Isn’t it funny how you retain a real love for those brands you have worked on in the past? Many years ago I was lucky enough to start my career at DDB working on the Volkswagen account. I learnt a lot about the creation of great work and especially great copywriting.

The latest Golf ad – ‘Why drive something like a Golf when you can drive a Golf?’ – shows that clearly they aren’t missing me, and are still producing great ads!

In recognition of the launch of our new Kids pratice we have all been reflecting on our favourite kids brands and what makes them resonate so powerfully. Our selections prompted many of us to reflect nostalgically on our own childhoods and how the brands in question remain such a potent trigger for other related memories. Here are two of our personal anecdotes;

“I would have to say Marvel Comics. As a kid growing up and with a sketch book as the baby sitter I would Marvel at the exploits of Marvel’s vast array of Superheros, trying to imitate the illustrations myself. Simpler and more innocent times… I can still see nothing wrong with tackling the evils of the world with over developed pectoral muscles and ‘Y’ fronts worn on the outside of tights! Stan Lee and his collection of artistic ‘magicians’ helped me define right and wrong from a very early age.”  Guy Chalkley, Senior Designer

“Either Brio or Jukka. Being a Finn I should probably prefer Jukka to Swedish Brio but both are manufacturers of brilliantly crafted wooden toys. We had both in my house when I was growing up and I bent, bashed and bullied the toys almost to the point of destruction. Now as an adult I keep the wooden models on my living room shelf because they’re just beautiful objects. What I really love about them is that, whether I was aware of it at the time or not, they hark back to a Scandinavian world where design, childhood and craftsmanship are celebrated and respected like commandments. For once, they still do make them like they used to…” Alan Morrison, Consultant

As well as working on international brands, we also like to be there ‘at the birth’ of some smaller brands.

Our friends Pip and Ed Murray have started their own Shotover Brewery in Oxfordshire, which you can read more about here.  

We’re very proud of our involvement in helping to build this great little brand – and hopefully it demonstrates we do practice what we preach. It’s a great example of a beer positioned against some powerful trends of craftsmanship and provenance.  And the beer tastes great too…!

Enjoying the beer – Ed Murray and our Chairman, Paul Walton (L-R).