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Creative Leadership

Creative Leaders on Failure: Somesuch’s Sally Campbell

We’ve talked to five of CR’s Creative Leaders 50 about how they have handled failure in their own career, and how they advise others to cope when things don’t go according to plan. First up is production company Somesuch co-founder, Sally Campbell

By Eliza Williams 24/09/2018 2:23 pm

Sally Campbell founded the production company Somesuch in 2010 alongside Tim Nash and Nick Gordon, and the company now boasts some of the most significant directing talent working in ads and music videos today, including Daniel Wolfe, Kim Gehrig and Aoife McArdle.

Campbell started her career in advertising, working at WCRS and BBH, before moving to production, spending ten years at Academy Films, first as a producer then as joint MD. Since co-founding Somesuch, she has championed female talent at the company, across both its roster and its management team.

Below we talk to Campbell about the difficult subject of failure: of how it has impacted her career, and how she encourages her colleagues and the directors she works with to deal with it.

Creative Insight

Scott Dungate on what it means to be a global creative

Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo’s ECD discusses his experiences working everywhere from Shanghai to London, and explains what it takes to be successful as a globetrotting ad creative

Creative Insight

How Duolingo keeps learning fun

Duolingo’s creative director James Kuczynski speaks to CR about how the app keeps users engaged, but also how it translates a sense of fun into its communications

Creative Inspiration

Striking poster campaign introduces Coca-Cola Real Magic tagline

The posters feature bold illustrations and photography and also reveal a refreshed design identity for the trademark Coke logo

Creative Insight

How I Got Here: Daniel Liévano

The artist and author delves into his philosophically minded approach to creativity, including the importance of solitude and his attempt to translate the metaphorical “magic” of Haruki Murakami

Creative Inspiration

Geltor’s identity by &Walsh emphasises the wild beauty of nature

‘Earth-conscious’ biodesign company Geltor has a new look by &Walsh that draws on cells and natural ingredients, brought to life with the help of striking art direction

Creative Insight

How Papier redefined the stationery sector

As the business unveils a major rebrand, founder Taymoor Atighetchi shares how he’s spent the last six years building a category-defining stationery brand

Creative Insight

Studio Blackburn on its We Mean Green campaign

Last week a revamp, albeit a temporary one, of the British Rail double arrow logo caused a stir in the design press and on social media. CR speaks to Studio Blackburn, the team behind the update, to get an insight into the project and how they felt about the reaction

Creative Process

Lifting the lid on Pringles’ new rebrand

Snack brand Pringles has revealed the first update to its mascot in 20 years. JKR creative director Della Lawrence takes us through the new branding, including Mr P’s widely discussed haircut

Creative Insight

How behavioural science could make branding better

Mark Hauser, applied behavioural scientist at branding agency The Team, discusses how psychology could create more effective, human-centred creative work

Creative Inspiration

A new exhibition celebrates Push Pin’s gloriously anti-minimalist aesthetic

Hosted at New York’s Poster House, the Push Pin Legacy brings together over 200 posters by the likes of Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins and Edward Sorel

Creative Insight

Does the design of everyday materials deserve more credit?

Logos, exhibition design and book covers can often seem like the zenith of graphic design. Do reports, documents and catalogues get overlooked by comparison?

Creative Insight

Inside the fantastical world of Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X is ripping up the music rulebook with his rap-country-pop sound, gender-bending style and eye-catching creative output. As he releases his debut album, we look at how the artist brings his unique vision to life

Creative Process

How I Work: Max Siedentopf

The artist, photographer, designer and director talks to CR about working at speed, the joy of not being confined by one discipline, how he balances the commercial with the personal, and why his spirit animal is a cross between a chameleon and a dung beetle

Creative Inspiration

A history of London as told by its shopfronts

New book London Shopfronts, published by Hoxton Mini Press, offers a photographic guide to some of the capital’s most striking independent retailers, old and new, and reveals how style and uniqueness remain crucial for attracting customers

Creative Insight

The power of persuasion

We speak to the creatives behind successful political campaigns for the UK’s Conservative party and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about the role of design and creativity in the battle for voters

Creative Insight

Is there room for ethics in design?

The devil on the ad industry’s shoulder might still say that fast fashion and oil companies aren’t so bad, but some design studios are taking an ethical stand. But can ‘good’ clients and big business can ever live in harmony?

Creative Insight

Are brands the new religion?

Brands with big or cult-like followings have both power and community. Creative Review speaks to three brand experts about how they cultivate followers and maintain their flock

Creative Leadership

The battle for self-belief

Working in the creative industries inevitably involves rejection and doubt. But those are also the elements that can lead to greatness, writes Richard Holman

Creative Inspiration

Scouts introduces new programme Squirrels, with branding by Supple Studio

Aimed at four-five year-olds and focused on areas of the UK that have been particularly affected by the pandemic, Squirrels is the first new Scouts programme for 35 years

Creative Insight

Creativity for change!

In the fight to gain attention for charities and grassroots causes, design and creative thinking is more important than ever. Here, we look at how creativity can engage people in causes and galvanise wider audiences

Creative Insight

Why we need to design for all ages

As a new book by Jeremy Myerson celebrates the inclusive design work of the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Patrick Burgoyne talks to him about what has changed in the past three decades

Creative Inspiration

New book Summer After captures the fragility of a post-9/11 New York

In 2002, photographer Lucas Foglia moved to Manhattan, and spent his spare time taking portraits in a city still recovering from the after effects of 9/11. A new book brings the images together for the first time

Creative Insight

Prarthna Singh on photography as a force for change

The photographer speaks to CR about how she aligns her photography with her values, which sees her explore themes of female identity, social injustice and power

Creative Insight

What happens when you fall out of love with your studio?

Following a recent rebrand and change of focus for her design business, Laura Jane Boast discusses how she lost and then re-discovered the connection with her own studio

Creative Insight

How to handle a PR disaster

Persuasion Communications founder Jane Austin discusses what it takes to recover from a PR crisis – and how brands can avoid bumbling into one in the first place

Creative Inspiration

Quirky McDonald’s Canada ad celebrates the joy of friendship (and fries)

A man waxes lyrical about how much he’s looking forward to meeting his friend for a McDonald’s, even if he always nicks his fries

Creative Insight

How designers make food brands delicious

Whether it’s the battle of plant-based brands or the move to online shopping, designers have more opportunities than ever to tickle people’s tastebuds. We spoke with studios Robot Food and This Way Up about what it takes to create a successful food brand

Creative Insight

How Antwaun Sargent is transforming the art world

The author of seminal photography book The New Black Vanguard talks through his plans as director of Gagosian Gallery with Gem Fletcher, which includes asking the question ‘what more can art do?’

Creative Process

The beauty of ‘ugly’ portraits

Historically speaking, portraits have almost always been about glorifying the subject – so what’s behind our recent fascination with unflattering, caricatured depictions of ourselves?

Creative Inspiration

The spirit of Street Fighter lives on in ITV’s 16-bit video game

Part of its ongoing Drama Vs Reality campaign, Uncommon has taken the next logical step and created an online beat ‘em up game that pits TOWIE and Love Island stars against actors

Creative Insight

Meet the creatives who are challenging Western tastes

We speak to the creatives behind Instagram page Diet Paratha and type foundry Vocal Type about the need for a more diverse group of tastemakers in the creative industries

Creative Insight

How influencers are reshaping the creative industries

As influencer marketing continues to dominate our social media feeds, we explore how it is impacting more traditional areas of advertising and what exactly separates ‘creators’ from ‘influencers’

Creative Insight

The case for radical popularism in advertising

The advertising industry turns its nose up at popular creative approaches such as jingles or celebrities in favour of ‘brave originality’. But, asks Ben Kay, is it shooting itself in the foot?

Creative Insight

How Ace & Tate shook up the eyewear category

The eyewear brand has found favour among young people thanks to its refreshing tone and image. Creative director Ruud de Bruin talks to us about showcasing its offering through a creative lens

Creative Inspiration

KFC masquerades as Ikea in its latest PR stunt

To mark the opening of its new restaurant in Majorca, KFC has dressed up a billboard in the yellow and blue brand colours of its neighbouring Ikea store

Creative Process

Inside the ambitious music videos for Jungle’s new album

Jungle are back with a bumper pack of dance-laden videos for their third album. The collective’s Josh Lloyd-Watson and co-director Charlie Di Placido explain the intensive process of making the choreographed one-shot videos, which were all filmed in just five days

Creative Insight

Paul Woods on handling a creative crisis

Whether you’re a fresh grad still finding your way or an old hand who’s lost faith, designer Paul Woods has some sage words of wisdom to help navigate creative angst

Creative Insight

Why some creative businesses want to stay small

For a lot of agencies and studios, growth is a top priority – but not all set up shop with this in mind. We talk to two founders about why they want to keep things small and how they’ve made it work

Creative Inspiration

Celebrating the legacy of the Tokyo 1964 Olympics

A timely new exhibition at Japan House London highlights some of the pioneering design from the event, including Olympic pictograms, posters and architectural models

Creative Insight

How Deliveroo is putting design at the heart of its brand

We speak to Deliveroo’s director of design Stuart Frisby about the joy of working at a brand that values creativity, plus how it’s standing out in an increasingly saturated delivery market

Creative Insight

How rap music took over advertising

As genres such as hip-hop and grime cement their position in the mainstream, we explore how the brand world is increasingly taking note

Creative Inspiration

Manjit Thapp brings her illustrated world to life for Now Gallery

My Head Is A Jungle sees the Birmingham-born illustrator transform the gallery space into a 3D maze-like structure filled with murals and sculptures

Creative Insight

Behind the scenes with Tyler, The Creator’s producer

We speak to Tara Razavi, founder of creative production company Happy Place, about her work with Tyler, The Creator on his latest album, plus what the role of a good producer entails

Creative Insight

Meet the agency shaking up the ad industry in ten days

London-based agency 10 Days is run by a trio of brothers determined to prove that ten days is all it takes to crack a brief and make a brilliant ad. Creative director Jolyon White tells us how they get it done