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Whereas some agencies spend a lot of time and
money testing their advertising—addressing it
with a scientific model of effectiveness—
Waterbury stresses the importance of finding
the emotional connection and inspiration in the
audiences he speaks to. The scientific method
quantifies data, which is only useful for analyz-
ing events of the past. It does not predict the
future, and it does not set trends. Because
Wieden+Kennedy place a premium on the cultur-
al relevancy of their campaigns, only a forward-
looking model can power the organization.
When some clients look at the Wieden+Kennedy
portfolio, they wonder if their product or ser-
vice can match the “fun” and “exciting” nature
of clients like Nike, ESPN, or Miller. “We have
to remind them that the category wasn’t so
exciting before we came in. If you look at the
sneaker category in 1971, it wasn’t even a
developed category. If you look at the cheap
beer category before we got into it, I mean,
who wants to advertise cheap beer?
That blue-collar thing was probably the most
rejected idea you could think of,” Todd
Waterbury notes. By working with the client to
communicate the potential of the product or
service and to show and describe the creative
strengths of the Wieden+Kennedy teams,
Waterbury feels he can help companies take
risks they might not otherwise want to take.
“At the end of the day, the success of a project
relies on people, not on companies,” he says.
Waterbury and his teams seek out people within
the corporate structures of the companies they
work for, identifying those who make up what
he calls the “microworlds” of the company cul-
ture. People who are changing the landscape
or taking a risk are the people with whom
Waterbury wants to work. If they end up moving
from one job or industry to another, Waterbury
follows them because he knows that they will
be able to offer a potential openness and influ-
ence as they shift from place to place.
FIND AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
TODD WATERBURY
1
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Nike Apparel print ads, designed by Todd Waterbury, Wieden+Kennedy, New York
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365 HABITS OF SUCCESSFUL GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Job: 02762 Title: 365 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers (Rockport)
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Art Chantry observes, “Graphic design is a
weird art form; it is half business, half art.
Most people who get into it do so because of
the art. The successful ones get into it for the
business. You may be a critical success doing
art, but you are not going to get rich.”
In making ethical choices about who to work
for and what kind of jobs to take, Chantry
decided that the system is designed to “make
hypocrites out of all of us.” In his early career,
he was not particularly picky about who he
worked for, recognizing the parallels between
small and large businesses, even when one
purported to be “independent” or “alternative.”
Chantry found working for corporations to be
extremely difficult because he perceived that
decisions were made out of fear and within an
extremely complex hierarchy. Often the nebu-
2
DEMAND RESPECT, CREATIVE LICENSE, AND FAIR PAY
ART CHANTRY
lous “legal department” was called in to finalize
choices about art—something Chantry finds
antithetical to the process of making a good
design. In addition, the process of actually
getting paid by corporations was arduous and
protracted.
At a certain point in the late ‘80s, Chantry
decided to be more discriminating about his
clients, and as he puts it, “not work for ass-
holes anymore.” Instead of a few big jobs, he
did a lot of small jobs and was suddenly over-
whelmed with work instead of having to search
it out.
Seafloor International brochure, designed by Art Chantry
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