On My Radar: Gemma Knight

Gemma Knight, an agency producer at Wieden+Kennedy London has worked on campaigns for clients including Halls, and Cravendale and, when at Fallon London,  Sony and Cadbury.

Below she discusses some of the things currently on her creative radar - including astronomical apps and over-bearing moms - plus why the perception of agency producers needs to change.

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

The Old Spice campaign is hard to beat. It’s still fresh; Mom Song is hilarious and the additional content is well worth watching.

I love that there is some work out there that’s really funny and irreverent. I’ve also just seen the new McVities commercial, which is brilliant.  Those kittens just keep getting cuter.

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

It’s not about one website for me, it’s about breadth. It’s important to keep searching for new ideas while challenging preconceived ones, and that happens through exploration. Sometimes, I just have a look at a director’s own website and follow their links to see where it takes me. That’s taken me from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I do have some old favourites. As well as the industry regulars, I always like the aesthetic of Dazed & Confused as well as Rankin’s Hunger TV. Speaking of Hunger, thenudge.com is the best guide to what’s on I’ve found recently. And the writing is pithy and worth the read.

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

I’ve just bought a natty bike light. It’s amazingly lightweight, and uses the same technology as a smartphone battery, and charges by plugging it into my laptop. Easy.

Facebook or Twitter?

A year ago it would have been Facebook, but now I’ve changed allegiance to Twitter – although I’m a selfish user.

Everyday is like a sweetshop, with access to so many interesting articles, comments, satire and the zeitgeist. Even one article a day opens me up to so many other worlds.

What’s your favourite app on your phone?

It has to be Star Walk. Particularly at two in the morning on night shoot in Buenos Aires, when the downtime is taking a bit too long.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

I’m currently watching Lilyhammer, which is immensely enjoyable.

Truly though, it has to be Breaking Bad (sorry to be so obvious). The premise is original, the storytelling is great, the look, the music and sound are so well crafted, there’s not anything as clever out there… except maybe The Bridge (again, sorry to be so obvious).

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Does inspiration strike? Personally, I think it comes from working hard, crafting and adapting the concept, script, look, whatever… And then at some point the magic is there…if you’re lucky.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

When I started in the industry, there was a lot of doom-mongering about the demise of the TV and the role of TV producers. I think we were all seen as dinosaurs about to go extinct in the face of digital.

But with the rise of YouTube, smartphones and the general democratisation of film, there is now a greater need for good producers than ever before. It’s great actually, as there’s so much more variety and challenge for a producer nowadays

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

I’d really like to see the perception of agency producers in the industry change and to be more universally acknowledged and accepted. I still hear the phrase ‘agency producers are facilitators’, which is annoying!

It’s a flippant expression and lacks creative ambition from everyone involved. The best producers I’ve seen continue to push to make the creative as good as possible right up until the end. I’ve been really lucky to work in agencies where production is valued and it shows in the quality of the work.

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

I’ve been really lucky at both Wieden+Kennedy and, in the past, at Fallon, to work with people who have a different ethos to creativity in advertising. When I first arrived at Fallon, the creative approach and single-mindedness towards the work [including Cabdury Zingolo, below] influenced me hugely. Nothing was impossible and rather than rely on process, everything was about pushing the creative until the very last minute. It could be pretty scary but a really interesting approach.

Again, I have learnt so much from working at Wieden+Kennedy. There is real rigor in the thinking that goes into each idea and script. And I’ve learnt a huge amount from the extremely high level of craft expected on each job.

Our head of broadcast, Danielle Stewart, has been a huge influence as she is a forceful advocate of creative production, which I think is reflected in the content coming out of W+K London [including Halls, below]. She has a great balance of nurturing talent and utter belief that production needs to keep pushing the creativity and take responsibility for being the best in our industry. 

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.

I’m massively lucky to have sister (Julia Knight) who is a much more talented editor than I am a producer. It’s great to have someone from whom I can get a very honest sense check if I need to.