Just what have I been doing for the past 25 years?

Hard to believe it’s 25 years to the day since I got my first job.

25!

Years!!

It’s a long time.

And, as always when one reflects on time passing, it went in the blink of an eye.

But it’s not until I started contemplating the places I’ve worked, the people I’ve worked with and the projects I’ve worked on that I realised just what those 25 years actually meant.

Different challenges

Different brands.

Different people.

Different disciplines.

Different pressures.

Different environments.

Different influences.

This job is a great one if you’re in love with curiosity.

If you get excited by learning new stuff.

By experiencing new things.

And boy are there a few of those on offer at the moment.

Steve jobs said creativity is the ability to connect experiences we’ve had and synthesise new things. And that the best creative people have had more experiences or have thought about their experiences more than other people.

But hey, what does he know?



Out of curiosity I made a few ‘25 Years’ lists.

This first one is rather scary.



Things I’ve worked on

London buses
London Underground
The Daily Mail
Kahlua
Heinz
Mandate
Insignia
Rimmel
ITV
Zamoyski Vodka
Mazda
Honeywell Bull
Department of Employment
COI
The Daily Mirror
The Sunday People
Cadbury’s Wispa
Cadbury's Creme Eggs
Post Office Counters
Holsten Pils
Toshiba
Hosten Export
Children’s World
Alex Lawrie
Pearson
Lurpak
Robinson’s
Complan
Cancel the Third World Debt
Farleys
Britains toys
Ariston
Babyfresh wipes
The Sunday Express
Hi Tec Shoes
Flymo
British Airways
P&G
Club 18-30 Holidays
Visa International
Visa Delta
Burger King
Castlemaine XXXX
The Economist
RSPCA
Capital Radio
Halfords
Tampax
Prudential
Famous Grouse
Carrera Bicycles
Ikea
BT
McDougal’s
Volvo
Iams
Health Education Authority - Anti Smoking
Cow and Gate
Solar Century
Pizza Hut
Scene Magazine
Bisto
Orange
Nestle Double cream
Rowntree’s Fruit pastilles
Quality Street
Stella Artois
Heineken
Tesco
Playjam
Sure
Flora
Hellmans
Vauxhall
HSBC
Nestle Bacci
Pepperami
Surf
Electrolux
Reebok
Weetabix
Diet Coke
Sprite
Domestos
Merrill Lynch HSBC
Amnesty international
Boots
The Observer
Coca Cola
Fanta
Home Office Frank anti-drugs
Boots No7
Boots 17
Lloyds TSB
Bacardi
Bombay Sapphire
LG
Ovarian Cancer Action
Visit London
BBC
Ghd
Honey Waffles
Home Office Anti Knife Crime
Home Office Anti Teen violence
Foods Standards agency
Bank Of Scotland
Innocent
Tic Tac
Innocent drinks
COI Fire Safety
Ferrero Rocher
Land Rover
Prime Location
Oxfam


This one's a bit shorter.

Creative partners I've worked with.

Mary Wear
Tony Barry


Agencies I've work at

FCB
Gold Greenless Trott
Leagas Shafron Davis Chick
Saatchi and Saatchi
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Lowe
Mother
Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R


Creative Directors I've worked for

Barry Smith
Dave Trott
Tim Mellors
Mike Shafron
Paul Arden
Simon Dicketts
Jeremy Sinclair
James Lowther
David Abbott
Peter Souter
Charles Inge
Paul Weinberger


And finally, and most importantly...

Locations I've shot in

Barcelona
Buenos aires
Bariloche
Sao Paolo
Prague
London
Blackpool
Scottish highlands
New York
Florida
Iceland
Los Angeles
Anguilla
Christchurch
Auckland
Brisbane
Malta
Vancouver
Paris
Kuala Lumpur



So, a few experiences I guess.

Whether I've thought about them more, or can connect them better than anyone else is another matter.

Right. Now onto the next 25.