Who's in CD:Y0

We at ihaveanidea reached out our creative director friends around the globe and asked them to reflect on what it was like to first make that transition from creative in the trenches to the "big boss."

What we got back was a truly inspirational collection of essays by 25 CDs.

Here's who you'll find inside:

  • Gideon Amichay

    Chief Creative Officer, Joint Managing Partner
    Shalmor Avnon Amichay Y&R

    "I believe that it's much more interesting and challenging 'not to know'. There's nothing I hate more than the 'autopilot' way."

  • David Angelo

    Chairman, Chief Creative Officer David&Goliath

    "Being a Creative Director was never easy and there are many tradeoffs. I believe it's one of the reasons I lost my hair at an early age!

  • Andy Blood

    Partner, Group Executive Creative Director
    TBWA\WHYBIN\TEQUILA

    "I didn't really know what a Creative Director was, but I knew I really wanted to be one, making commercials and entertaining the nation."

  • Paul Catmur

    Managing Partner
    Barnes, Catmur & Friends

    "If you're going to fuck up, fuck up fast."

  • Damon Collins

    Executive Creative Director
    RaineyKellyCampbellRoalfe/Y&R

    "Creative directors are paid for their opinion. And that's only worth anything if it's backed up by more than mere intuition."

  • Dan Fietsam

    Chief Creative Officer
    Energy BBDO

    "The deeper point here is we were made Creative Directors because we were already actively creative directing."

  • William Gelner

    Executive Creative Director/Partner
    180LA

    "Want to be a copywriter? A designer? An air-conditioner repairman? There's a school for that. But not for CDs."

  • Gerry Graf

    Founder/Creative Director
    Barton F. Graf 9000

    "When I became creative director at Goodby, a few people refused to report to me.
    I understood this, because I had no experience or work to show I knew what I was doing as a CD."

  • Jim Haven

    Co-Founder & Creative Director
    Creature

    "Coming up in the industry, I don't remember coveting the role or title of Creative Director too much. Mostly, I was interested in selling the best work."

  • Steve Hayden

    Vice Chairman, Chief Creative Officer
    Ogilvy & Mather

    "Brent Thomas taught me one of my first lessons about creative direction – talented people don't like to be wrists."

  • Graham Kelly

    Executive Creative Director
    OgilvyOne India

    "I cleared my throat, nervously mumbled a few platitudes.... and was met with what felt like a huge wave of indifference from my new colleagues."

  • Ari Merkin

    VP, Executive Creative Director
    CP+B

    "It was like a bad Tom Cruise movie, where he can operate the machinery like nobody's business, but does all sorts of damage in the process."

  • José Mollá

    Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer
    La Comunidad

    "Ultimately, you reach a point where it makes you much happier to hear a good idea coming from someone on your team than coming up with one yourself."

  • Zak Mroueh

    President, Creative Director & Founder
    Zulu Alpha Kilo

    "I think that's where a lot of Creative Directors fall short. They want to be loved first, so they don't always make the tough decisions required to push their agencies towards greatness."

  • Victor Ng

    Executive Creative Director
    DDB China

    "Do not celebrate, whine, goad or despair excessively. Do watch your blood pressure, alcohol dependency and degree of spousal neglect."

  • Marty Orzio

    Chief Creative Officer
    Gotham Inc.

    "…the people who hired me, and most of the people in the industry who hire such people, are hardly prepared to hire them and simply don't know what to look for."

  • JoonYong Park

    Chief Creative Officer
    Firstborn

    "Being Creative Director means having a lot of highs and lows. When things go great, you get the credit. When things go bad, you get the blame."

  • Ted Royer

    Partner, Executive Creative Director
    Droga5

    "The predominant languages were Spanish and Portuguese. It probably doesn't need to be said that I spoke no Portuguese, and had to cheat on my final exam to pass Spanish in College."

  • Limore Shur

    Founder, Chief Creative Officer
    eyeball

    "…many CDs do not recognize the visual gap that is between them and their clients."

  • Rob Schwartz

    Chief Creative Officer
    TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles

    "I'm sure Lee Clow saw a lot more in me than I did. But who was I to argue with one of advertising's most brilliant and hard-working legends?"

  • Kash Sree

    Partner, Chief Creative Officer
    SS+K

    "They said I was too blunt, too demanding, too impatient, too abrasive, too not nice."

  • Chris Staples

    Partner, National Co-Creative Director
    Rethink Communications

    "Three things worked in my favour: I was enthusiastic; I was articulate; and I could sell the most crappy ad to the most jaded client."

  • Luke Sullivan

    Senior VP/Managing Group Creative Director
    GSD&M

    "Soldiers do not charge machine-gun nests for generals they do not love."

  • Tay Guan Hin

    Regional Executive Creative Director
    JWT Asia

    "When I was first promoted to creative director, I initially felt empowered. 'Hey! Look at me! I'm a CD! Everyone will have to listen to me!'"

  • Noel Yeo

    Digital Creative Director
    BBH Asia Pacific

    "When I made creative director, my first feeling immediately after elation, fear, paranoia and nausea, was relief. I would no longer be judged on a skill thatʼs only a fraction of what I wanted to do."