CB Hot Suit Takes: Alex McManus, Partner and General Manager, Motion Sickness
CB Hot Suit Takes is our new Q&A series for extremely busy CEOs and senior leaders across the industry ~ covering careers, creativity, challenges and the song that sums it all up. Next in the hot seat is Alex McManus, Partner and General Manager, Motion Sickness.
1. What made you get into advertising?
I remember a kid at my primary school who landed a role in a milk ad – his dad was reading him Hairy Maclary on the couch with a tall glass of Anchor’s finest. We watched a lot of TV growing up and every time it came on I was completely transfixed. Not by the ad itself, but by the fact that I knew him. The fact that this person I see at school was on the tele in our lounge drinking milk, and that somehow that was going to help convince other people to drink milk too. How did it all work?
I’m not sure I ever really shook that feeling. There’s always been something fascinating about work that gets made and then goes out and lives in the world – that earns a place in people’s lives rather than just interrupting them. I love when someone who has nothing to do with our industry tells me about their favourite piece of creative (they usually call it an ‘ad’). If I’m being honest I love it even more if I then get to tell them we made it.
The actual path to get here was a little less poetic. When we were growing the business out of uni I was actually still battling my way through a law degree. Before then I always thought I’d be a lawyer. Let’s just say that while I have a lot of respect for the legal profession, I’m very glad I’ve ended up where I am.
The client service ‘track’ happened pretty naturally from there. We had creative and strategy very well covered – someone just needed to be the person that spent most of their time connecting with clients, i.e. the most social of the group. The running gag is that while everyone else’s social battery gets drained in groups, mine’s charging up. Apparently that makes you an account person. Could’ve been worse.
2. Which piece of work are you most proud of, and why?
My first answer is a bit self-serving, but I’m okay with it: our ‘Keep it Real Online’ work for Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs – and specifically the one where faux porn stars show up on a family’s doorstep to educate the mum. It’s probably the most personally involved I’ve ever been in the creative process. From writing scripts with Sam (our Founder/ECD, we were creative partners for a while I’ll have you know), to presenting them to twenty-odd senior government people with their cameras off on Zoom during Level 4 lockdown – basically performing into the void and hoping someone was nodding – to being on a highly Covid-monitored set helping get the right performance. It was one of those jobs where it felt like the odds were stacked against us most of the way through, but the client trusted us and the result was brilliant.
While our work for the NZ Herpes Foundation and the Māori Roll Call obviously top the list, I’m going to call out the recent Griffin’s platform – Life Needs a Biscuit. I’m obviously so proud of the work, it’s incredible, and the creative kind of speaks for itself so needs no extra props from me. But I’m even prouder of the entire team that brought it to life. It was the most ambitious project we’ve undertaken so far, and I know the work is so good because of the effort everyone brought to the table in what was a mammoth task. The way they handled themselves, their passion and commitment, and how they maintained their relentlessly high standards throughout 24 incredible films and a bazillion assets made me very proud.
3. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role right now?
I’m going to call it an opportunity, because that’s genuinely how I see it: growth into Australia, the US and beyond.
We’re already working with clients in both markets and it’s going really well. The challenge in my eyes (and the exciting part) is figuring out how to scale that. How do I lead the charge in essentially exporting what Motion Sickness does so well, and make sure the right people in bigger markets get to experience it?
The creative side of that doesn’t keep me up at night. A good idea is a good idea. It doesn’t matter the market, the category, or the cultural context – work that’s human and made with conviction connects, and we know how to do that.
What I’m focused on is the other stuff. Understanding how these markets operate, how they differ from what we’re used to here in Aotearoa, and how I make sure Motion Sickness gets the opportunities it deserves in rooms we haven’t been in yet. It’s a great challenge to have. P&L’s am I right?
4. What’s the most recent thing you’ve learned — professionally or personally?
To say the thing. Ask the dumb question. Blurt out the uncomfortable bit. Chances are everyone else in the room is wondering the same thing and nobody’s saying it.
It sounds simple, but it’s something I have to be conscious of and often keep re-learning. Our industry is ever-changing – and I’m not just talking about AI. What is the most effective work doing right now, what’s the latest marketing science, how are people connecting with brands, exactly how many milliseconds into a piece of film do I need to make sure the ‘logo appears’ these days?
You can go from feeling reasonably across things to feeling like you know absolutely nothing in the space of about six months, and if you’re not careful that feeling can make you go a bit quieter when you should be speaking up.
But no one has it as figured out as they look. And the most useful thing you can do for everyone is to just say the thing.
5. What song best sums up your career so far?
With a Little Help From My Friends — The Beatles.
Cheesy as hell. I’ve spent my entire career at one creative company, helping build something from scratch with two very close mates and a team that we love going to work with each day. There were plenty of moments where things have been tough, and it’s made it that much easier to crack on when you’re doing it with people you genuinely enjoy being around and respect.
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