Tiger Savage

Tiger Savage is head of art and deputy creative director at M&C Saatchi London. Her work includes award-winning ads for Nike, Thomas Pink, Kronenbourg, Levi’s, Lynx, the BBC and British Airways.

What is your age?

I never feel age... If you have creative work, you don’t have age or time.

Marriage/divorce?

One of each.

Children?

Yes, please. They’re the most creative achievement there is.

Home?

Home is where the art is. Tiger Towers, Notting Hill.

What is your real name? (I’m assuming you have changed it?)

Everyone assumes that.

Why did you change it to 'Tiger Savage'?

Lily had already been taken.

Where did you grow up?

Physically, Manchester. Emotionally, Simons Palmer Denton, the first place I worked.

Describe your childhood.

Waiting for that one moment when the door opens and lets the future in.

Were you a happy child?

Happiness is childhood recaptured. So I’m still young.

What is your first memory?

Giving my dolls extreme makeovers.

How did you get into advertising?

Like everybody else. The hard way.

Did your parents approve?

What really matters is that I approved.

What is the hardest campaign you have ever worked on?

They’re all hard; the problem is to make them look easy.

What art do you love?

Old, modern and all the stuff in between.

What art do you have hanging on your walls?

As much as I can afford. And then some…

What was the first advertisement that made an impression on you?

Fruit Salads for one pence.

What is your favourite advertisement of all time?

Heineken’s “The water from Majorca don’t taste like what it oughta”.

How much do you care what other people think of you?

I care what I think of myself and I care what I think about others.

How do you judge people?

As I wish them to judge me.

What is your favourite word?

Naughty. Babe. Unacceptable. Luxury.

As a consumer, how much notice do you take of advertising?

I notice everything. If you lose interest in life you lose the ability to be good at advertising.

How is it going to be possible to target consumers in the future when audiences are fragmenting across a range of media?

We live and dream in stories. The future will be about screens and engaging stories, not interruptive messaging.

Are you ever ashamed of working in advertising, or feel that there is a stigma attached to it?

I’m very proud and lucky to be working in advertising. It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Who are your heroes and mentors?

Too many to list. But here’s a list: Alfred Hitchcock, Baz Luhrmann, Paul Arden, Grace Kelly, Elliot Erwitt, Cecil Beaton, Herb Ritts, Anthony Micallef, Andy Warhol, Yusuf Karsh, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Lucien Freud, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Sam Taylor-Wood.

What defines your work?

Simple ideas, beautifully executed.

How difficult is it to succeed as a woman in the advertising industry?

No more difficult than it is for a man, i.e. it’s very difficult. You need real talent, real perseverance and, most importantly, a really, really good portfolio.

Doesn’t a lack of women make advertising one-sided and ineffective?

No. Effective advertising hasn’t got anything to do with gender stereotyping. It’s got everything to do with creating good advertising.

You’ve spoken of having become “a persona that’s bigger than me –I’m the one with the funny name who wears funny clothes”. Can you explain further?

It’s very easy for people to not look beyond external appearance – shoes, handbags and hats all tell a story. I guess it often feels like everyone knows the “Tiger Brand”, but very few people know the real me.

Is adopting an eccentric persona part of making your way in a maledominated world?

I don’t think I’m eccentric. Eclectic, perhaps. I’ve never adopted anything; well, except a stray cat once.

Why do you love clothes so much?

I appreciate the artistry of beautiful clothes. They’re liberating to wear.

Tell us about your Vivienne Westwood wedding dress.

It’s wonderful, but from a different chapter of my life. Go look for yourself; it’s for sale on eBay.

What is your view of marriage?

There’s only one way to have a happy marriage. When I learn what it is, I’ll get married again.

Why did your marriage end?

I used to believe that marriage would diminish me, reduce my options; that you had to be someone less to live with someone else. But, of course, you have to be someone more.

What makes you cry?

Everything.

What’s the worst incident of sexism you have encountered?

Not getting picked for my school football team, and being thrown out of the men’s loos at the D&AD awards one year.

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?

I don’t know, it hasn’t happened yet.

What makes you angry?

Every piece of editorial I’m involved in being positioned around the plight of “women in advertising” and the supposed misogynistic glass ceiling. It’s a brilliant industry with loads of brilliant blokes; what’s not to love?

What do you think of awards? And when you’re on a jury, what impresses you?

Awards are only important when you stop winning them. If you start counting them or coveting them you’re not doing your job. Innovation not imitation will always stand out.

How important is money to you?

I’m not worried about money. The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money.

Are you ever ashamed at the amount of money that is earned and spent in advertising?

No, not at all. Being a creative in advertising means you have a short-lived earning curve.

What products would you never work on?

Naff shoes. And anything that would make me uncomfortable or go against my beliefs.

What do you most use the internet for?

Buying more shoes.

Where do you stand politically?

Just to the right of Bill Muirhead and slightly to the left of Maurice Saatchi.

The Iraq War?

Naughty.

If I could relive my life I would…

…finish living this one first. I’m just getting to the really good bit.

If I could change the world I would…

…go for a nice Pantone green.

Regrets?

I’ve had a few, but then again…

Are you afraid of dying?

No. I’m a firm believer in life before death. To me, it’s just another door where I’d get to see some people I really miss.

What gives you the greatest pleasure/happiness?

My friends; laughing till I cry; cheese on toast; a nice glass of red wine; clean, crisp, white Egyptian cotton bed sheets and some passion between them; box-fresh Christian Louboutins; picnics in the park on bright sunny days; watching Manchester United beat Chelsea in Moscow on May 21... I hope.

In the end, the most important thing is…

...to enjoy every moment.