Will McGinness joined Venables Bell & Partners (VB&P), San Francisco, in 2010 as Paul Venables’ partner and now runs the creative department. Partner/executive creative director McGinness has played a pivotal role in the agency’s success, helping VB&P attract brands like Intel, Google, Reebok and SKYY Vodka. Under McGinness’ and Venables’ creative leadership, the agency has fashioned well-known brand platforms like Reebok’s “Be More Human” and Intel’s “Look Inside,” showcasing amazing people turning the impossible into possible; transitioned eBay from an auction site to a mobile shopping destination with eBay’s “When it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay”; launched Google Fiber, one of the most talked about initiatives in Google’s history; and led Audi to record sales.
Prior to VB&P, McGinness spent seven years at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, where he was creative director and associate partner, working across all media as an interdisciplinary creative. McGinness was a force in the agency’s rapid reinvention from a traditional model to a more integrated one. During that time, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners earned the title of “Interactive Agency of the Year” at the Cannes Festival.
McGinness’ work has garnered assorted awards, including the highly coveted D&AD Black Pencil for the “Got Milk” campaign. He has served as chairman of the Interactive One Show, executive chairman of the CLIO Interactive Jury, and interactive chair for the Art Directors Club Awards. His latest awards show gig is serving as a Cyber Lions judge at the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
McGinness is one of 25 judges this year on a Cyber jury presided over by Jean Lin, global CEO of Isobar.
SHOOT: What drew you to jury duty at Cannes?
McGinness: This is my first time judging at Cannes. I’ve judged a number of other shows. I’ve regularly attended Cannes and it’s special. It’s one of the most exciting and competitive shows in the world and is truly global.
We’re all incredibly busy and you rarely get the chance to take a step back and study what the industry is doing. That’s the beauty of judging. You get to look at a cross-section of everything the industry is doing. You’re forced to sit in a dark room with people, to evaluate and understand the nuances of what is being done. Putting that mental focus and energy into the work and what it means can be so inspiring. I want to take that inspiration and bring it back to the people at our agency. The Cyber category in particular is at the forefront of what the industry is doing. It represents the freshest kind of thinking, shows how the industry constantly reinvents itself, and showcases new technologies and ways to interpret ideas. Cyber is all about what’s new and fresh.
SHOOT: What have you learned from judging at other shows that you perhaps can apply to Cannes.
McGinness: Cannes gives you the global perspective. Being part of an international jury is helpful and valuable. I felt that when I was judging the One Show. When you get an international mix, you realize that everyone sees things through a bit of a different lens. The commonality of a great idea usually carries the day. But there are nuances which help you see how people view things in different parts of the world.
I also find that as inspiring as the work can be, judging can be a cautionary tale. You see what everyone is doing. And in those cases where everyone is going down a certain track, you can learn that it might make more sense to avoid doing the same. You’re not doing your job if you end up doing what everyone else is doing.
SHOOT: Discuss the importance of Cannes. What makes the Festival relevant to the industry at large?
McGinness: I usually go to the show every year. The beauty of Cannes and the leading shows is that they are a big celebration of the importance of creativity in our industry. That’s the beauty of it. Creatives, clients, production companies come together under the unified theme of great ideas matter. I’ve always found it worth traveling there for that, to get exposed to the work and those great ideas.
You also see a ripple effect of how the world’s best work affects creatives. You see waves of thinking and approaches that are sparked by the work. That adds importance to what the judges and juries do as the work we recognize sets the stage for what’s next.
