On My Radar: Oliver Fuselier

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

There are 3 campaigns I love:

Although it’s been talked about extensively, I think State Street Global Advisors really hit a homerun with their Fearless Girl campaign. They managed to not only raise global awareness for the female-empowerment campaign, but also blend the line between art and advertising perfectly. That’s no easy feat. Overall, I think the campaign culturally shifted creativity and brought awareness to an extraordinarily broad range of people. 

I also loved a campaign called EndLAWSyndrome, directed by our very own Danielle Levitt and produced with Saatchi NY. It focuses on a law that restricts people with Down syndrome from getting certain jobs, which also puts their Medicaid service at risk. Some of those afflicted with Down Syndrome have even said that it’s not the syndrome that holds them back, but rather, the law.

David Miami, Burger King Bullying Jr. Wow! What a great way to bring to light a major issue plaguing  our youth while putting a major brand in the spot light as a hero! Great use of a brand!

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

I wake up each morning and read shots, Adweek, and Creativity, then I check one of my other favorite websites, Zillow. I’m addicted to looking for real estate deals. I have a general curiosity in what is happening in the country such as Austin, TX, all of Florida and Detriot, near the water, and of course, in LA, which Zillow keeps me up to date on. I look at trends in neighborhoods in these various areas, price fluctuations on a few properties that I own in other parts of the country (seeing if they increase or decrease each month), but overall, I just love dreaming about getting the best deal I can on great houses and flipping them. Zillow allows me to dream bigger!

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

The Jabra Speak 510 MS USB VoIP Speakerphone. It’s a wireless conferencing speakerphone with an omni-directional microphone so you can essentially put your phone aside and replace it with this portable speaker. You can whip it out in a car, in a hotel room, in a conference room that doesn’t have a speaker line….. It’s very convenient.

Other than that, there’s this nifty tool called the Angry Mama Microwave Cleaner; essentially a miniature mold of a screaming mother that releases steam to clean the inside of your microwave. Spaghetti sauce is hard to wipe off after two weeks in the microwave if you don’t clean it, I’ve learned. This works great.

What’s your favoured social media platform? 

It’s a toss-up between Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram because the world seems willing to share their life on this platform through its posts and stories function, and Snapchat because I just learned how to use all its apps, and the videos are fun. Both apps are extremely popular,  but that doesn’t diminish how much immediate excitement and laughs they both bring to  me.

What’s your favourite app on your phone?

Uber. It’s how I get around in all parts of the world, and when I’m in LA, where there’s very little mass transit I would take, it’s a lifesaver on those occasions where you want to meet friends, have a drink or four, or just have dinner with clients or directors and have a glass of wine. You just don’t worry that when you wake up the next morning the cost of the evening won’t be $30k and a night in jail.

The other app is Zeel, which is essentially Uber for massages. The App simply finds a nearby the type of  masseuse you want or need  on demand in your area, and he/she comes directly to you. It’s a great stress-reliever when you’re wanting to relax at home or while your traveling as well.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

To be honest, The Voice is just one of those shows that allows me to watch mindlessly while I’m on my computer either returning emails or watching recent work. I love pretending that I am the fifth judge, judging the talent and laughing about the celebrities that are judging the show that season. I also like the premise of unbiased judging on the show; singing that’s judged by hearing the singer rather than seeing him/her. It’s a premise that never risks judging a book by its cover.

I also like anything tennis! So, the tennis channel is on 24/7. Any time I can learn more about the sport or listen to the great athletes that once played on the various tournaments commentate on current majors, consider me a happy man.

What film do you think everyone should have seen and why?   

This year, The Shape of Water, because, to me, other than being an original, beautiful story, it’s a film about the odds. Yes, it’s fiction, but there’s so much truth in the countless factors needed for two people to fall in love. What are the chances that an ordinary, lonely woman who’s a janitor would fall in love with a monster in the midst of the Cold War? What a great story; where the ordinary girl in plain clothes becomes the hero, saves the day, and rescues the monster. I love the possibilities. There is hope, and we need hope more than ever nowadays !

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

I was recently at Sundance, where I went to the premiere of one of our directors short docs called Zion and met Zion... that was inspiring. A young man who has suffered, from the day he was born, with a rare handicap and how he raises himself up from the depths, landing on the stages at Sundance 2018. See the trailer:  https://wdrv.it/cccdf0c27/grid

Also, I can honestly say that inspiration comes to me everyday at work because I am surrounded by smart, engaging, creative, open minded people that strive to be the best they can be everyday.  

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

I’d have to say the relationship between the agency, brands/clients and production companies. I think there is one other significant change and that is that there were very few comedy spots in 2017... please bring comedy back in 2018.

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

I would change the way we bid on jobs. That union and non-union companies are able to bid against each other is very unfair and I feel makes the process about the numbers and not about the creative.  

On the other hand, if I could, I would allow production companies to have, under one roof, union and non-union entities so that all companies could have the opportunity to compete in a fare bid pool. Also, this allows companies to have a “farm league” so to speak. A place where they could build young talent, who in turn would bring to the table new, potentially key crew such as DPs, gaffers, production designers etc. that would eventually join the union as they get moved to the union side of the company. Everyone wins……

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

David Fincher. I was a production manager working on a Paula Abdul music video he was directing early on in my career. One of the first things he asked for was a special lens and I said, “wow that’s going to be expensive and I am not sure that the budget can handle it”.  His reply was,  “It’s only the creative that matters to me. Get the lens and speak to someone else about where to get the money”. To me it meant, do great work, always strive for the best and if you achieve this greatness, all the money in the world will follow. Get the best crew, from the DP all the way down to the PAs.

So that is what I did… Cold Hearted Snake turned out to be one of the best videos made that year. MTV, the record label, as well as to Paula herself, loved it.   I am sure they all made a shit-load of money on that one promo. What it taught me was to always fight for the best creative outcome, no matter what level you are in this business.  

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

If I was not fortunate enough to find this great industry of ours 30-something years ago, I would have pursued an acting career. I’m not sure where I would be today; maybe still in the chorus line in an off-broadway show, or the lead actor in an Oscar-nominated film, but that was my passion and the reason I left New Orleans in 1979.