Creative Q&A: BBH creative lead Steve Elrick is in the hot seat

How did you get into advertising?
I turned left at design, then right at journalism, tripped over writing and fell into advertising.

Actually, I was teaching hot yoga and dispensing spiritual advice to this group of tourists at my ashram in Nepal when I noticed a group of three nervous guys who always seemed to be hanging on after classes and on to pretty much my every word. They turned out to be Neil French, John Hegarty and David Droga, all on their stag night package. They reckoned I might have a third eye for FMCG copy. Apart from Droga, he was a bit of a kundalini.

What was your first ever ad?
I honestly don’t remember the first ever ad that had my name on it. But it was pretty close to the first ever ad that I also appeared in which was a retail print ad for a frozen food store called Capital. For some reason we were doing a campaign where different nationalities were flocking there. I wore a cossack hat and featured beside the headline: “Everyone’s Russian to Capital”. But my Mum loved it, I was in the papers. In fact, in the same edition as my brother who was a sports reporter at the time. He wasn’t wearing a cossack hat.

Though I have to say I trumped it with my headline for the Scottish Tourist Board on a poster that featured the glorious dish of Haggis. “It’s Offal but you’ll like it.”

Which ad do you wish you’d made?
This week, I’d probably say, Sony Balls (I’m sure it has a proper title). I happened to see it in all its’ glory again. Beautiful piece of film, relevant proposition artfully delivered. A breath of fresh air. Then and now. Sublime.

What was your worst job ever?
Haven’t had a bad one in advertising. I’ve been lucky.

Outside of it, possibly a steel erector. Climbing scaffolding without safety harnesses isn’t much fun when you factor in a fear of heights.

Also I’m a country boy and standing in freezing mud and shit on a farm at 5.30am in Northern Scotland pretty much makes a glitch with Powerpoint seem like heaven.

What qualities do you look for in a prospective employee?
The ability to see humour in the misfortune of others and a healthy lack of respect for all authority, apart from mine.
 
What does it take to impress you?
I’ve been in the business a long time, and perhaps consequently, I now don’t have that much time for people who are jaded and too cynical about the whole shebang. They may well have a totally valid point of view of it all, but sorry, get off the cross, we need the wood.

It just often strikes me that if people are really so frustrated by what they do, maybe it’s a sign to do something else? It’ s like that cab driver you get who implodes because he hits traffic.  

So, the thing that most impresses me are people who are still genuinely enthusiastic and energised about what they do.

Hegarty’s still like that, Droga’s like that. And I wish I had just 10% of the creative ‘joi de vivre’ that my mates Scott Mc Clelland and Luke Bailey have.

And though I personally have to work harder than I ought to in applying it, I still love the BBH mantra: “Cynicism is the opposite of creativity.”

Where do you go to be inspired?
To my online mortgage statement. Necessity is the mother, father and annoying third uncle of invention.

And brilliant comedy shows, not to nick the material (honest) but just to feel the joy. If a bloke, or a bloke-ess, can transport  a room full of people to a place of helpless laughter with just his imagination and a microphone I see that as a pretty impressive and inspiring act of creation.

Who do you consider to be a creative genius? Why?
How about Larry David. Tom Waits. Bill Hicks. The Simpsons creators through it’s history. John Irving.

If you were not working in advertising, where would you work?
Is that a) if you were fired today b) what other career do you think you would have been good at or c) what do you want to be when you grow up? Sorry but I’m used to working to tighter briefs.
Answers: a) vanity artist b) writer c) Terrence Trent D’Arby.

What is your guilty pleasure?
If it’s a pleasure why would it be something to be guilty of? And if it’s something to be guilty of why would I talk about it?

What would you like to be in a next life?
I get another one??!! Brilliant!! 
I would like to be me again, so I have a good chance at somehow snagging the same wife.
 
What is your favourite word?
Moist. Or perhaps yielding.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
I get out of bed, get on my knees and thank the Lord that I’ve never been gullible enough to fall for the nonsense that is religion. Old but great line from comic Richard Jenni: “Arguing about religion is like arguing over who has the best invisible friend”.

Worst haircut you’ve ever had?
Obviously a long time ago and probably what they called a ‘soft perm’. If anyone finds it and tags it on Facebook, hit squads will be dispatched.
 
What’s your favourite song lyric?
There’s a huge choice isn’t there. Words that are poetic, sad, thoughtful, romantic, inspiring and melancholic.

But perhaps in all the lyrics from popular music, there’s one song that I find always has the power to raise a smile, make people feel part of a loving universe, is truly uplifting and, I’m not alone here I believe, when sung, often feels as if they were written specially about you.

They go something like..
“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you ……”

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