‘Be your own role model’  ( September '4,2001, FE)

His is a twisted view of the world, and he has got reason to be proud of it. For Mr Trevor Beattie, chairman and creative director of TBWA Worldwide, is the man behind the much-talked about and unconventional ad campaigns such as Sony PlayStation, Wonderbra and French Connection United Kingdom (FCUK, an apparel and accesssory brand) advertisements in the United Kingdom. Billed as UK’s hottest creative mind, Mr Beattie strongly believes that great ideas lead to great campaigns. “We are crushingly honest in our communications. And we never sell lies,” says the British maverick. Mr Beattie was recently in Mumbai to make a presentation. During his visit, The Financial Express caught up with him for an exclusive interview. Excerpts

Due to the economic slowdown, global ad agencies are now downsizing. What’s the impact of the recession on TBWA London?
Yes, the recession has just begun to affect advertising business in the UK. In fact, the latest edition of Campaign (leading advertising magazine in UK) announces that “The recession is here”. Luckily, we have bagged a big account — a $50 million ad account of Hutchison Whompoa amidst stiff competition. In fact, we pitched with passion for this account. And we pitched for our people’s jobs in the final presentation. Now that we have got the account, we need not ask people to leave our agency.

How important is TBWA Anthem in India in your overall worldwide operations?
TBWA Anthem is very important to our worldwide operations. Currently, we have 80 affiliates across the globe and they all are equally important to us. Very soon, we will be launching — French Connections United Kingdom — in India with our ad campaigns.

Do you really think highly creative campaigns promote the sale of products?
I certainly believe that highly creative ads are also highly successful campaigns to promote products in any category. For instance, our Wonderbra ad campaign really pushed up sales of the 32-year old brand by one million in a week. And the whole campaign was just the voice of women on billboards.

With big rivals like WPP Group Plc in UK, what is the USP of TBWA Worldwide in the highly competitive global arena?
First and foremost we are very passionate about our work. We are bold to express our views in our ad campaign. Above all, our honesty brings us more clients.

What is your advice to young up-coming creative professionals?
Be yourself and be your own role model. Be crushingly honest in your communications, and never sell lies.