Paul Catmur chats with Damon Stapleton on latest episode of Truth and Soul podcast
Paul Catmur has released the latest episode of his podcast Truth and Soul Inc., this time chatting to Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer of The Monkeys New Zealand.
To get around the lockdown, Franklin Road helped equip a new sound studio on the Tawharanui Peninsula from where Catmur had an exclusive chat to Stapleton. Exclusive in that nobody else has talked to him from his living room. Hopefully.
Says Catmur: “Damon has taken the massive step of leaving maybe the best job in New Zealand advertising, Creative chief of DDB Aotearoa, and is stepping into the dark abyss of starting up a new agency.
“I talked to the incoming Monkey’s creative chief about leaving DDB after many years, what you actually do when you’re on gardening leave, and whether you should have a bath before or after talking to your gynecologist.
“Oh, there’s also the future of advertising, where technology will take the industry, and whether it’s a good job for your kids to get into. But you’ll probably only listen to the gynecologist bit.
“Remember, if you hate lockdowns, get a shot.
“And if you really hate lockdowns, get two.
“Many thanks to all the folk at Franklin Road.”
32 Comments
Calling out the bullshit around the nerves and risks for Damon and Justin in setting up this agency. Given massive salaries and the full backing of two agencies in Sydney and Melbourne.
It’s hardly like setting up your own shop with no salary from day one.
And they have no ownership of their new agency looking at companies office structure.
Agreed. In fact Monkeys Australia ‘gifted’ them ASB right?
Setting up your own agency usually involves one or two people and, if you’re lucky, a client to pay for the wifi.
This is far from that, so my sympathy vote isn’t there.
My jealousy vote is, but please, you’re part of a multi-national, I think everyone knows that and sees it for what it is.
But how do you PR that story?
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before these comments are removed like the ones on the Damon’s Brain article.
I’m a big fan of Damon but noticed his latest Campaign Brief blog had comments turned off. What I wanted to say there is you can’t act like this new chapter is a start-up. You’re both on gigantic salaries backed by a massive global corporation. It’s the furthest thing from a risky next step possible.
Great career move but can Mowday and Damon please stop acting like they’ve taken this great leap of faith? And actually the more I think about it, I’m not even sure it’s a great career move. It’s kind of sideways, one global network to another. I’m sure it’s a good pay rise though.
Damon and Justin talk a big game about this embodying all the good things – diversity, empathy, fresh thinking. BUT this is not that. These guys have been sold to the highest bidder. And now they are just filling the ship with their mates.
It’s good a serious new agency player is being launched. Might fill the void behind DDB and BBDO?
Didn’t realise wanting to work with your mates was a bad thing but go off, sis.
My point was that they said they’d be hiring outside of the industry and focusing on diversity of thought, but instead they are hiring people that look and think a lot like them. Hype vs. truth.
This part isn’t true. They’ve hired a super duper diverse team.
A ‘super duper diverse’ team? How? The industry has been structually non-diverse for an ice age. It shifted on women only after me-too, lucky for them, there has been a resilient core of largely socio economically sound but nonetheless comparatively resilient females at their suddenly-woke beck and call. After Black Lives Matter, and the clarion call from the global creative industry, our local industry has again donned its mohair shirt to demand, at the click of its man-icured fingers, more Màori and Padifka faces. Decades of stuctural racism that has made this industry the privieged pakhea, and still largely male industry, that it is, will not be able to readily produce a ‘super dupet diverse’ supply. So, bring on your tokenism boys, I can hardly wait to see the super duper line up.
Don’t think too hard about it doll. Focus your energy on the powerhouse of work you are no doubt producing in between trolling.
I’m just really bored of the whole ‘everything is changing’ script that every CCO reads out.
It’s more interesting to hear about work thats worked, not crystal ball stuff.
Leaving the best agency in the country, when you’re right on top, to start something from scratch, looks like a pretty scary leap of faith to me. I think the fact they’re wailing on about it shows how big a call it was for them, and how little a secure salary was the reason.
‘Don’t think too hard about it doll’
And ‘…go off about it sis’. Some people just can’t help themselves.
@dont shit me It must hurt you so much that the advertising industry was started by mainly straight white men who made it one of the make desirable industries to be in, even for white men bashing liberals. You could always build your own industry if you don’t like the one that exists, I’d bet yours would be so much fun…
It’s go off sis and it’s a gender-neutral way of either empowering someone to vent their feelings or as a sarcastic way of disagreeing with a rant. Got nothing to do with the identity of the poster. I didn’t love the doll comment, either.
I’m so over the toxic comment sections and anonymous know-it-alls on this blog. Damon’s a top bloke and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does at The Monkeys.
@kia ora. Oh bless.
@fan hearty discussion is toxic? Hope you are not a copywriter.
I prefer industries where skills and experience trump a diversity agenda.
They’ve hired the CD’s from DDB that did the Westpac ad. I wonder if ASB knows this?
I wonder if ASB want to increase production budgets?
They sure do. They sign off on pretty much everything. hence why its funny when they throw agencies under the bus every contract renewal time. They get everything they demand and more.
Shouldn’t be a problem. that Westpac ad isn’t really a bank ad.
I think Meridian might like that Westpac ad though?
@ddb 2.0 I think Meridian might like that Westpac ad though?
It’s good to say we’ve all got a new home fellas. The Monkey’s is the new planet of the boys.
Fairly certain The Monkeys creative dept is at least half female.
Needs to 33% non gender specific though
Why is no-one enraged by Heinrich Himmler aka @kiaora:
” It must hurt you so much that the advertising industry was started by mainly straight white men who made it one of the make desirable industries to be in, even for white men bashing liberals:
The 1930s are calling goose-step and it wants its single cell back.