Why quitting the ad industry seemed the only option

On September 5th I emailed my director reps to inform them I was quitting advertising. 

I saw myself directing commercials for years to come, but, in early September, my conscience had finally caught up with me.

I am exceptionally lucky because I have a great life; two healthy children, an amazing wife who supports me, family, friends, and a fulfilling career I have struggled hard to build. I have worked on some cracking campaigns with an array of awesome people over the years. Directing ads has put a roof over my head and given me great memories. For all of this I will be forever grateful.

I could no longer be a part of an industry that (apart from charitable exceptions) brainwashes people into buying things they don’t actually need. 

I saw myself directing commercials for years to come, but, in early September, my conscience had finally caught up with me. With the climate crisis and the degradation of the planet, I could no longer be a part of an industry that (apart from charitable exceptions) brainwashes people into buying things they don’t actually need. 

Above: Hopkins at the Extinction Rebellion protest.

It is my opinion that advertising is a major contributor to over-consumerism, greed, mental health issues and many of the unsustainable problems of our ailing world. Strip back the ‘art’ and advertising endorses a flawed global system I believe will destroy most life on Earth unless we ditch our ‘business as usual’ approach and make radical changes to our lives. We must remember our connection with the natural world, on which we depend for our very survival. 

It is my opinion that advertising is a major contributor to over-consumerism, greed, mental health issues and many of the unsustainable problems of our ailing world.

As I emailed my resignation, I was awash with fear. Here I was, with a young family, quitting my primary source of income. But, deep down, giving up my job felt the right thing to do if I was to be honest with myself.

Roll on one month and I found myself being arrested peacefully at the Extinction Rebellion protest. 

And then an unexpected thing happened; instead of waving a sad farewell, my lovely teams at OB Management and JSA hit me back by committing to finding me ethical scripts to work on. It seems I had simply voiced what they were already feeling about the inevitable evolution of our industry. We agreed that a redirection into ethical advertising is the future and despite the huge obstacles that idea presents, the willpower is there. 

Roll on one month and I found myself being arrested peacefully at the Extinction Rebellion protest. I didn’t go to be arrested, but I was so inspired by watching some weeping old ladies being carried away by crying policemen, that I sat down on the road. I apologised profusely to my arresting officer who was shocked that so many ‘decent’ people were being detained. At worst, I will go to court and receive a small fine for my offence. My six-hour arrest was, in retrospect, a minor inconvenience in my life.

As I lay locked-up alone in my Brixton jail cell, rid of all my possessions, I felt a sense of liberation that is hard to describe.

The truth is, once the nerve-wracking moment of arrest was over I found the subsequent experience overwhelmingly positive and profoundly moving. As I lay locked-up alone in my Brixton jail cell, rid of all my possessions, I felt a sense of liberation that is hard to describe. By truly stepping out of my comfort zone I was welcomed by a sense of accomplishment that far outweighs any career achievement. 

If they aren’t for a charity, aren’t all commercials ultimately geared towards shareholders getting richer? 

Making the effort to stand up, or in this case sit down, for something I believe in: our children’s future. The next day I wrote a Facebook post about my arrest and had an amazing response from friends feeling inspired to make their own changes. It was a clear reminder that actions speak louder than words. The system in which we live has meant we have all played our part in the degradation of the environment. We are all, in some way, hypocrites. But blaming and shaming will get us nowhere. It’s what we do about it - starting right now - that makes the difference.