John Norman: Way Out West

Following his departure from The Martin Agency, John Norman has taken up the reigns as the new head honcho at TBWALA. Simon Wakelin talks to him about story design, brand truth, his wariness of the ever-changing technology of proactive campaigns, and why the work itself is its own reward.

A recent addition to the TBWA network, John Norman arrives as CCO of its TBWAChiatDay office in Los Angeles. Currently knee-deep in creative ideas for upcoming World Cup work, Norman finds himself in familiar territory, having previously worked on two World Cups at Wieden+Kennedy. The only change is his branding uniform, effectively switching from Nike to adidas as World Cup Brazil 2014 approaches.

“I jumped at the chance to come here,” he says of arriving at TBWAChiatDay. “I think Omnicom has always been one of the most respected creative companies out there. One thing that’s great about the TBWA network is it’s one of those iconic brands that celebrates brands. Great work comes from that.”

Intelligent design

Norman cut his teeth as a graphic designer and design director in Dallas before moving on to join Weiden+Kennedy. “W+K changed my view on everything,” he says on entering advertising. “I suddenly realised I could design visual stories that I couldn’t even imagine before.”

ECD duties at W+K Amsterdam followed, creating ads for clients including Coca-Cola, Nike, Electronic Arts, Nokia, Heineken and Honda. Success also came his way at The Martin Agency (TMA) as its CCO, shaping work for clients such as Kraft, Norwegian Cruise Line, ExxonMobil, Comcast, Living Social and Nespresso.

“At the heart of TMA is the desire to be creative,” he says, of working at the Richmond, Virginia-based company. “Traditionally they are known to have great planners and writers. What I did was bring in great design, visuals and technology. We did a lot of really cool digital work that garnered a lot of recognition.”

That recognition included a One Show gold Pencil for work on Walmart’s digital account. With technology in mind, I ask for Norman’s thoughts on creating commercials destined to compete with a flurry of digital media constantly vying for attention.

“I think mobile is the most disruptive, unknown frontier out there,” he offers on the subject. “At the end of the day, you have to remember that people remember good ideas. There is also a digital frequency that distracts, so it’s important to celebrate brands for what they truly stand for, otherwise no-one will care to remember them in the noise.”

Norman references Gatorade and its Win from Within strategy as an example of brand truth. “That is such a powerful insight,” he continues. “What it does is unify the brand. You need to find a slogan like that to embody what the product stands for.”

As for new digital agencies offering ‘proactive’ branding answers for clients, Norman is wary. “Technology changes every day so it’s difficult to see exactly what’s going on inside these companies,” he explains. “We have not seen any agency crack through and become the leading digital company – and that’s been the ambition of a lot of them.”

Norman’s conquests

Norman was also responsible for memorable ideation at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, working on its HP account with Rich Silverstein and Steve Simpson. “HP was some of my favourite work at Goodby,” he says. ”I had a great time there. Working with Frank Budgen was awesome; we pitched one paragraph of an idea for him and he immediately signed on.”

Norman also discovered director Francois Vogel around the same time, a virtuoso French photographer and graphic artist who helmed his first US commercial through the agency. Vogel went on to score big on subsequent jobs for HP with work including the Picture Book campaign, in which prints appear out of thin air through the use of simple yet compelling visual effects.

Norman’s knack of finding the right director to translate agency ideas is a further trend noted in his work. Using new talent always possesses a little of the unknown, but Norman knows it can often reap rewards.

“The industry is interesting today because of the presence of younger companies who can do productions a lot cheaper – and they do it very well,” he explains. “You can go to tried-and-tested directors, the usual suspects who will never let you down, or try something new with a director that seems talented and genuine.”

Beyond the vision thing

With the award circuit currently in full bloom, I ask about his views on awards and the impact they have on the industry. “The work should be the reward no matter what,” he answers. “It’s fantastic to get accolades, but they are not always for the best, or even most relevant work.”

The discussion moves on to the topic of West Coast innovation. Norman is upbeat on the subject: “I feel there are three major things on the West Coast that drive business: technology, entertainment and advertising,” he offers. “The challenge is harnessing their power and doing something new. That’s a challenge I look forward to trying to solve.”

Before I leave Norman to get back to brainstorming, I ask what his future vision is of his new HQ at TBWAChiatDay LA: “Always question people who say they have a vision,” he answers with a wry smile.

“Once you have a vision, it’s already old, already done. As creatives, we have to think differently all the time. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing here and reinstate the Chiat spirit – uncover our DNA, if you will.”