On My Radar: Hugh Todd

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

The BBC footy stitching World Cup trailer was amazing. It struck just the right tone. The craft is immense. Loved the fact they did it for real. I also thought the music was brilliant - epic, dramatic, emotive – much like England’s efforts.

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

I wish I could say something really obtuse like woodenspooncarving.com but honestly, it’s bbc.com.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

GPS collar for the dog. To make sure my children don’t lie when they say they’re taking her for a walk.

What’s your favoured social media platform?

Instagram.

What’s your favourite app on your phone?

Forza football app. 

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

Narcos, The Crown and Mindhunter all hit the mark, but the one I return to over and again are re-runs of Frasier; psychology and pomposity in equal measure, in Seattle, in those horrific 80s suits. The writing is sharp as a tack.  

What film do you think everyone should have seen and why?

North by North West. The opening title sequence by Saul Bass, the soaring soundtrack from Bernard Herrmann, the suits, the locations, Hitchcock’s ‘missing the bus’ cameo, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason and, of course, Cary Grant. It’s got everything; action, romance, mystery, and the greatest moment in cinematic history – the crop sprayer scene.

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Not sitting at a desk. Mostly I get inspired in a pair of speedos or during meditation (which is confusing, as I’m meant to be clearing the brain), or most recently in the Burial Ground opposite Mullen Lowe. Sitting among the dead makes me feel very alive.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

Faster faster faster...

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

Lose the fear and the research and reliance on data. Trust your instincts. Go with your gut. Hegarty used to say ‘what the heart feels today, the head feels tomorrow'. Which I’ve always agreed with it.

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

Hegarty again, for encouraging us to Zag when others Zig. And also Dave Droga because he just made shit happen, epitomising ‘Nothing is impossible’.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.

Being a slight over-sharer, there’s probabaly not much left untold… but for those who don’t know me, I can get my mouth around the top of a pint pot and I can do the Rubik’s cube in under two-minutes (though not at the same time).

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