On My Radar: Kim Gehrig
Somesuch's Kim Gehrig, director of This Girl Can, talks creative inspirations and getting ideas under waves.
What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?
I really liked the new Uniqlo spots [which we featured here] . Great choreography and colours. Effortless and fun. I love dance and would have loved to make one of those.
What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?
The Sydney Morning Herald. Wherever I am I still read the news from my hometown. And I always check the weather, just to see what I am missing…
What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?
I nearly bought the iWatch… but when I told my editor it was so I could read my emails in the middle of the night… he told me I was sad. So I didn’t.
Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?
I like to say I don’t do any of them… but probably a healthy bit of each in moderation.
What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?
My producer Lee just made me do the whole fitbit thing... and linked the app through to him so he can keep track of my activity. Slightly annoying, but also a bit obsessive. Who thought taking steps could be so satisfying?
What’s your favourite TV show and why?
The news. Any news and all news. If I stay in a hotel I have news 24 on around the clock. Don’t even mind hearing the same story over and over.
What film do you think everyone should have seen?
Chinatown. It is such a great exploration of power and the desire for it… seems relevant in these times…
Where were you when inspiration last struck?
Diving under a wave. Have just been home and the ocean is always a great place to get some headspace.
What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?
The push for diversity, and what seems to be a genuine desire to make the advertising workforce more equal. I am hoping all the talk becomes reality.
If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?
The hours. It would be amazing to be able to achieve it all within a regular work day. Even have some time outside it. Somehow advertising days are much longer than anyone else’s.
What or who has most influenced your career and why?
My time at mother with the original bunch I worked with there… Robert Saville, Mark Waites, Caroline Pay, Stephen Butler, David Kolbusz, Ben Mooge, Yan Elliot, Luke Williamson, Sam Walker, Joe de Sousa, Augsuto Sola, Gustavo, Darren Bailes, Jim Thornton, Peter and Susan… all very formative and all now doing incredible things. They taught me how to think (and drink).
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…
I am a terrible singer. (Actually loads of people know that).
