Paddy Gilmore has spent 25 years in marketing, first as a creative then as a strategist. Despite this, he makes his mum proud for five reasons.
1. When I was a kid, I always preferred the wonderful ads to the really annoying TV programmes that got in the way of them. Aged nine, I saw this Radio Rentals ad and read the endline: You’ll be glued to our sets, not stuck with them.
‘That’s brilliant,’ I thought. It occurred to me that someone had written it. ‘I’d like to do that when I grow up.’ I did.
2. I first got into studying humour while doing a Master’s in History of Art. My thesis looked at humour as used by avant-garde artists, like Yoko Ono. In the years after my hair went, but my interest in humour — and how it works best in marketing — only grew.
3. I was a creative on the team behind Three’s very funny Singitkitty campaign. On day one it went out to over 21 million people on social in the UK; 950,000 of them actively engaged with it*.
Let’s just say… Three were very happy with the results.
4. On the back of writing a funny best man’s speech I was asked to write jokes for the late great Bruce Forsyth on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. Nice to have the gig, to have the gig, nice.
5. As well as working with my clients, I write The Drum’s monthly Funny Matters column. This means I’m interviewed about humour and how it’s best used in marketing. WARNING: this video contains images of my knees. Proceed with caution.
* Source: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/connected-brand-month-three/1287297