By Michael Lee I recently posted who I thought were the best ever creative directors in advertising. One of those creative directors was Remi Babinet (below), the Chief Creative Officer of BETC in Paris. I have known Remi since the ...
Read More »Michael Lee of Madam: best US ads of 2016
Here’s a brief (and early) look back at the spots of 2016. No internet epics, no Superbowl blockbusters no Olympic tear jerkers, just the spots that run every day informing buyers, engaging audiences…… and selling products (and candidates). The unfashionable, ...
Read More »Michael Lee of Madam: I have seen the agency of the future – and it’s in Paris
A lot has been written, debated and vented on what the successful ad agency of the future is going to need to offer clients and employees. What type of work it is going to need to produce, how it might ...
Read More »Michael Lee of Madam: my Top Tips for Cannes
Michael Lee (left) runs top rated US agency search company Madam. Before that he was a partner at what’s now Havas NYC and a member of the Euro RSCG creative board.He has judged numerous awards show including the Cannes Film ...
Read More »Michael Lee of Madam: are these the ten greatest creative directors ever?
Firstly, let’s start with a question; what’s the criteria for being a member of this rarified club? Here’s my stab at it: The Creative Director was the very heart and soul of the agency. They were the one that every ...
Read More »Michael Lee: W+K New York’s Karl Leiberman on the secrets of creative leadership
I mentioned in an earlier post that ad agencies have a dreadful record in appointing new creative leadership. Agencies proudly announce a new star hiring, that is a “great creative and cultural fit with the agency,” only to announce 18 ...
Read More »Michael Lee of Madam: the two key questions every brand needs to ask itself
No Suspense. No build up. Here they are: What does the brand love? What does it want more of in the world? Two simple questions that are designed to help define what the brand is all about, what it believes ...
Read More »Michael Lee: two days that change the advertising world – the Oscars and the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl. The Oscars. The two iconic days in the TV calendar. The two days when the nation comes together as one and gathers round the TV to watch. Must-see TV that is so must-see that setting the DVR ...
Read More »Michael Lee: what makes the perfect brand pitchperson – is it Flo or Wendy?
The idea of a brand pitchperson has been around since the dawn of advertising. We’ve been pitched to by Betty Crocker, Fred the Baker who needed “Time to make the donuts,” more recently Mahem, Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man, those ...
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