Trevor Robinson: "It Must Have Creative Personality"
A creative idea is worth nothing if it can't be brought to life, and to further reflect this Cannes Lions launched the Industry Craft Lions in 2018. An addition to the Film Craft and Digital Craft categories, "the Industry Craft Lion celebrates the creative artistry, talent and skill required to deliver a beautifully executed solution and bring a creative idea to life" and "entries should demonstrate the highest levels of expertise and vision in the application of creative techniques".
Tasked with overseeing that task in Industry Craft's second outing at Cannes Lions is Trevor Robinson OBE, the founder and executive creative director at Quiet Storm. LBB's Addison Capper chatted with him to find out about what he's aiming to achieve with his category this year and he's been prepping his jury.
LBB> Industry Craft is still a relatively new category - how do you define it in your own words and for your jury?
Trevor> For me it’s about how an idea is truly brought to life. It’s not just about artistry, it must have creative personality. Of course, it must be beautifully executed but that shouldn’t be all. Industry craft should have an ambition to affect people, the feeling it creates should be right up with there with current phenomena. Our job is to make, not just the people in our industry, but the people in the outside world be truly inspired by what we’re sharing with them. Advertising can sometimes be at fault by being for our own gratification and we need to always be thinking about how we can explode into the outside world, and I believe this naturally raises the bar for how we craft.
LBB> Last year's Grand Prix went to Kiwi Shoecare's 'Ali' ad - is there anything in that entry that you'd like to see in entries this year?
Trevor> The amazing thing about this work is that it encapsulated Muhammad Ali’s personality and gave a true insight into who he was and how he thought within a page of copy. The work came across as real and tangible and depicted the ‘epic-ness’ of his life. I would love for entries this year to bring the personalities out of whatever they’re creating.
Congratulations to OGILVY, Chicago who win the #CannesLions Industry Craft Grand Prix for their work 'Ali' for Kiwi Shoe Care@ogilvy pic.twitter.com/GszXihOajJ
— Cannes Lions (@Cannes_Lions) June 20, 2018
LBB> In your president's message you said that you were looking for work that "is brave enough to have imperfections", which is a point that really stuck with me. Could you elaborate on that and why it's so important to this category and advertising more broadly today?
Trevor> I believe that humanity and imperfection are necessary when creating pure originality, you have to go where other people haven’t been before and there’s a risk with that. I think you can really see and feel when the work has been challenging and is challenging the status quo and imperfections come through with this. That’s what I’ll be looking for in this category but it’s also integral to advertising more broadly, it’s all very well having a vast amount of channels to connect with people, but if you can’t engage with them through creativity on a human level, they’ll never properly engage.
LBB> How did you prepare yourself for your time in the jury room at Cannes?
Trevor> I’ve been immersing myself in Cannes Lions work previous and current. But I find the best way to prepare myself is to immerse myself in my own work, I plan to come out of this by being a better creative myself and learning from the work put in front of us. The best way to prepare for creativity is to do it.
LBB> What are you hoping to see from the entries this year?
Trevor> I want to see people questioning our own headset about what is a good or a bad idea, I want to see less work that I know would normally get an award elsewhere, because it’s just like last year. We’ve got to celebrate the new, the random and the excellent. Work that pushes the boundaries enough to be purely original. More; ‘where the fuck did that come from?’ inspirational work that not only stimulates people in the room making us all envious but creates a true ripple. This year I want people to tell me about ideas that they’ve seen and be excited by them.
LBB> What words of advice will you be giving to your jury?
Trevor> Want more than just pretty, want more than just nicely crafted, desire it to be impactful and desire it to be something you’ve not seen before. No one can argue with something when it is not only beautifully crafted but it also feels as original as possible. It is always the hardest thing to achieve. But it is what we’re all and what everyone should be striving for.
LBB> More generally, are there any particular topics that you think will be particular trends / talking points this year?
Trevor> Looking at all the different mediums and how they are being exploded on a creative level.
LBB> Obviously you’re going to spend a lot of Cannes 2019 locked inside for jury deliberations… but is there any event or talk that you’re hoping to catch while you’re there?
Trevor> If I have time I’d really love to catch the talks of anyone on my jury.
