There are few Aussie adland legends as brilliant as Warren Brown – the newest member of the AdNews Hall of Fame. But look up 'humble' in adland's dictionary – and you'll find a picture of the BMF co-founder.
In his acceptance speech at the event last night (9 March), one of Australia's most decorated creatives, who's won 19 Cannes Lions and seven D&AD Silvers, told the packed room that he doesn’t give much stock to winning awards, but “creating work that the nation talks about is infinitely more rewarding and was our real ambition”.
“The thing I'm most proud of, though, is having the opportunity to help so many brilliant careers on their way. Giving people the confidence to dream big and have a go has always been my greatest joy,” he said.
Brown's impact on the creative industry, if it ever needed proving, was evident a few moments later.
Upon receiving the gong for AdNews Agency of The Year, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne CEO Nick Garrett thanked Brown for the four years of guidance he provided when Garrett previously worked alongside him adn called him "a class act".
Further endorsements flooded in from one of the world's most famous admen – Sir John Hegarty, who joked that he was at first wary of the “gobby” “antipodean refugee” upon first meeting.
After looking at his work, Hegarty figured, “this guy's either truly great or truly terrible. It's one or the other and I always think creative people are a bit like that – they're not grey”.
A few years later, Hegarty realised: “[Brown] had proven that he was outstanding and not terrible and produced some great work. Mind you, he was still very, very gobby, but he did do some great stuff.”
'An overpaid prick that created garbage'
Brown's interest in advertising stems from an inspirational art teacher at school, Bruce Edwards.
“When I was 13, the principal at my school stood me in front of my class and pointing to me said, 'the best this guy can hope for in life is to be a garbologist,” Brown recalled.
“So don't be like him!' He wasn't entirely wrong though, I have produced a fair amount of garbage throughout my career.
“Not surprisingly, not long after I moved school, as [close confidant] Margaret Zabel mentioned, I had an art teacher called Bruce Edwards. And he taught many great creative people in this industry, people like James McGrath and Graeme Rutherford, to name a couple.
“He said, 'Warren, I think you'd be pretty good at this advertising game'.”
And thank god he did.
“I remember thinking, advertising produces a lot of garbage, but the people in it get well paid and they drive Porches,” Brown added.
“The joke at the time was, what's the difference between a hedgehog and a Porsche. The answer is the pricks are on the inside of the Porsche.
“So I was considering a career as an overpaid prick that created garbage rather than an underpaid bloke who collected it.”
Adland's smart, funny, passionate
Brown says what he didn't realise entering the industry was the it was full of people who were “smart, funny, passionate and they certainly knew how to have a good time”.
“Advertising was capable of producing ideas that were clever, entertaining and informative – stuff that my friends and family could like, which for me was really important,” he added.
After leaving Swinburne University, Brown tried his luck breaking into the creative industry in London.
Down his last 10 quid ($20 on these shores), he finally found a job in a “not very good agency” and didn't have to live off Mars bars anymore.
The 24-year-old from Melbourne took his break with open arms with a work ethic and brilliance that defied his age. A few years later Brown bagged a few awards, including D&AD Silvers and British television commercial of the year and a host others.
The new kid had finally arrived on the block, but still felt he had much to learn.
Play the long game
Taking on the sage advice of Hegarty “the Hegenator”, Brown learnt to “listen more, be patient and play the longer game to earn the trust of clients and colleagues”.
“I learnt that it's what you edit out that makes ideas great and I learnt to provide inspiration, rather than give instructions. I learnt the importance of surrounding yourself with the very best talent, the value of creating a win-win situation,” he said.
“I learnt to never forget it was someone else's money and career that we were playing with.
“Finally I learnt to never underestimate the intelligence of your audience. Ultimately they will determine how successful you will be.”
After 12 years in the UK, Brown returned to Australia and spent a couple of years at the legendary Campaign Palace before forming BMF.
“We had a dream to create a world class agency that happened to be based in Sydney. I had more advice from the Hegenator – 'Remember Warren, the first 10 weeks will affect the next 10 years'.”
Turning down work - “empowering”
In the early days BMF found it as empowering to turn down opportunities that weren't right for the agency.
“BMF wasn't just an agency for me, it was a family – and you look after your family. We never took shortcuts and always tried to do our best work on every single account. We didn't pursue awards, and while they're nice but creating work that the nation talks about is infinitely more rewarding and was our real ambition.
“I think we did OK. We stopped hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people from smoking around the world, we made beer ads cool. We had fun with blokes enjoying the good life, which made XXXX Australia's number one beer. And we got everyone to eat lamb on Australia Day, apart from some pot smoking vego hippies.
“The thing I'm most proud of though is having the opportunity to help so many brilliant careers on their way. Giving people the confidence to dream big and have a go has always been my greatest joy.”
After thanking Edwards, Hegarty, Zabel and former lamb client David Thompson, Brown thanked his family, including his sons Oscar and Archie, and reserved special thanks for his sister Carol in the audience.
“Carol is an ICU nurse. She used to make me believe that what I did was important. It's bloody hilarious when you think about it, really. Thank you for your support, Carol,” Brown said, choking up.
Not only is Brown humble, he's respected as a wonderful human being, and a truly worthy member of the AdNews Hall of Fame.
ThinkTV was thrilled to sponsor the AdNews Advertising Hall of Fame for the sixth year in a row, and to induct Warren Brown as the 2017 inductee.
Kim Portrate, chief executive of ThinkTV, says: “Warren’s body of work is truly impressive, he is a master of the art of storytelling and ThinkTV is absolutely delighted that Warren has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame this year. His ads have achieved mass appeal by reaching through our TV screens, across our lounge rooms, entering our hearts and minds and ultimately shaping our identity as Australians. Congratulations Warren on an outstanding and inspirational contribution to our industry.”
Watch his full speech below:
Check out the highlights from the night here:
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