On My Radar: Jay Russell

Jay Russell is chief creative officer at Austin-based advertising agency GSD&M and below talks us through his creative radar, including Narcos on Netflix, Belgian waffles and which apps he uses on his phone.

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

I like the Play My Tweet idea I saw recently for Foot Locker. Simple and James Harden delivers well.

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

I’m a Reddit addict. I love that a serious story about the presidential race can sit comfortably next to a video of an 8 year old with 47 grapes in his mouth. And MLB.com. Go Cards!

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

I bought a waffle maker. The big Belgian kind. I’m enjoying it far more than my iWatch, which is in a drawer somewhere.

Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?

Instagram. It’s pretty much the only social media I really use.

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

I have about 50 apps and only use Alien Blue, Sonos, Nest, The Weather Channel and the MLB app.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

Right now, Narcos. Last week it was Wet Hot American Summer I love the age of binge watching. Television is so good right now it’s ridiculous. HBO has paved the way for long character development and the craft is being treated better than most traditional movies these days.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

The original Red Dawn It could happen, people… and we should all have a plan to load up awesome 4x4 pick-up trucks with canned food and arrows and head to the mountains to eat raw deer.

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Town Lake in Austin, Texas. My best thinking comes when I’m running.

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

Going from four media channels to an infinite amount.

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

The whole industry could pump the brakes a bit more. As an industry, we are moving so fast that we forget to recharge as we try and fill all those new media channels I mentioned above. Living in Austin, Texas is counter to that mentality. And I’m trying hard to make a place that respects our people’s time and lives holistically.

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

This sounds so cliché… but music is the thing that put me on the path to not being a lawyer or something. I went to a Dead Poets kind of high school in Middle America. I wasn’t aware of it so much then, but I was never really comfortable in my own skin. So listening to the Replacements and Husker Du made me feel a lot saner.