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
  • Cannes Lions
  • NRL
  • WPP
  • B&T Women in Media
  • AFL
  • Thinkerbell
  • Pinterest
  • State of Origin
  • Anthony Albanese
  • imaa
  • Meta
  • ARN
  • AI
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: One Of The Planet’s Top Ad Brains Tells You How ‘Out’ Creative Your Rivals
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 > One Of The Planet’s Top Ad Brains Tells You How ‘Out’ Creative Your Rivals
Advertising

One Of The Planet’s Top Ad Brains Tells You How ‘Out’ Creative Your Rivals

Staff Writers
Published on: 17th May 2016 at 10:42 AM
Staff Writers
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Briton Sir John Hegarty is one of Adland’s sharptest minds. He’s the man the helped launch such iconic agencies as Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA and Bartie Bogle Hegarty (BBH). He was that good the Queen knighted him in 2007.

Hegarty’s work has become household names – the Lynx Effect and Audi’s “Vorsprung durch technik” to name but two.

And now, Sir John has given his three top tips to being more creative to Lara O’Reilly, the media writer for UK’s Business Insider.

Also, be sure to check out B&T’s piece from last week which borrowed from the great work of legendary agency Wieden+Kennedy to get the old brain juices flowing.

Hegarty’s main point if you want to be seen to be different in the market you have to be different to your competitors.

Seek out different inspiration than your competition

Hegarty says many creatives seek out the same websites and industry news sites (that’s B&T) for their inspiration and to see what their competitors are up to.

But Hegarty reckons the business section of broadsheet newspapers can provide far more inspiration. “The reason I read those is I get amazing bits of information that other creative people aren’t getting,” Hegarty said. “I want to constantly see the world from a different perspective. That opens my eyes all the time.”

Take off the headphones

We have few rules in the B&T office but one is staff aren’t allowed to listen to stuff on their computer on their headphones. And Hegarty agrees. In fact, he said in the interview that he gets “pissed off” when creatives use tech to tune out.

He recalled a story from legendary British designer Paul Smith, himself a Sir.

Sir Paul was once stuck in an airport, waiting for a delayed flight. Rather than tune out with music or newspaper he decided on a stroll around the departure terminal.

On his walk, he happened upon a lucky charm that had fallen off a bracelet. The find was the inspiration for Smith to turn buttons on his shirts to lucky charms. The idea sold more than 20,000 units and became on of Smith’s signature staples.

Forget social media and have real conversations

Social media can be great for new ideas and checking the ‘mood’ of things but it doesn’t beat real human conversation, Hegarty said.

“The great thing is that your conversation is unique. It’s the only one of its exact kind happening in the world. If I’m on a Twitter feed, thousands of other people could be looking at the same conversation. Here [at BBH,] when you arrive in the morning, yes you switch on your computer, but what I really love you to do is switch on that person opposite you because you’ll suddenly find they say something and you’ll light up … we’re missing that.’”

He adds that too many creatives are dependent on technology to be creative.

“It’s just like the pencil: It’s an amazing thing, but it doesn’t have ideas. You have to pick it up, work it, practice with it. Then it’s a facilitator. And that’s what technology is.”

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, Cannes Lions Healthcare, cruising special
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

NSW Blues & Adidas Kick-Off Game III With ‘House Of Blue’
04/07/2025
TV Ratings (03/07/2025): Nearly 800K Tune In For Joanna Lumley’s ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ Danube Tour
04/07/2025
Google’s Veo 3 Being Used To Create Racist Videos For Social
04/07/2025
Enrichd Group & Greg Inglis Launch ‘Stick With It’ Mental Health Movement
04/07/2025
//

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?