On My Radar: Max McKeon

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

I love the Truth work by Droga5 for the New York Times. While I usually wouldn’t put something that is essentially a film campaign on a pedestal, the insight is so powerful and the execution so nice that I have to give it recognition.

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

Outside of the expected industry sites, my internet history consists mainly of repetitive Google searches of “Richard Ayoade” and “impeachment”, broken up with the occasional visit to this site.

Note: If you haven’t read Ayoade [pictured below], it’s well worth the few joules of energy it takes to scan your eyes over literature. For a taste, in one of his books, he claims to have invented a time machine. However, one that only travels forward in time, and at the regular rate. Genius.

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

An iPad Pro, mainly because my bank account has a fear of heights. That, and buying things that I imagine will help me work makes me feel like I’m actually working.

What product could you not live without?

Cheese.

"What works best these days are ideas that people want to know more about, talk about and share. I wish the industry had a name that reflected that, mainly so agencies and clients were focused on producing less conventional work."

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

I’ve only recently watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the first time. I know I’m a little behind but the dialogue and delivery is amazing.

“If he'd just pay me what he's spending to make me stop robbing him, I'd stop robbing him.”

It also helps that I’m a sucker for a western.

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

In keeping with the theme above, No Country for Old Men. Cinematically, it’s perfection. Then there’s the dialogue – between Tommy Lee Jones and his deputy or the psychotic Anton and everyday folk. It’s second to none.   

What’s your preferred social media platform and why?

You can’t beat Insta. I’ve fallen out of love with social media of late, but whatever dopamine lures they built into Insta seems to bring me back the most.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

Impossible to pick one. Current loves are: Always Sunny, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Rick and Morty, Silicon Valley, Archer.

Previous obsessions: Peep Show, Arrested Development (the older seasons), IT Crowd, 30 Rock, Mighty Boosh, The Office, Seinfeld.

What’s your favourite podcast?

True crime style podcasts. I really like listening to the way detectives think. Plus, my wife listens to them all the time, and if she knows more about how to get away with murder than I do, the balance of our relationship will tip even further in her favour.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?

There have been a few nice ones recently, such as a subterranean exhibition that used LiDAR tech to map underground lava tubes. The images were beautiful.

One of the best exhibitions I’ve ever seen was an exploration of colour by Olafur Eliasson called Take Your Time. It was really simple work but was amazing to experience.

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

The departure from a reliance on film. Film still plays a huge role in what we do, but unless your idea is getting attention on its own merits, it’s doing the client a disservice.

My wife listens to [true crime podcasts], and if she knows more about how to get away with murder than I do, the balance of our relationship will tip even further in her favour.