B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Federal Election
  • AFL
  • Pinterest
  • AI
  • News Corp
  • NRL
  • Cairns Hatchlings
  • Married At First Sight
  • Channel 10
  • oOh!Media
  • Anthony Albanese
  • WPP
  • Thinkerbell
  • imaa
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: “Faced With A Choice Between Red Or Blue, Most Brands Choose Grey”: Creative Guru Jim Bull
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Advertising > “Faced With A Choice Between Red Or Blue, Most Brands Choose Grey”: Creative Guru Jim Bull
Advertising

“Faced With A Choice Between Red Or Blue, Most Brands Choose Grey”: Creative Guru Jim Bull

Staff Writers
Published on: 8th July 2016 at 9:24 AM
Staff Writers
Share
3 Min Read
MB_JimBull_b&w moving brands
SHARE

Marketing has gone conservative, fitting in is the latest trend, and brands don’t care about being bold and innovative. At least that’s the sentiments of co-founder and chief creative officer of global creative agency Moving Brands, Jim Bull.

“The advancement of technology and information has driven that change so far, but we are fast approaching a saturation point where brands, online products, apps, services and tools are all feeling very similar,” Bull told B&T.  

“This could be because we have perfected the art of creating experiences or the influx in design has also meant a tendency to copy and emulate rather than push the boundaries of creativity.

“In my opinion the rise of conservatism in marketing is very obvious,” he added.

“When was the last time an ad, brand or campaign made people stop and think, that challenged people’s perceptions, that had strength and a clear voice of differentiation? That used to be what a brand strived for – to differentiate itself, to stand out – but now it appears the trend is towards fitting in.

“The influx of information and the speed at which a campaign can go global, be loved, hated, commented on has added to this conservatism and unwillingness to be bold and brave. Faced with a choice between red or blue, most brands choose grey.

“To me, trends are graveyards for creativity. You can understand them, tackle them, react to them but never follow them. Leave that to everyone else.”

Asked how he finds inspiration to constantly keep innovating, Bull said he has an interesting and frankly, odd, way of finding ideas.

“This is going to sound weird but I have a technique for creating new ideas. It has some basis in free association where I link seemingly irrelevant or random objects or moments together while at the same time focussing on the challenge at hand.

“I stare into the challenge, let the idea of it, the feeling of it, occupy my mind and the focus is then shifted to a completely different object, person, word or visual. Continuing to stare at that new moment reveals new perspectives and ways of thinking about the challenge.

“I trust free association much more than simply making sense of the data at hand.

“I think we are at a weird stage in the evolution of design. It has gone from a largely unclear skill to a core business need in the space of a decade. I can only predict that the same will happen in the next decade.

“But never reference design to create design. Look wider and deeper and find the amazing.”

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Advertising Standards Bureau
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

L-R: Chantelle Schmidt, Tahlia Phillips.
Vinyl Media Appoints Tahlia Phillips As Head Of Publishing & Chantelle Schmidt As Editorial Lead For Refinery29
20/05/2025
Wonderful Strengthens TSA Riley’s Digital Presence With New Online Platform
20/05/2025
Avid Collective Named Native Advertising Platform Of The Year At Global Native Advertising Institute Awards
20/05/2025
Zitcha Appoints Alberto Vergara As Head Of Data & AI
20/05/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?