On My Radar: Tim Mellors

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

I like the ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ campaign.  Made for about 10p, almost certainly done in house, some are very funny, some are shite but the clever thing is, they've done enough of them not to bore you. I often feel beaten over the head and furious by the relentless repetition of even a really good ad.  

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

Spotify. I think it's morally slightly dodgy and has basically 'done for' the music business, but it's an irresistible source of entertainment for miserly bastards like me.

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

An iPad mini with retina display for my producer daughter, Daisy.

Facebook or Twitter?

Neither. Instagram.  

What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?

Solitaire. I travel to work on the tube.  

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

Happy Valley. Masterly and subtle writing, unusually delicate and psychologically profound acting by all the characters but particularly the women.  

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

Mary Poppins. I've seen it over 20 times. Brash and ridiculously self-confident, it still amuses, moves and delights me, especially Dick Van Dyke's bum accent.  

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Turning left into Willoughby Road off Hampstead High Street.  

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

The change from a business that produced folks who went on to win Oscars in Hollywood, to a business where even my dog Nancy thinks she's a creative guru.

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

The biggest mistake we ever made was to give away the intellectual property rights to our ideas.  

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

Bill Bernbach. By the time I knew him he was a grumpy, old buzzard who told us off for coming in late, but his thinking is buried deep within the DNA of every ad ever made since the 50s.  

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

Part of my training as a psychotherapist was to counsel people in a crisis drop-in centre in Camden with a panic alarm connected to the police station.  I only had to use it twice.