Russell Ramsay began his career at Saatchi & Saatchi, creating work for big brands such as Tesco, British Airways and Allied Breweries and NSPCC. In 1990 he moved to BBH London, which saw him promoted to creative director and then chief creative director in 2005.
In 2007 Ramsey joined JWT as executive creative director, where he remains currently, overseeing all work and reshaping the agency and becoming an executive partner in 2012. Throughout the course of his career Ramsey has won a D&AD Gold, seven D&AD Silvers, six Cannes Gold Lions and numerous domestic and global awards.
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Russell's choices
Nike "Tag"
This 2001 ad was one of four pieces forming the television component of the $25m "Play" campaign, supported by three additional television and cinema commercials, titled Shaderunner, Tailgating, and Racing.
The actor playing the piece's protagonist was chosen from the street outside the set just before filming began.The crew used three cameras to allow editors to cut to different perspectives while keeping each scene to one take.
The ad was created by Wieden + Kennedy and directed by Frank Budgen. It was one of the ten most awarded ads of 2002, and won Grand Prix at that year’s Cannes Lions.
Lurpak "Kitchen odyssey"
This ad turns making a simple omelette into high drama, turning whisking eggs and lighting the hob into an epic and other-worldly journey. It features a voiceover by Rutger Hauer.
The ad was created by Ray Shaughnessy and Dan Norris at Wieden + Kennedy, and produced by Anna Smith at Stink. It won Best 60-90 Second Cinema Commercial at the British Arrows in 2011.
The campaign helped LURPAK overtake Flora to become number one in BSM sales and the UK’s most valuable brand in its category.
Skoda "Cake"
Skoda aimed to showcase the helpful features of its Fabia, such as hooks in the boot to keep shopping upright. With the strapline "full of lovely stuff", the idea for building a car out of cake arose, during a conversation between creative directors John Allison and Chris Bovill whilst sharing cake on Valentine's Day. The director was Chris Palmer.
The plan was to shoot the production of an actual life-sized Fabia cake without computer-generated imagery. After filming, the crew planned to donate the remains of the cake to local charities and hospitals, but after four days under hot studio lights it was no longer thought fit for human consumption, and was donated for composting to the East London Community Recycling Project in Clapham.
About this series
In this series of short films, leading Thinkbox Creative Academy members have the tricky task of selecting just three TV ads that have inspired them: brilliant commercials, old and new, that they admire but had nothing to do with.
The idea is not only to explore some of our greatest ads in the company of people who know a thing or two about making them, but also because of the proven link between creativity and effectiveness encourage the advertising industry to even greater heights.
About The Thinkboxes
The Thinkboxes are the first awards to celebrate the UK's world-beating TV ad creativity, in all its forms, at regular way-points throughout the year. Created in association with Haymarket Brand Media (Campaign, Marketing and Brand Republic), these bi-monthly awards are judged by the Thinkbox Creative Academy; made up of over 200 advertising luminaries.
We hope you enjoy the films.
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