On My Radar: Dawn Laren

What the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently?

I loved Mother’s response to KFC running out of chicken in February last year. Their FCK print ad was bold, inspired and a great piece of reactive advertising.

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

If I’m to answer this question honestly, it’s Net-A-Porter. I have a problem.

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

I’m not very techy but I love my new AirPods.

What product could you not live without?

Not strictly a product, but my dog Harry.

What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?

I loved I, Tonya – Fantastic performances and I’m a big true story fan so this was a winner for me.

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

Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful – such a powerful and important film that cleverly manages to humanise and convey the horrors of the camps in a distilled down way that we can somehow identify with. My grandfather was a holocaust survivor so, for me, any film that educates future generations in a manner that they can grasp is of great value.

What’s your preferred social media platform and why?

I’m not on any social media platforms other than Instagram – mainly for snooping purposes.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

The Secret Life of the Zoo; Animal instincts and in-bred behaviours, along with their innate wisdom, never cease to amaze me. If only we could all be more wolf.

What’s your favourite podcast?

I don’t “tune in”.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?

It would have to be the All Too Human show at the Tate last year which featured works by three of my favourite 20^th Century artists – Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach & Francis Bacon.

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

I know it’s obvious, but it would have to be the shift to digital, along with the blurred boundaries of today – everyone is eating everyone else’s lunch and how to remain relevant within this ever shifting landscape is on everyone’s mind.

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

Director treatments would be abolished for ever more. Work would be awarded to a director based on his/her reel and chemistry between them and the agency. There’s no arguing with who made the work and the same cannot be said for a treatment.

Who or what has most influenced your career and why?

I fell into the industry because I didn’t want to go to university and I never looked back. Producing for David Bailey had a big impact on me, he taught me to stand firm and not to give too much of a fuck!

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

I went on a date with Johnny Depp. He wasn’t for me.