Out and About in Adland pt. 5 - Grey Paris

The next stop on our agency tour is Grey Paris. 

We were all quietly sat down in a massive conference room in the back of the building heavily ladden with beverages and danishes when suddenly Frederic Wolff the CEO exploded into the room! Man does he have energy! His booming voice shook us to our feet until he quickly barked at us to sit down and dig into the food and drink.

Popping a coke Wolff launched into his power-point about Grey and showed us what they stand for as an agency.  They are all about unconventionality, "whatever they think, think the opposite" is Wolff's key mantra but to them their success transcends beyond their spectacular creative and is rooted firmly in the notion of knowing the consumer. Once you get inside the consumer's head-space and understand how they tick - their "essence," only then can you create amazing advertisements that are both relevant and effective. 

Wolff described a world where everything is faster and the consumer, driven by emerging technology is the new currency in this future of advertising. As a result the ad agency must be nimble and the creative director must enable people to act. This new super-efficient agency will bank on "talent, efficiency, and business results" - this is what the client should be purchasing. 

Wolff an infectious speaker described himself more as a coach rather than a leader and massages creativity from his employees but emphasizing that they have a life outside of the agency, a real life. If an employee is happy and there is an open dialogue then work is fun. From that fun stems creativity. 

Lego Tattoo Pilot Pen Ad

This creative is founded on the notion that "quality isn't job one, being fucking amazing is job one." Wolff believes "if you limit yourself to traditional words you do nothing, you don't stand out." But Grey isn't just creative and edgy for the sake of being creative and edgy; the concept must be backed by the research and relevant not only to the brand but on the essence distilled from knowledge of the consumer.  But when push comes to shove Wolff says, "you must always favor something that has never been done before. You must fight for it."

Combining theory, science, a dash of philosophy and psychology, lots of laughs and an espresso shot of energy Frederic Wolff left us stunned and inspired. We gingerly left Grey Paris and stepped out through Grey's portal doors and back into Paris; the street sounds came crashing down on us, slowly dragging us back to reality. Like coming out of a hazy dream I knew we had seen the future of advertising. As we leave for the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity I wonder if others will see it too.