The Speed of Culture Podcast

Episode: Why BBDO’s Andrew Robertson believes AI will unleash, not replace, true creative talent
Guest: Andrew Robertson, Chairman of BBDO Worldwide
Host: Matt Britton (Suzy CEO)
Date: September 2, 2025

Overview

This episode features an insightful conversation between Matt Britton and Andrew Robertson, Chairman of BBDO Worldwide, highlighting how AI is set to empower, not replace, human creativity in advertising. Robertson shares learnings from his four-decade career, discusses the evolving definition of creative talent, how great work gets made, the pitfalls and promise of AI in the creative process, and the key to building relationships in a tech-driven world. He also previews his upcoming book, "The Creative Shift."

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes an Agency—and its Talent—Great (02:00–08:10)

• Core Principles That Don’t Change:

  • Exceptional work hinges on attracting "an unfair share" of the world’s best talent.
  • "Having an absolute focus on improving the quality of the work that consumers see, because that’s the only thing that matters when all is said and done." – Andrew Robertson [02:50]

• Constant Change Factors:

  • Technologies reshape not only how agencies deliver messages but also consumer engagement with them.
  • Three transformative shifts:
    1. Widespread adoption of the Internet
    2. Introduction of the smartphone
    3. The rise of generative AI—now transforming how content is made, not just shared.

• Defining Exceptional Creative Talent:

  • "The ability to spot connections, make connections that other people just can’t see. And the second is the ability to really distill and reduce all of that into three or four words or one picture with which you get the whole story." – Andrew Robertson [05:57]
  • Simplicity is not the same as being simplistic. Distilling the complex into the simple is "really, really hard" and totally necessary. [07:06]

2. Risk, Certainty, and the Nature of Bold Ideas (08:10–13:32)

• Clients’ Role in Creativity:

  • True partnership means preparing diligently and guiding clients to distill the task to its simplest form.
  • Memorable moment: David Blaine’s wisdom applied to creative work—"There is no magic, just preparation." [08:29]

• Managing (Not Eliminating) Risk:

  • Case Study: National Australia Bank’s "Big Breakup" campaign—a bold move led by calculated risk, not recklessness.
  • "The inevitable result of the pursuit of certainty is average." – Andrew Robertson [11:58]
  • The secret: Define and quantify the downside, decide if you can live with it, then act. This approach unleashes upside potential.

3. Creativity in the Age of Attention Scarcity (13:32–21:17)

• Balancing Brand and Performance:
  • High-performing brands don’t choose between "creating demand" (brand) and "capturing demand" (performance); they do both.
  • Marketers tend to "attach greatest importance to the things we can measure most easily," risking being "precisely wrong rather than roughly right." – Andrew Robertson [15:08]
• What Makes Work Great?
  • "It is the ability to capture somebody’s attention...while you give them a demonstration, some information or an experience that changes the way they think, the way they feel and the way they behave." – Andrew Robertson [16:41]
  • Example: A simple, thoughtful airline text message ("You may want to pack an umbrella...") changed a customer’s emotional experience during a travel disruption. [16:41–18:36]

4. Modern Advertising: From Consumer-Centric Content to Fragmented Media (19:42–21:32)

• Importance of 'You':
  • Consumer-centric communication is vital; advertising success depends on thinking about the recipient, not just the company message.
• The End of the TV Monoculture:
  • Building a household brand used to be about buying enough 30-second spots—now, consumer attention is far more fragmented.

5. AI’s Potential and Limits in Creative Work (21:32–25:46)

• Why AI Excites Robertson:

  • The magic of AI: Collapsing the gap between having an idea and bringing it to life (time, money, feasibility).
  • "Truly creative people just like bringing their ideas to life...The creation process is having an idea." – Andrew Robertson [23:12]
  • AI can expand a creative’s portfolio from "20 ideas" to "2,000"—provided it's used to amplify, not automate away, originality.

• But Beware the Trap:

  • "If the worst thing that could happen is that we end up concluding that AI is just a fabulous way to put an infinite amount of completely average content in front of people for free, that will be a disservice." – Andrew Robertson [25:34]

6. Building Relationships in an Automated World (25:46–27:34)

• Enduring Value of Human Connections:

  • Trust, respect, and affection are the cornerstones of long-lasting client relationships.
  • "Genuinely thinking about what matters to the client that you’re talking about... and then doing it. It sounds so simple, but it’s not what most people do." – Andrew Robertson [26:25]

• Sales vs. Value:

  • People don’t want to be sold to—they want value and partnership.

7. Fostering Organizational Creativity—'The Creative Shift' (27:36–33:34)

• About The Book:

  • "The Creative Shift" aims to help companies leverage internal creativity and maintain operational excellence.
  • Not advocating for chaos—helping big organizations intentionally create space for ideas without abandoning discipline.

• Why Write Now?:

  • Executives in all sectors struggle with balancing operational rigor and cultivating big ideas. "The opportunity of how can you do both...is really important for businesses of every size." – Andrew Robertson [29:10]

• Unlocking Human Creativity in the Age of AI:

  • Referencing research on childhood divergent thinking: at age 5, 98% score "genius" for creativity; by adulthood, just 2%. Creativity isn’t invented, it’s "squashed out."
  • Success means creating the conditions for people to "behave like they were five again, to play like they were five again." – Andrew Robertson [31:30]

8. Mantra for Success: "Run Towards the Fires" (34:07–34:35)

"If you’re always the person who’s running towards it, you’re going to earn the respect, the trust and the affection of your colleagues, your boss and your clients." – Andrew Robertson [34:10]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the essence of creative talent:
  "The ability to spot connections, make connections that other people just can’t see...and distill...in just a precise and concise way." [05:57]

• On client bravery and creative risk:
  "The inevitable result of the pursuit of certainty is average. The closer you get to certainty, the closer you will get to the norm." [11:58]

• On balancing create/capture demand:
  "The best run brands and the best run companies...work together to create and capture demand." [14:19]

• On attention and changing behavior:
  "It is a magical ability to be able to...capture and hold somebody’s attention...that changes the way they think, the way they feel and the way they behave." [16:41]

• On AI’s opportunity:
  "If we do what I think we can do with AI...to bring more and more great ideas to life...everybody will win." [24:40]

  "If the worst thing that could happen is infinite amount of completely average content...that will be a disservice." [25:34]

• On creativity and adulthood:
  "You’re born creative. It just gets squashed out of you as you get older." [31:00]

• On leadership:
  "Run towards the fires." [34:07]

Key Timestamps

• 02:00–08:10 — Foundations of Agency Success and Lasting Talent
• 08:10–13:32 — Managing Creative Risk vs. Pursuit of Certainty (NAB Big Breakup Case)
• 13:32–21:17 — Creative Work in an Attention-Scarce World
• 21:32–25:46 — How AI Changes (and Elevates) the Creative Process
• 25:46–27:34 — Relationship Building in Advertising and Beyond
• 27:36–33:34 — "The Creative Shift": Unlocking Organizational Creativity
• 34:07–34:35 — The Power of Running Towards Problems: A Mantra

Tone & Takeaway:
Andrew Robertson is optimistic yet pragmatic about both human and artificial intelligence. He champions the timeless value of simplicity, risk-managed bravery, and authentic relationships, while urging organizations to intentionally unlock (rather than suppress) the creativity that already exists within their people—especially as AI levels the playing field for the mechanics of production. Creativity, he asserts, is the real differentiator, and it requires a conscious cultural shift.

For further reading:

• Andrew Robertson’s new book, The Creative Shift (out September)
• Subscribe to The Speed of Culture Podcast for more conversations at the intersection of consumer trends, marketing, and tech.