Scott Zuliani’s Creative LIAisons Diary #1 and #2

| | No Comments

Scott-Vegas.jpgScott Zuliani, creative at The Monkeys ~ Campaign Brief 2018 Australian Agency of the Year ~ is at the 2018 LIA Creative LIAisons program in Las Vegas, featuring some of the world’s most respected creative directors as speakers. Zuliani reports exclusively for Campaign Brief.

When I was first told that Campaign Brief was sending me to Las Vegas I was a little confused. Then they told me it was for the London International Awards. I was even more confused – the London International Awards is hosted in Nevada America? What? But, after a couple of days here it all makes sense. Actually, nothing here makes sense* but that’s ok.

LIA is a truly international award show and Vegas is a truly international city. Where else could you find the Coliseum, the Eiffel Tower, the Sphinx, the Venetian Canals and Korean Elvis, all in spewing distance of each other? And where else would you find a program like the LIA Creative LIAisons with over 100 creatives under 30 from around the world… all in spewing distance of each other? What a segue (Actually saw Elvis on a segway the other day, but that’s a segue for another day).

The Creative LIAisons for those of you not aware of is a program you should be aware of. It’s a Five-day one-of-a-kind advertising experience where young-ish creatives listen to incredibly inspiring lectures then get drunk-ish after (all in the name of networking).

Day 1 was inspiring to say the least. To say a bit more – Matt MacDonalds talk on presenting work was eye-opening and incredibly beneficial. He obviously nailed the presentation, after some ironic IT difficulties (no one is immune to the wheel of death). Malcolm Poynton followed ‘the client is not your enemy’ theme using the Louvre’s Pyramid story as a kind of architectural analogy for client relationships (you had to be there). Matt Eastwood showed some incredible work and said some incredible stuff about cause-related advertising. Pum Lefebure seduced the audience about seduction in design (all the Art Directors in the room fell in love).  Then Maddie Raedts made us all jealous of her young entrepreneurial success, and Riccardo Wolff showed us that we too, could be ECD of INNOCEAN in 7 years to the day. Not that specific role, but we can go on to do great thing too…in 7 years to the day.  

Shortly after our brains were buzzing with inspiration, we did the natural thing and killed some brain cells (all in the name of networking) at a cocktail party in a ‘classy’ joint called ‘The Beach Club’. The ‘classy’ part was sarcastic. It had poles. The kind of poles a much wilder crowd would dance on. At the party, we rubbed shoulders with the LIA Judges (not a euphemism) and mingled with like-minded peers from around the world. The classy joint closed around 12:30 (so much for escaping Sydney lockout laws) so people went to other clubs, some gambled, some can’t remember what they did, I went back to Treasure Island (not a euphemism).

Day 2, like The Hangover sequel, involved a hangover and a similar plot as it’s precursor. But unlike Hangover 2, Day 2 didn’t suck. This was mainly due to the amazing talk by Susan Credle. Susan explained the mindset shift between being a good creative and being a good creative director. Her talk not only inspired the Creative LIAisons but also some of the judges that snuck in at back (Barb Humphries). Susan was a hard talk to follow, but the challenge was met by Sompat Trisadikun who let his country of Thailand’s hilarious comedy spots do the talking. We did the laughing. We laughed all the way to lunch, had tacos, and come back for a masterclass in all things audio (hosted by radio legends Tom Eymundson, Jill Kershaw and Ralph van Dijk). Andrew Carlson spoke next about what’s next in the future of marketing, which was both scary and exciting. Mostly scary for someone like me who loves making Film. 1 hour later we made a film, in an interactive workshop where the guys from Great Guns tasked us to make a 6-second video in the space of a couple of hours. Like The Hangover 2, our video kinda sucked.

I could go on about all the experiences, but I need to go sleep, two more days to go. Instead the following is a collection of quotes by advertising legends written on things found in Vegas…baby.

Scott-2.jpg

Scott-3.jpg

SCOT-4.jpg

SCOTT-new-5.jpg