouse, they weren’t going to be great for the team’s book or for DiMassimo Goldstein. We’re an Inspiring Action agency. It says so in our lobby! We needed to innovate.

A reminder from our lobby at 220 E23rd Street. :)

That’s when we had a bigger idea: Let’s just interview some ad greats themselves, giving the audience a little taste of what it might be like to take an Adhouse class but also getting their ad stories. We eventually settled on their origin stories, partly out of not wanting the show to be too production-intensive week to week but also in an effort to keep it valuable to our core target audience: people who are curious about breaking into the ad industry. We originally planned to do films, but that didn’t pass the production-intensive test either. So we settled on a podcast. NOTE: At the time, we had never produced a podcast. But that’s part of Inspiring Action: Jump and a net will appear.

We began by emailing a few ad friends of mine. Rob ReillyTy Montague and Greg Hahn all said yes. Hooray! Gramercy Post, a sound studio upstairs in our building, offered up their recording facilities. We would patch in the guests, and I would ask them their life story. We would record an intro and an outro, slap some music on it, shove in an ad-read for Adhouse and see what we got. Podcast in an hour.

Before we could pull the trigger, I had to talk to my partners and Lauren (our client) about paying for it. As far as the agency was concerned, it wouldn’t make us much money. Make that (scribble scribble) zero dollars, actually. But we would be learning how to make and distribute podcasts, and we would be getting our name out to a young, creative audience. Also, I’d be connecting our agency marketing team to the PR departments of agencies ten or twenty times our size, who would all want to get the word out about their own creative geniuses. Oh, and we could do it pretty cheaply and with a very small team. They said yes (thanks, partners!) and Lauren was happy to try anything (thank the universe for good clients). So off we went.

That was over two years ago now. We have learned a lot along the way and, as we launch season three on May 9th with Anselmo Ramos of GUT, I am struck by how much has changed, but also what hasn’t. Our format hasn’t changed. We’re still asking the guests how they found this weird career we call advertising. (I’m still amazed I found it myself, to be honest. I still feel like that kid from Jersey with the weird hair.) We still record at Gramercy Post. But sometimes we have the guests sit down in the studio with me now. The experience is different that way. It’s easier to connect to the person but can also be scary. (You have to make eye contact and stuff!)

The guests are from new places. I used up all my close friends in season one and two. Now I am interviewing people I never thought would say yes, and I’m still amazed when they say they listen to and love the show. This season will include conversations with the aforementioned Anselmo Ramos as well as Ricardo Casal and Juan Javier Pena of David, Nick Law of Publicis and Karl Lieberman of Wieden + Kennedy. We’re doing a whole design exploratory starting with Paula Scher of Pentagram and Bobby C. Martin of Original Champions of Design.

New Season. New Guests. (Clockwise from Top, Left: Anselmo Ramos of GUT, Ricardo Casal and Juan Javier Pena of David, Paula Scher of Pentagram and Bobby C. Martin Jr. of Original Champions of Design.

(By the way, we have toyed with doing a sub-pod about young people who just entered the business. (The A-List The Next Generation?) We’re still working on ironing out how to do that, which was an idea we got from some young listeners. But Casal and Pena from David and Dhruv Nanda from Oberland start us off with some new perspectives from the millennial point of view.)

One more difference in the show this year is the music. Ross Hopman, a friend of the agency at Duotone, loves the show and wanted to help out. We were thrilled of course. But we had no idea how great the results would be. In the end, we couldn’t choose one song, so The A-List Podcast might just be the only podcast out there with TWO theme songs. The one at the end is my personal favorite, based on an off-the-cuff joke to Ross: “If all else fails, just give me something like The Muppet Show theme.” God, I hope Kermit doesn’t sue.

It’s a funny thing about an Inspiring Action, but it almost always gives you more return than you bargained for. Our little podcast (with very little advertising to support it) has reached tens of thousands of people all over the world. We get notes and emails from listeners who have been in advertising for decades telling us how the show has reignited their passion for the business or kept them going during hard times. DiMassimo Goldstein has gotten clients asking us how to make podcasts and young creatives who want to work here. And, of course, Adhouse has never had so many applicants.

And so it is my pleasure to introduce you to more amazing ad people. That’s the moral of the story of The A-List Podcast by the way: It’s all about the people you meet along the way. This business is full of thousands of amazing people who get to solve problems for the world’s biggest brands in creative, unheard-of ways every day. They did this by finding people who were doing it and learning from them. Our goal was to get more people to imagine themselves doing the same and continue what the Lion King might call the Circle of Ad. Because whether you are a kid from New Jersey like me or a big brand who needs to reinvent yourself, creativity is the way. All you have to do is start a conversation with the right people.

Have we mentioned that season 3 of our podcast launches on Thursday? No big deal. 🙄

The old guy on the left is me. The cool guy on the right is Dhruv Nanda of Oberland.

The A-List Podcast With Paul Fix

On the Season 2 finale of The A-List Podcast, host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann is joined in the studio by super freelancer and Adhouse NYC advertising teacher Paul Fix.

As a creative director, copywriter, and content creator, Fix has worked at many of the industry’s most renowned agencies, helping deliver world-famous campaigns such as Dos Equis’ “The Most Interesting Man.”

In the interview, Paul shares his unique journey into the world of advertising, talks about his class and teaching style, and offers valuable advice to any young creative trying to break it in the industry. Hear it all below!

Show Notes

  • [0:00 – 1:25] Intro
  • [1:26 – 15:30] Paul talks about the class he teaches at Adhouse and shares stories from his upbringing
  • [15:31 – Paul talks about how his band was almost signed to a label, the importance of independence, and the moment he realized he wanted to be in advertising
  • [26:45 – 44:30] Paul shares the story of how he broke into the industry by collecting data in media
  • [44:31 – 1:02:19] Backpacking in Europe, becoming a high school English teacher, and going back to advertising school
  • [1:02:20 – 1:05:00] Finally becoming a full-fledged creative at
  • [1:05:01 – 1:17:15] The advantages of working freelance, the importance of being kind, and what he loves about teaching
  • [1:17:16 – 1:18:46] Outro

 “The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter

The A-List Podcast with Ari Weiss

Photo from Campaign

The latest episode of The A-List Podcast features Ari Weiss, the first-ever North American Chief Creative Officer at DDB, where he oversees the agency’s 17 North American Offices.

Weiss’ reputation as an illustrious creative has been built working for many of the world’s most creative agencies, including 180 L.A., Wieden & Kennedy, BBDO, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Cliff Freeman & Partners, and Saatchi, among others. Throughout that journey, he has collaborated with many of the industry’s most legendary icons, and he shares many of those experiences in this inspiring interview.

In his discussion with host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann, Weiss talks about why DiMassimo Goldstein was the “best first job you could ever get” and reflects on many of the magical moments, campaigns, and mentors that inspired his career. He shares useful tips about the creative process, offers his unique point of view on the shifting landscape of the industry, and explains why he feels it’s the most interesting time to be in the business.

Hear it all and so much more in the episode below!

Show Notes:

  • [0:00 – 1:28] Intro
  • [1:29 – 9:09] Growing up in California, his early aspirations of becoming a photo journalist, and the connection that landed him an interview with Jeff Goodby
  • [9:10 – 16:05] Weiss talks about his early infatuation with the industry and its culture, his internships as a college student, and the iconic campaigns that inspired him to make it a career
  • [16:06 – 21:40] His first taste of rejection and the discipline and organization that you need to become a successful creative
  • [21:41 – 27:10] Weiss talks about his creative process, the power of a true partnership, and how the industry has shifted to less traditional silos
  • [27:11 – 30:42] The current landscape of the industry and why innovation and technology must still serve the idea and insight
  • [30:43 – 35:55] What it’s like being a CCO, work that breaks into culture, and the value of having strong mentors who teach you attention to detail
  • [35:56 – 38:10] Weiss shares what it was like interviewing for a job during the dot-com crash
  • [38:11 – 49:59] Working for DiMassimo Goldstein and why it was the best first job you could get
  • [50:00 – 54:50] Weiss talks about the secret sauce at Cliff Freeman and the amazing people who worked there
  • [54:51 – 1:08:57] What it’s like sitting in Bill Bernbach’s office, working to resurrect the creative revolution he started, and why today is the most interesting time to be in this business
  • [1:08:58 – 1:11:51] Weiss talks about what he learned working for each of the agencies he worked for and how those experiences have shaped the creative he is today
  • [1:11:52 – 1:12:22] Outro

“The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter

The A-List Podcast with Franklin Tipton and Libby Brockhoff

(Photo from Ad Age)

This week on “The A-List Podcast”, host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann is joined by the inspiring duo of Libby Brockhoff and Franklin Tipton.

In 2011, Libby cofounded Odysseus Arms, where she currently serves as the CEO, with Tipton as an agency partner and Head of Copy. Odysseus Arms is a San Francisco-based independent and modern agency that is well known for its unique strategic and creative approach “ThirdeyeTM,” which they  dive into in the episode. In 2014, Odysseus Arms was recognized as an Ad Age “Agency of the Year.”

In this informative and inspiring discussion, Franklin and Libby tell stories from their undergraduate days at the University of Delaware; talk about the brand planning revolution and the importance of consumer insights; share what it was like working in London (where Libby launched the agency, Mother, at age 27); and explain what they look for when viewing a portfolio. Tune in below!

Show Notes:

  • [0:00 – 1:51] Intro
  • [1:52 – 12:00] Franklin and Libby talk about their childhood, how boredom can contribute to creativity, and the rigorous visual communications program they both studied in at the University of Delaware
  • [12:01 – 18:47] The two tell tales of the program’s teacher, Ray Nichols, and how they benefited from his culture of fearlessness
  • [18:48 – 26:55] Franklin talks about working for JWT in his first year out of college, the importance of having a strong portfolio, and the value of solving problems visually
  • [26:56 – 29:39] Franklin tells the story of how Libby ushered the University of Delaware program they’d both graduated from into the modern age
  • [29:40 – 37:40] Libby talks about her first years after graduation, the unique culture at Chiat Day, and the brand planning revolution, and why Wayne Gretzky is her spirit animal
  • [37:41 – 45:40] Moving to London, zigging when others zag, and stories of the legendary Dave Trott
  • [45:41 – 50:03] How Libby launched Mother in London, the importance of wearing different hats, T-shaped people, and how she landed on the name Mother
  • [50:04 – 1:04:50] The two talk about coming back from London and launching Odysseus Arms, explain their unique “third-eye” approach, and chat about the value of consumer insights and planning
  • [1:04:51 – 1:08:55] Learn how you can get in touch with Franklin and Libby, and why it’s essential to get out of your comfort zone
  • [1:08:56 – 1:09:51] Outro

 “The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter

The A-List Podcast with Jason Musante

This week’s episode of  The A-List Podcast features Jason Musante, Chief Creative Officer at Huge, Inc., where he oversees integrated creative output across the agency’s global offices. Prior to joining Huge, Musante enjoyed success at several award-winning agencies, such as Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners, BBDO Worldwide, and Co:Collective. among others. 

In this inspiring interview, Musante tells host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann all about how his love for history helped him become a better storyteller, why young creatives should look for people to work for and not places, and why it’s important not just to fail but to know when to fail.

This episode is packed with great advice for young creatives. Tune in to hear it all below! 

Show Notes:

  • [0:00 – 1:12] Intro
  • [1:13 – 9:05] Growing up in North Carolina, and when Musante first realized you could solve business problems with creativity
  • [9:06 – 15:28] Musante talks about his experience as a student at West Point before ultimately transferring to the University of North Carolina, and why his love for history helped him become a better storyteller
  • [15:29 – 23:45] Being young and hungry, his first advertising gig at McCann, and why young people looking to get into the industry should look for people to work for, not places
  • [23:45 –30:49] The interview he had with Richard Kirshenbaum, the current state of the industry, and why he’s excited for the future
  • [30:50 – 42:20] Musante talks about his first big break in the industry, the integration of story and technology, and what he learned working for Gerry Graf
  • [42:21 – 54:48] Musante talks about the important of knowing when you can fail, and reflects on his time at Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, and Co:Collective
  • [54:59 – 58:48] What is so unique about Huge, and what he looks for in young creatives
  • [58:49 – 59:38] Outro

“The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter

The A-List Podcast with Linda Kaplan Thaler

This week on The A-List Podcast, host and DiMassimo Goldstein CCO Tom Christmann is joined by industry icon and Advertising Hall of Famer, Linda Kaplan Thaler.

Over the course of her illustrious career, Kaplan Thaler created some of the world’s most famous advertising campaigns, such as the Aflac duck. She also authored and composed two of the most globally recognized advertising jingles: “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid,” and “Kodak Moments.”

Kaplan Thaler’s impressive résumé extends well beyond advertising. She is a nationally acclaimed author with several best-selling books to her name; she has worked on two presidential campaigns; and she has become a familiar face on several television programs.

In this interview, Kaplan Thaler talks about leading with kindness, how to write a good jingle, what it was like interviewing Warren Buffet and Jay Leno, and much, much more. Check out the full episode and show notes below!

Show notes:

  • [0:00 – 1:59] Intro
  • [2:00 – 13:30] Growing up in the Bronx, and how Kaplan Thaler first got into singing and writing both music and comedy
  • [13:31 – 16:38] The famous jingle she wrote for Toys ‘R’ Us, and the worldwide reaction it received
  • [16:39 – 22:19] The secret to writing a good jingle, the story behind “Kodak Moments” and putting humor into advertising
  • [22:20 – 27:53] The moment she knew Robin Koval would be a perfect business partner, and the importance of leading with kindness
  • [27:54 – 33:57] Working on presidential campaigns, and the story behind her interviews with both Warren Buffet and Jay Leno
  • [33:48 – 38:10] Her latest book, Grit to Great, and what “grit” means to her
  • [38:11 – 42:30] The one big piece of advice she has for young creatives
  • [42:31 – 43:58] Outro

“The A-List” is a podcast produced by DiMassimo Goldstein, an inspiring action agency, recorded at the Gramercy Post, and sponsored by the Adhouse Advertising School, New York’s newest, smallest, and hippest ad school. You can subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or listen along on SoundCloud. For updates on upcoming episodes and guests, be sure to like the A-List Podcast on Facebook and follow host Tom Christmann on Twitter