On My Radar: Jim Gilchrist

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

Rustlers microwaveable burgers [80 Years of Torment]. It made me really jealous and I wish I'd made it.

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

Well, BBC Sport gossip column (to see who Liverpool might sign) is my first read in the morning, then The Guardian. Then I get depressed at the state of the world and go on Funny or Die to cheer myself up.

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

My wife got me a Leica Q for Christmas. Wow! Best present ever! It's a fixed lens 28mm full sensor compact digital camera, really fast - 1.7 so great in low light. It's ideal as a travel camera and perfect for location pictures. Oh, and it's got wi-fi so you can stream the images to your iPhone. It's a thing of great beauty.

What’s your favoured social media platform?

Instagram. Less Trump, less Brexit and more pics of nice food, places, kids and dogs.

What’s your favourite app on your phone?

Waze; it's a navigation app that uses real-time traffic speeds to accurately give you the best route and ETA.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

I'm a box set junkie. You know the drill, I have a couple of young kids, so it's get them settled, eat dinner and watch an episode nearly every night. Exciting, eh? So I'm not going to give you an obvious one; Vikings on the History Channel. Don't judge me, just watch it.

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

I'm lucky enough to be sent the DGA screeners so I'm quite current. Nocturnal Animals is beautiful to a fault but it's the most interesting way I've seen a story told for a long time. A left field surprise is Hell or High Water starring Jeff Bridges; a lovely little movie. 

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Well, surprisingly, it was on Saturday morning. I went to see Moana (new Disney flick) with my four-year-old daughter and I was inspired by the way it portrayed a female lead character. Sure, my daughter copied the hula-style dance moves but she also talked about how Moana was strong and didn't give in and because she was clever she saved the world.

As a father of two young girls I don't always know how to protect them from stereotypes and help them see the world where being equal to boys is unquestioned, but films like this help. 

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

Tech; I'm only 36 but have been working in advertising since I was 18. In that time I've seen the jump from film to HD, from Umatic to links, crap Nokia to iPhone. I've also seen the process of making a commercial become so much quicker as a result of all the advances in technology.

I think it's great and I like working at pace but I would caution that sometimes craft takes a little longer so every now and then just slip into a lower gear and give a bit of time for magic to happen.

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

The formulaic nature of treatments. My God, isn't everyone bored of the same old thing? I'm dyslexic, so writing and getting my ideas from brain to paper is hard work for me. Even so, I write my own treatments and it takes me ages.

But the expectation of treatments has gone haywire and they've become beasts. I believe you win a job based more on your meeting and chat with the team than the document you produce thereafter, which actually is a tool for the client. I don't have the answer and I'm not lazy but there must be a better, more interesting way?

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

Loads of people. I've been blessed with so many great creative influencers and mentors and also many people who've given me great opportunities. But Robert Senior [above], the outgoing global big wig from Saatchi & Saatchi, was one of my first boss' at Fallon.

He showed me the importance of respecting creativity and combining that with the fiercest competitive streak I've ever seen. He has always given me his time when I've needed it, and he restored my confidence in a moment of personal darkness. His advice set me on my current path so maybe he has been the most special influence. Still a ginger ninja though.

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

I'm afraid of baked beans.