On My Radar: Manuel Borde

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

Price Packs, by Serviceplan. Big contender for upcoming shows in commerce categories.

What website(s) do you use most regularly? 

My usual Chrome tabs: Outlook/Office. The web version of WhatsApp. YouTube. Mail, messages and music.

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

Air Pods (that’s how long it’s been).

What product could you not live without? 

Coffee. Coffee is life!

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

Really enjoyed Challengers. Fast paced and incredibly entertaining. It’s also got such a nice soundtrack, which is a big part of how entertaining the movie is. It kinda reminds me of how the soundtrack plays a big role on a movie like Uncut Gems to get you a bit stressed with all the faulty decisions made by the lead character.


What film do you think everyone should have seen? 

Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. I think so many movies have tried to follow the format, even some later movies by Scorsese himself, but none are so iconic as Goodfellas. It’s still one that I can rewatch over and over. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as the narrator to take you through the story, introduce characters and give you a 1-0-1 on the mob, is top class screen writing

What’s your preferred social media platform? 

Preferred? X (passive user, not active). Most used? LinkedIn.

What’s your favourite TV show? 

So tough! Top 3: Breaking Bad, Succession and Game of Thrones.
These are literally three shows I’ve repeat-viewed, and it’s not for the lack of other good shows, it’s just so good to watch. Breaking Bad starts slow, I have to admit. I gave up the first time around three episodes in, but when it kicks in, it doesn’t stop. Succession? It’s just so great; the characters are incredibly well written. And GOT, well, I will definitely go against the crowd and be one of the few to say, I actually liked the ending.


What’s your favourite podcast? 

Pod Save America. Trying to make sense at what we, as a country, decide. The US is an ongoing reality show and this is a great podcast for those of us that are not fully savvy on all things politics.

What have you been most inspired by recently? 

Ferry rides to work.

If you could only listen to one music artist from now on, who would it be? 

Ella Fitzgerald, because she is my favourite musician.

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

The pitch process. It’s usually an unrealistic (and unhealthy) way to assess who’s going to be your - hopefully - long-term partner to help your business grow. It results in talent burn and huge investment from the participating agency side and, most of the time, unclear feedback on why said agency was selected or not. 

If it were up to me, chemistry sessions that demonstrate an agency POV on how to tackle specific business problems would be prioritised (versus spec work that leads to 200 page decks). We should be buying into the people and their way of thinking. Knowing if an agency has great chops for work is an assessment brand managers can easily determine via Google, and hey, likely what got the agency into a pitch in the first place.

Who or what has most influenced your career? 

My worst boss was actually my most important influence in my career: “Always do the opposite as this guy would.” 

What scares you the most? 

Spiders!