When it comes to money in the creative industries, a culture of silence perpetuates pay gaps and leaves many shortchanged. We look at how creatives can navigate discussions and why a shift must come from the top down...
A runaway ticket is the star of the National Lottery’s latest ad
The Bobbsey Twins directed the film, which follows main character Mo as he celebrates a lottery win – followed by the disastrous escape of the ticket as it’s caught in a gust of wind. As it makes its bid for freedom down the road and through a busy marketplace, Mo amasses a gang of followers, all intent on helping him...
Ewen Spencer shoots a sticky campaign for Diesel
The name of Diesel’s new range, Track Denim, might conjure images of athleticism and sporting excellence. Though while the campaign to launch the range certainly involves sweat and marathons, the track is nowhere in sight. Instead, we’re taken to the fusty depths of the club under the guidance of Ewen Spencer, who since the 1990s has been documenting young people,...
Cannes Lions 2022 Grand Prix winners round up (and a few reflections)
When it was announced that the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, which celebrates the best advertising projects from around the world, was returning to an in-person event this year after two years off due to Covid, it prompted many questions. Would it actually go ahead or would Covid return? Would we all feel comfortable being face to face again? And...
Are creative budgets really shrinking?
In the face of rising inflation and an increasingly dicey economy, it’s little surprise that client budgets are one of the creative industry’s biggest gripes. But what’s really going on?...
NB Studio designs Royal Mail’s Pride stamp series
NB Studio and illustrator Sofie Birkin have created a new Pride-theme special stamp series for Royal Mail to mark the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Pride rally in 1972 – a march organised by members of the Gay Liberation Front to protest homophobia and transphobia. The designs are based around the idea of ‘a march through time’, and were...
Zora J Murff’s series asks how much we control our own image
Before his career in photography flourished, US-based artist and activist Zora J Murff was a social worker in the criminal justice system in the US, specifically helping young people avoid incarceration. The two facets of his working life – social work and visual art – first came together in his early project, Corrections, and his background has continued to inform...
Brutal but cinematic documentation of the NYPD homicide division
Until 2018, the NYPD had never in its history granted a photographer access to its homicide division — which isn’t wholly unsurprising, when you consider both the grizzly nature of the profession, and the innumerable misconduct scandals that have plagued the NYPD over the years. However, for two years (2018-2020) New York-born photographer Theo Wenner was granted unprecedented access to...
The big money questions: a guide for new creatives
Pay rises, day rates, dilemmas about prioritising money or creative opportunities – young creatives have a lot to get their heads around. We asked OMSE founder James Kape, copywriter Ellen Ling and the Talent Business partner Anna Green for advice...
Kelly Anna brings the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 campaign to life
Perceptions of women’s football in the UK have been transformed in recent years. This is partly thanks to the success of England’s Lionesses, but much of the legwork is also being done at grassroots level by fan-led platforms such as ThisFanGirl and football and fashion zine Season. The sport is set to gain even more momentum as England hosts the...
CALM launches major new suicide prevention campaign
The Last Photo is a new UK-wide campaign from suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), created with adam&eveDDB in London, which aims to offer practical advice on what suicidal behaviour might look like and how to help loved ones you might be worried about. The campaign also aims to redress the ‘image’ of suicide that we might hold...
CALM launches major new suicide prevention campaign
The Last Photo is a new UK-wide campaign from suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), created with adam&eveDDB in London, which aims to offer practical advice on what suicidal behaviour might look like and how to help loved ones you might be worried about. The campaign also aims to redress the ‘image’ of suicide that we might hold...