Biography:
Rosie joined BBH straight from art
school in 1983, and has been there ever
since. She has not only worked for the
same agency for her entire professional
life, but has lived in the same house.
And if some people feel the need to
change jobs frequently, Rosie feels the
need to change dresses, and is well
known for her flamboyant fashion sense.
Rosie’s work includes the famous “Ideal Woman” TV ad for Lynx (Axe) deodorant, which won a Cannes Gold; the iconic TV ad for Pretty Polly tights, and Levi’s jeans “Shrink to Fit” poster campaign.
She has won D&AD, British Television,
Campaign, Clio and Cannes awards.
Rosie was appointed to the BBH board
in January 1990, and became a Creative
Director in 1999.
When she gets a spare moment, she indulges in a passion for fencing, and is ruthless with a sword.
Notes
Rosie took her turn at the front with enthusiasm. She began by pointing out that students draw from a shallow reference pool. Ideas are often recycled and, at times, poor solutions are the best we can hope for. Sometimes having our own experiences reinforced by someone in Rosie’s position is reassuring and we can take away some key thoughts that will help us help our students:
* Childhood experiences and jokes prove valuable sources for ideas. Rosie’s Pretty Polly TV and cinema ad (with the Doris Day soundtrack) is a good example of her own childhood inspiring her solution.
* Look at everyday objects and the world around you – keeping your eyes and ears open for anything interesting and influential.
* Taking on a child’s view of the world – where else would the magic painting idea for Levi’s have come from? Looking at the world as if for the first time can move you away from any rational mindset you may have.
If I were to choose just three points to feed back to my students, these would be:
1. Look deeply and observe, there’s inspiration in the mundane
2. Think in 360-degrees, above and beyond traditional media
3. Creatively, anything goes so push boundaries when you can
The discussion that followed centred on practical ideas from Rosie’s favourite account to the perfect creative team, but the session ended with a good take-away thought to leave with our students – build relationships with individuals and teams in agencies but remember that criticism is good.
John Delacrus
Staffordshire University