On My Radar: James Brook-Partridge

What’s the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently? 

From a craft POV, I love the new work for BritBox UK, by Uncommon. It’s not a completely original idea, but it’s superbly executed. I also love that Uncommon name their meeting rooms after 90s drum & bass legends. Class. 

What website(s) do you use most regularly?

BBC Sport, followed closely by Chelsea FC official site. Ironically, I’m usually on the BBC sport one seeking news about Chelsea FC. 

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

I bought a reMarkable. I thought it would revolutionise the way I work. It hasn’t. Does anyone want it?

What product could you not live without? 

My AirPods. I find it hard travelling anywhere these days without listening to music or, more often, a podcast. I guess I need my phone as well then, to play said music and/or podcasts. So, the question should read what ‘products’... but I think you get the drift. 

What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year? 

I really liked Lee. Not a well-known subject matter, but fascinating. I’ve always had a morbid fascination with war reporting and writing, and Lee Miller’s story was one I hadn’t heard about. 

What film do you think everyone should have seen? 

Apocalypse Now. It’s a brilliant film, notionally about the Vietnam War, but actually about the darkness of man’s soul, being based on the Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness. I never tire of it. But from a production POV, it almost destroyed the director, Francis Ford Coppola, who financed the film himself with profits from The Godfather. 

I would urge anyone who has not seen the documentary about the making it to do so. Called Hearts of Darkness – and directed by Coppola’s wife – it shows how difficult filmmaking can be, and the journey of the production is eerily close to the story of the film. Life imitating art. Disturbing, fascinating, brilliant. 

What’s your preferred social media platform?

"Comparison is the thief of joy". I only use LinkedIn, and find that triggering enough, and I figured I could live without cat memes. GET OFF YOUR PHONES!

What’s your favourite TV show?

Band of Brothers and The Sopranos changed TV forever in my eyes. Band of Brothers is an authentic story, told through the eyes of the people who were there. On the back of techniques learnt during Saving Private Ryan, it captured combat in a visceral way. And with the veterans’ testimonies at the beginning, it was incredibly moving.

And The Sopranos? Brilliantly acted, amazing characters, gripping narrative. Just incredible.

What’s your favourite podcast?

The Rest is History. I have a degree in history. Loved it growing up. Then got out of the habit of indulging in it until Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook reminded me what I was missing. I find the past fascinating. 

What have you been most inspired by recently?

Recently, while speaking to a work colleague who ran the London Marathon and raised money for charity. In a world where we see and hear so many bad and depressing things, I’m constantly reminded that humankind has within it the capacity for great kindness and good. We all need to remember that. CELEBRATE THE GOOD IN PEOPLE!

If you could only listen to one music artist from now on, who would it be?

Simple Minds. Their albums in the early 80s, culminating in New Gold Dream, were miles ahead of their time.

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

Stop banging on about how things used to be and get on dealing with how they are.

Who or what has most influenced your career?

Sandy Watson, my old Head of TV at M&C Saatchi and then Ogilvy. She didn’t speak to me for a year after I started. She later told me she was deciding if she liked me or not! We are now firm friends. She didn’t walk into a room, she glided. She taught me many things, but the bit I always remember was, find good people, people you trust and who work hard, then back them to the hilt. An amazing woman.

What scares you the most?

Letting people down.

What makes you happiest?

Walking the dog with my wife of a morning. And seeing my kids grow up into amazing, talented young women.