150: Mark Denton on why true creatives only get better with age

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This week we deliberately kept standing on rakes and getting repeatedly thwacked in the face in order to lure out the king of creative nonsense, Mr Mark Denton esq.
The creative hero that advertising needs, but doesn’t entirely deserve, Mark Denton is the once-in-many-lifetimes imagination behind more than 500 commercials – scooping up so many awards he could spend all day throwing them at passing canoeists and still have armfuls to spare. With even the biggest creative industry on the planet unable to entirely hold Mark’s interest, he’s flitted magnificently between the worlds of art, fashion and furniture design – Dentonising each field to glorious effect. Currently chief of COY! Communications, Mark is surgically re-implanting advertising’s forgotten sense of fun, and putting the ‘big idea’ back on the table.
Teetering gloriously at the edge of what he calls ‘old geezership’, Mark has a lifetime of stories, adventures and quadruple-strength whimsy to impart – covering everything from stumbling into advertising, why he’s embracing new creative spaces and his famous experiment as a 65-year-old intern.
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Visit Mark Denton's Website
Dig through Dave Dye’s Mark Denton Archive
Follow Mark on Instagram
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn
Mark’s first ever TV ad for Cadbury’s Cream Eggs
Mark’s scamp for Samsung car batteries
A showcase of Mark’s work in his interview with the peerless Dave Dye
A tribute to his dedication, and former boss Norman Icke (creator of the Milk Tray man), Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Case advert:
Timestamps
(03:55) - Mark Meets Duncan
(07:00) - Family Background and Career Choices
(09:15) - First Job and Sneaking in Creative Ideas
(12:25) - The Cadbury's Cream Eggs Breakthrough
(18:10) - Adapting to Different Agency Styles
(23:30) - Interning at St. Luke's
(30:00) - The Role of Process in Agencies
(32:00) - The Decline of Quirkiness in Advertising
(35:00) - The Need for Entertainment in Ads
(37:00) - The Creative Fulfilment in the Ads Your Working On
(39:00) - Encouraging Young Creatives
(40:30) - Visual Posters Make Great Ads
(43:00) - Encouraging Enthusiasm in Advertising
(46:00) - Allowing Creatives to be Creative
(49:00) - Conclusion and Reflection on Change
(51:00) - Getting his head round TikTok
(57:10) - Listener questions
(01:01:25) - 4 pertinent posers
Mark's book recommendations are:
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Unleash the Power of Puerility by Mark Denton
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