Ad Chat: Luke Sullivan on creative culture and not being an asshat

Luke Sullivan needs no introduction, really. We've shared with you his books in the ad books section; both his biography and the many editions of "Hey Whipple". We've interviewed him when he visited Denmark and lectured at the Creative Circle, which was a hoot. If you ever have a chance to see him lecture, do go. He serves his ad-wisdom with a spoonful of funny.

Now, as for ad schools? Well, I taught one class for one quarter at the Creative Circus. Long time ago, so who knows what it’s like now, but I just loved their funky digs. Totally unique little building that’s just made for ad geeks, with silly stuff, like street signs at the corners of crossing hallways, signifying Bernbach Avenue, etc. And the top person there is also very cool and is godmother to a hundred ad careers -- Carol Vick.
I’ve also visited and spoken at VCU Brandcenter many times. Love that place, most especially because it was founded by a Martin Agency art director I worked with for years (Diane Cook-Tench) and continues to this day to bleed Martin Agency red. Good ol’ Mike Hughes is to thank in large part for how good this school is and his name deserves to be on Mike Hughes Hall, and probably a couple of other buildings. Plus there are all the other Martin folks who have taught and/or teach there.
The University of Texas at Austin continues to be just about the only mainstream university that consistently puts out lots of high-level portfolios. Deborah Morrison (now at the University of Oregon) got that school going and she is one of the most-loved people in advertising. Her kind face has launched so many good careers and she is now busy building an equally good school in Oregon.
But hey, I can’t end this section without a few words about my own school, the Savannah College of Art & Design. The coolest part about coming here to study advertising is that you get to work collaboratively with other students in one of the 47 other creative majors here on campus. When you’re in, say our Art Direction of Photography course, you’re creating work for you book, yeah, but you aren’t using stock images or stock footage. You’re right in there working with photography majors or film majors, the same way agency creatives do out in “the real world.” There aren’t many schools with classes (like our CLC classes) where real clients fly in with real business problems and brief a class of 20 students in wildly different creative majors like, say, Illustration, Advertising, Service Design, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, and Motion Design. It’s just cool to see what happens when so many bright minds – minds that all think so differently -- all think about one problem. So, there’s that. Plus the fact that the school is in a sleepy little southern town and there’s Spanish moss in the live oaks just like in all the postcards and Forrest Gump.

What's the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
Oh, there are so many. See, the thing is, I was such an asshat for so much of my career. I took it all way too seriously. I beat myself up if I didn’t win a gold every year in the One Show (like so many of my colleagues at Fallon were doing, criminy, come to think of it, no wonder I was nuts; working with all those stars was in fact intimidating). If I could, yeah, I would tell myself to shut up and listen more. Even if you’re fairly talented, just behave as like an apprentice should and learn from the journeymen and masters who surround you. I would tell me to quit gettin’ so bent out of shape every time one of your ideas gets axed. Deal with it. That’s how it is in every creative business. 98% of everything you ever come up with will die. The answer is to sit down and come up with another idea. The best revenge is a better ad.

What triggered your journey into advertising as a career?

When I was in seventh grade, I noticed something about the ads for cereal on TV. (Remember, this was before the FTC forced manufacturers to call these sugary puffs of crunchy air “part of a complete breakfast.”)