Steve Hudson for Ad's Sake
🪷 Monet 🍆 Kusama 📰 Points of View
Steve Hudson is a multi-award winning advertising creative and director who’s worked at the some of the best acronyms in the UK - BBH, AMV BBDO & DDB.
Steve created The Power of Advertising which is an incredible resource for everyone from juniors to clients, “non”-creatives and just about anyone who wants to sharpen up their ad chops.
On the site you’ll find an ever evolving masterclass featuring a distillation of Steve’s 25 years of experience, including deep dives into the timeless and award-winning work he created with his partner Victoria Fallon.
Here’s some of their greatest hits:
He’s also someone in the industry with a refreshingly sensible and optimistic view of AI. But before you go clicking off, take a viddy at Steve’s answers to this edition of…
Ask for Ad’s Sake
1. What’s the first piece of art you saw that really stayed with you?
We won ‘The best ad in the world’ by the magazine Reader’s Digest for our milk ad ‘Bones’ 👆 The prize was a free trip to New York and a visit to the Reader’s Digest central office.
The Digest was the biggest selling magazine in the world at that point, and their building was full of incredible priceless art. In one of their rooms was an enormous wall sized Monet ‘Water Lilies’ painting. To get this close to it, and also be able to stand back with no one in the way to fully appreciate it blew my mind. I never forgot the feeling of this masterwork.
2. What is your Mount Rushmore of artists (four, all-time, unranked)?
Monet. Degas. Sarah Dwyer. Suzanne Moxhay (I own pieces by the latter two!)
3. What’s one piece of art you’d love to have in your home?
See 1. (if I could afford that, I could afford a house big enough to fit it).
(Editor’s note: according to the New York Times. An auction of art from The Digest’s offices in 1998 resulted in that particular Monet being sold for $9.9 million.)
4. What’s the best museum/exhibition/gallery experience you’ve ever had?
I went to a Yayoi Kusama exhibition of her life’s work knowing absolutely nothing about her. Towards the end of the exhibition I turned to my friend and said ‘I think this woman has descended into madness’. The exhibition then ended with a video screen showing her making art in mental institution that she had checked herself into.
I was lost for words.
5. What’s an ad that should be in a museum?
Guardian ‘Points of View’ (video installation on a loop, silent).
Thanks Steve! Remember to bookmark The Power of Advertising on your browser of choice for a regular dose of the good stuff 🧠
Right! Who wants to be Asked for Ad’s Sake next? Shoot me an email with a recommendation, or even your own answers.
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Jonathan ✌️
Links for Ad’s Sake
💌 Matt Berry reads a letter from South Park to the MPAA
🎟️ Munich ‘72 ticket design
📽️ Harmony Korine on Miami Vice (2006)