#BehindtheSelfie with... Damon Stapleton

Stapleton captions this: “Life isn’t black and white, but this selfie is.”

1. Where do you live, work and play?

Work-wise - Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane and the USA.

2. What’s your claim to fame?

I brought home the first – and only – Black D&AD Pencil in Africa for the Zimbabwean 'Trillion Dollar' newspaper campaign.

I also worked on what was awarded “most effective campaign in the world” at Warc 100, for Penny the Pirate for OPSM.

My work has won over 60 Cannes Lions, including Titanium, Innovation and Grand Prix, as well as over 40 D&AD Pencils, including 5 Yellow Pencils.

3. Describe your career so far.

Pulp Fiction. Rollercoaster. Gratitude.

4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.

My family. Ideas. Laughter.

5. What do you love about your industry?

If you work hard enough, magic can happen.

6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.

It doesn’t exist.

"Like chicken soup for a dead man. It can't hurt"

Damon Stapleton  13 Dec 2017

7. What are the tools of your trade?

The world and, on a good day, my brain.

8. Who is getting it right in your industry?

People who are more worried about being interesting rather than correct. People that think about the picture more than the picture frame.

Ideas: They are not for everyone

Damon Stapleton  20 Sep 2017

9. List a few pain points the industry can improve on.

People seeing jargon as being something real. The belief that process beats people. Thinking that if you have a lot of something, it doesn’t have to be good.

10. What are you working on right now?

About eight different projects, in all shapes and sizes ranging from next year’s World Cup to a global piece of business, right down to a print ad.

11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.

Pivot. Long-form engagement. Content (my worst). Influencer. User experience. Start the conversation. Growth hacking. I really could go on. And on…

What do you want creativity to do?

Damon Stapleton  22 Aug 2018

I once said to a team, “just have fun with it”. There are some things you can never take back and have to live with for the rest of your life!

12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

Normally, when I’m not trying to have an idea. Often on a Saturday, driving to a hardware store.

13. What’s your secret talent/party trick?

If I tell you, I have to kill you.

14. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?

Both.

15. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?

Apps for seven-minute workouts I don’t have the time to use.

16. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?

A lot of people have ideas and talent. A few are dedicated and tenacious enough to get them made.

The tango of Donald Trump and Nike

Damon Stapleton  12 Sep 2018

Simple as that. Be sure to visit Stapleton’s MyBiz profile and blog, Damon’s Brain, for his latest industry-specific opinion pieces, and follow him on Twitter for the latest updates.

*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.