Cream is an annual competition held by The Talent Business to discover the best emerging creative talent. The 19th Cream, hosted by Mother, showcased 20 winners, including five "self-raisers" who did not go to ad school but were mentored by BBC Creative, BBH, Lucky Generals, 4Creative and Creature.
For those who missed the show, 北京赛车pk10 asked a selection of winners to share their favourite piece of work and the key ingredients to spark creativity.
Christian Skjøtt and Alexander Keblow Kofoed
DMJX Copenhagen
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
Variation is key. We don’t like sitting by the same desk all day. It’s best to change scenery now and then, and it can be anywhere, from busy public places to silent rooms. We also like to switch it up with brainstorming together and separate.
Favourite piece of work
The Airbnb Portfolio.
Josie Finlay and Charles Olafare
School of Communication Arts
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
First, we spend ages and ages and ages talking about the thing. It reminds Charles of a stupid film he once saw, so we watch the trailer for that. Then Josie remembers a screenshot of a meme she meant to show Charles at the weekend, so we laugh about that for a while. Next, we go and wander aimlessly around Sainsbury’s. We complain about something trivial for a bit as we walk down the street, then go back inside and see if there are any snacks lying about. Finally, we sit down, open up a shared Google doc and do a lot of typing and scrappy drawing until something mind-blowing appears out of the ether.
Favourite piece of work
History Channel. This is one of our favourites, because it's always met with a sharp intake of breath when we show it to people.
Dan Burkitt and Jacob de Figueiredo
School of Communication Arts
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
We like to get greased up and wrestle. We find that skin-on-skin contact helps us get into flow. It helps our minds get in sync. It helps us forget our surroundings. It helps us become completely fused together and yet somehow detached from the physical realm. It’s like we travel to a far-off place, lightyears away from the known universe, and it’s just the two of us there and we’re inside a giant womb. And inside that womb, we feel completely safe and comfortable and ready to make adverts.
Favourite piece of work
Domestos: we love this campaign because we built a whole world around the character Germothy. Hours and hours of fun.
Helen Giles
Bucks New University
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
I always keep my mind ticking and on the lookout for a new idea. I’m someone who’s never not overthinking something. From the people I meet and places I visit, I’m constantly scribbling illegible notes and absorbing a lot of random facts, stories and experiences. You never know when something unexpected might lead to a great campaign.
Favourite piece of work
"It’s easy to carry an STI without realising." This is one of my favourite ideas because of its simplicity. I like the shock effect and how it breaks down social stigmas. I also had a lot of fun thinking about the sort of headlines that might come from it. Headlines like "420,000 students carry STIs up and down the country… thanks to Durex."
Israel Kujore
‘Self-raiser’, mentored by BBH London
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
Taking inspiration from the things I’m into, whether it’s new music releases or old cartoons. Then it’s a mix of bouncing ideas around my head and with other people, and then giving my mind some time to rest so it can work things out.
Favourite piece of work
"A night to go down in history" for the British Museum. This was one of the first briefs I worked on during Commercial Break and it really helped me loosen up my creative thinking. I like how the concept has developed from not being just a drinking game, but also an educational drinking event to bring more fun to your British Museum experience.
Isabel Snellen and Katy Stanage
Falmouth University
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
Silliness. We always start by coming up with the silliest idea possible. Starting off silly not only removes all judgment, but for us often leads to something in the realm of clever. To be honest, it’s also just really fun.
Favourite piece of work
Our side hustle, Dr.ink, uses new tech in a way that doesn't dampen the fun of the festival experience, but only makes it safer.
Saphire Rose Favell
School of Communication Arts
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
Competition. I'll take myself to hell and back to land on an idea. No pain, no gain, amiright?
Favourite piece of work
It would have to be "Yuriko" for the D&AD New Blood Durex brief. It was a rollercoaster to make. A neon dream. The best part is watching people's reactions, especially to a few of the drawings. It also makes some people feel uncomfortable. And there is nothing better than making people feel uncomfortable.
Sofie Saietz Bergstrand and Simone Weilborg
DMJX
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
Like Socrates once said: a Pepsi Max a day keeps the brainfarts away.
Favourite piece of work
"Generation no gender" for Adidas.
Thea Føge Toft-Clausen and Cecilia Mervig
DMJX
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
Humour. We think that there is a bit too much sugar-coating going on in advertising. There are a lot of things in this world that could benefit from getting taken the piss out of.
Favourite piece of work
Allergy is the most common chronic disease in Europe. Studies have linked society’s obsession with cleanliness to the rise in allergies. We needed to bring people back in contact with all of the healthy bacteria, therefore we set ourselves the challenge of rebranding bacteria. This all unfolded in our campaign "The dirty way" for NHS.
Tide Adesanya
‘Self-raiser’, mentored by Lucky Generals
What’s your key ingredient to spark creativity?
My key ingredient to creativity is not revolutionary. It’s being OK with experimenting and failure, making the idea of creating something that’s pure dog poop a fun and regular exercise. After accumulating a wealth of dog-poop creations, you start to notice that, for one, dog poop isn’t that bad; and, secondly, you get used to the process of creating in a carefree mindset. Eventually, you start to create nicer things than dog poop, which you can be proud of. I’ve mentioned dog poop a ridiculous amount of times. I hope you catch my drift.
Favourite piece of work
National Portrait Gallery.
