5 Minutes with… Andy Fergusson

Given his penchant for shooting murder mystery movies and building Wallace and Gromit characters out of Blu Tack as a kid, it would seem that a career in the creative industry was always on the cards for Andy Fergusson. 

Prior to his current role as executive creative director of Leo Burnett Sydney, Andy spent time at Droga5, working closely with HBO’s epic ‘For The Throne’ campaign, part of which involved killing Bud Light’s Bud Knight during a Super Bowl ad break.

Now back in his native Australia, he spoke to LBB’s Natasha Patel about studying animation and illustration, his work on Game of Thrones, and inadvertently changing US law.

LBB> Has creativity always been a passion of yours?

Andy> Growing up, I was always drawing and making stuff. When we got a video camera in the early ‘90s, my cousins and I would film hour-long murder mysteries for our own amusement (not to mention our parents’ amusement). And I’d also try to emulate Wallace and Gromit by painstakingly crafting stop-motion animations with Blu Tack characters. My school reports were full of useful reminders to pay more attention in class, and less time amusing my friends with my drawings. I was pretty lucky because most of this behaviour was something that my parents actively encouraged.


LBB> You studied animation and illustration - how has that impacted your career?

Andy> My start in advertising was entirely due to my animation and illustration skills. I did an unpaid internship at the ABC during my fourth year at university. My job was illustrating, animating and coding Flash games. As soon as uni was over, I cold-called digital agencies that had made work I liked. As luck would have it, Tequila Digital (now DAN) had just won the Coco Pops account and needed a junior who could illustrate, animate and code Flash games for the website. It was a great start in the industry, and probably set my expectations way too high for what it would be like moving forward.


LBB> What was your first experience with the advertising world?

Andy> When I started at Tequila Digital I didn’t actually realise it was part of an advertising agency. I’m not sure I even understood what an ad agency was. In those days, Tequila was siloed in the corner of TBWA, and pretty much left alone to do its own thing. We made crazy digital campaigns and games for a bunch of really fun clients like Newline Cinema, Mars, Kellogg’s and Playstation. In hindsight, it was often pretty loose and chaotic, but we did make a bunch of really innovative ideas that spread all over the world. And I was also surrounded by some extremely talented weirdos, who have all gone on to be really successful. Definitely fun times.


LBB> When you were younger did any campaigns stand out to you? 

Andy> I could probably recite any jingle from the ‘90s, but I think I got sucked into the industry once I realised you could make really creative things for brands that didn’t seem at all like ads. A great example of this was ‘Subservient Chicken’, one of the first of many ground-breaking ideas from Burger King.


LBB> You've also got a design degree - do you believe education is important to furthering your career?

Andy> I think formal education does different things for different people. I probably could have learned most of the actual practical skills on my own. But being forced to focus, and being surrounded by other creative people all the time is really motivating. I also think it gives you a little bit of time to grow up before you start your career. I certainly don’t regret doing a degree, but I’ve seen people have great success without any formal qualifications.


LBB> Tell us about #ForTheThrone campaign, what inspired you and how did you put it all together?

Andy> It’s not often that you come across a brief to send off one of your favourite TV shows. So we definitely put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do it justice. And thankfully HBO had the same ambitions that we had.    

From the early days in the pitch, we kept asking ourselves the question: “What is something that only Game of Thrones’ could pull off?” And, as we began to trawl through all the crazy stuff fans had already done for the show, we realised the idea needed to centre around devotion and sacrifice. So we simply put out a challenge to the world: what would you do For The Throne?

What followed was a year’s worth of planning, ideation and production to create ideas that tested the devotion of fans and brands across all facets of culture. It was really an exercise in passion and persistence. As much as everyone said they wanted to be a part of the biggest show on TV, many people and brands just didn’t want to make enough of a sacrifice. So for every idea we pulled off (like killing the Bud Knight at the Super Bowl) there were 50 ideas that didn’t make it for one reason or another. I still don’t understand why IKEA didn’t want to make a flat-pack Iron Throne.


LBB> You said you've influenced changes to US law - tell us more!

Andy> Very early in my career, I used to work on global movie websites for Newline Cinema. One of the movies, ‘Wedding Crashers’, had a scene in it where the characters used fake Purple Hearts to get free drinks at bars. So we thought it’d be funny to put fake Purple Hearts on the website that you could print out for the same purpose. As a group of 20-something Aussies in Pyrmont, it seemed like an innocent enough joke. But it wasn’t so funny when it made headlines on the Washington Post (despite all the free PR). Long story short; the website became the catalyst for a new law called ‘The Stolen Valor Act’, which essentially prohibits the improper use of war medals, signed into law by George W Bush. 

This story is probably not something to be proud of. But the experience did show me the incredible, far-reaching impact that simple ideas can have for better... or worse. And I certainly learnt a valuable lesson about the importance of understanding cultural context.


LBB> Your time at Droga5 was lucrative from an awards perspective. With award season basically cancelled this year, do you think this will impact the way creatives are recognised?

Andy> I think awards are a useful shorthand for creative quality, which is great for getting attention from recruiters and clients alike. And it’s a nice bit of recognition after all the hard work. But I don't think awards should be the end game. I’d rather make an un-awarded idea for a real client that gets talked about and shared across the globe, than win a Grand Prix for a radio ad that only ran at 3am on some local radio station. Although, chances are, if you’re always trying to make impactful, original and well-crafted work, you’ll definitely pick up some awards along the way.


LBB> What has been the piece of work you're most proud of?

Andy> I’m proud of different work for different reasons, but it’s hard to overlook the recent Red Cross partnership I worked on with Game of Thrones. ‘Bleed for the Throne’ increased blood donations in the USA alone by over 12%, which possibly saved millions of lives.

I like simple ideas that have an audacious ambition to them. It’s one of the reasons I joined Leo Burnett in Australia. They have a long history of making truly impactful ideas like ‘Earth Hour’ and more recently ‘Reword’. It’s work like this that helps you forget about the rounds of legal changes to the six second bumper you’re also working on.


LBB> What do you look for in new talent? 

Andy> It’s always a good sign when you see work you’re actually jealous of making, which usually equates to thinking that feels truly fresh and original. Beyond that, I’m looking for craft, passion, ambition and work ethic. And most importantly, people you wouldn't mind being stuck in a room with for hours on end.


LBB> What are your hobbies outside of work?

Andy> I have two young kids, so it’s hard to maintain hobbies with any regularity. But I enjoy playing drums, snowboarding, hiking and playing video games. All things I do at a pretty medicare level (except maybe gaming).


LBB> How do you unwind? 

Andy> Regrettably, most nights I find myself planted on the couch scrolling through social media and watching Netflix like everyone else. But to really clear my head, I’ll go for a run and listen to a good comedy podcast. Or, ideally, try and get out into nature.