After working in creative leadership positions at agencies in the United States, Adam Reeves recently returned to his native Toronto as the chief creative officer at Juniper Park\TBWA and DDB Canada. He was also announced as the co-chair of the Effie Canada awards program.
Adam, hi. First off, can you describe the attraction of your new role in Toronto?
I think Toronto is a very creative market and creative place. I’m excited to help push that creativity from my little corner of the ad world. We do such a great job hitting above our weight in Hollywood and in music, and I think just recently Canadian agencies have come on in the market and are really showing well. I’m excited to be part of that and there’s a good energy here. I’m from here but I’ve never been part of the ad community so it’s cool to check it out.
How much of the decision was down to the specific opportunity at Juniper Park\TBWA and DDB?
It was a great chance to be part of a great organization. I’m a big fan of TBWA, I love the disruption and the attitude. Leading that brand in a market where there’s a chance to grow it is a big opportunity with our clients like Nissan and Apple and other work we do. DDB has a great culture of creativity. I’m excited to join the team.
And how have you found it so far, what are the strengths and values of Canadian creativity as you see them?
We’re really good at the comedy, the humour. And there’s that Canadian openness and togetherness. I’m curious to push on the humour and also the diversity of Canada and I hope to celebrate that and lean into it a little bit.
The new manifesto from the Institute of Canadian Agencies is ambitious in terms of pushing the country’s creativity further on the world stage. How much do you buy into that vision?
I think agencies and people here are making great work but we should be making a little more noise. You can go to Hollywood and look at all the great Canadian comedians and we’re just now getting to the point where people are saying “look at all those great Canadian agencies.” It’s not my first ambition to help Canada on the global stage but I think that the ICA has carved out a really singular perspective to help and I don’t know of any other body that can do that.
You’ve taken on the position of co-chair of the Effie Canada program. What was the attraction here?
It’s a cool way to be connected to people. And I’m curious, I feel that Canadian advertising is a little quieter than it needs to be. So I’m excited to look at the work as a whole and see how it’s going. And I believe in big scale advertising and work for bigger clients. This was a great opportunity to get into the creative scene a little more even though it’s not the most obvious angle for a creative because it’s the effectiveness awards.
I learned in New York that while people are chasing Cannes Lions and working on pro bono stuff, the best agencies treat the main stage work and effectiveness as important as winning the Lions or being the most creative.
What are your ambitions for the creative work at the agencies?
I’ve been in listening and learning mode for the first few months. The tone is really where I hope personally that our work can make a big difference. I notice a lot of ads feel like ads whereas the best work I’ve been a part of doesn’t feel like ads. That’s where we’re trying to push – how can we speak non-traditionally in channels that help grab people’s attention?
Finally Adam, how experimental and innovative would you say the Canadian market is?
There’s a lot of innovation and I see room for improvement in a lot of the film work. Yes, we want to make innovative, new experimental things that keep people interested but I’ve always been excited about violating the media, innovating within the media. Why does a TV spot have to look like a TV spot? So I think that’s where the big opportunity is. More about taking advantage of the out-of-home vibe, television and online film and treating them with a little less respect.
Jeff Goodby (founder and co-chair of ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners) who I worked for talked about ‘creative vandalism’ and I like to look at it in terms of the work of the vandal turning something into something else.
Adam Reeves is Chief Creative Officer of creative agency brands Juniper Park\TBWA and DDB Canada, and co-chair of the Effie Canada steering committee. Report on Marketing is where leading Canadian agencies showcase their insights, cutting-edge research and client successes. The Report on Marketing provides a valuable source of thought leadership for Canadian marketers to draw inspiration from. Find more articles like this at the Report on Marketing.
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