It had been a long day.
Too long to be in a conference room when just down the hall was the lobby of the famed Carlton Hotel. And through the busy but cozy wood-paneled revolving door was the Croissette, the Mediterranean Sea, and all of the delights of Cannes.
But here we were, seven hours into an eight-hour global creative directors meeting.
It was sometime around 2002. 2003? 04?
All of the TBWA global creative directors had presented their work save for one last office.
London.
And the star of the show? Creative Director Trevor Beattie.
Before he took the floor, the staff of the hotel wheeled in a new a/v set-up.
We had been watching a few TVCs throughout the day from places like TBWA\Hunt/Lascaris in South Africa, TBWA\Paris, Chiat Los Angeles, and several other offices.
But the staff replaced the ad-hoc video machine and wheeled in a different set-up. Something that looked slightly more sophisticated with a larger screen.
TBWA’s legendary global creative director, John Hunt, had been the day’s emcee and set the scene. Other legends like Lee Clow and Marie-Catherine Dupuy were in the room paying rapt attention.
“The London rollercoaster continues,” John said in his distinct South African lilt. “But at this moment, the roller-coaster is riding high. And it’s one helluva ride.”
There were appreciative smiles and chuckles even at this late hour.
He continued.
“So without further ado, the man leading the charge…Mr Trevor Beattie.”
If you didn’t know Trevor, you might mistake him for Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.
Trevor had shoulder-length curly locks and the confident swagger of a man who has presented to a million faces and rocked them all.
He took the floor.
“Thanks, John.” Trevor began in his distinct Brummie accent. “Now, I know I’m the only thing standin’ between you and a few bottles of rose, so I’ll do my best to proceed at a rapid clip.”
Smiles all around.
And from there, Trevor shared a few presentation boards for brilliant campaigns for Absolut and PlayStation.
He also recounted a hilarious new business story involving a prospective client and an actual bullwhip.
He then paused a beat.
“Now, I’d like to show you something special for our client, French Connection.”
Before he pushed play, he talked about the origin of the French Connection FCUK moniker and the subsequent FCUK Fashion brand idea.
He explained that he had been trying to come up with an idea for the brand when one appeared before him at their offices in the form of an old-school fax.
The telephone-transmitted document was marked “from FCHK to FCUK.” Meaning: from French Connection Hong Kong to French Connection United Kingdom.
Those four letters — F-C-U-K — caught his attention.
He said to us, “Fuck me, there’s the idea — “F-C-U-K…Fuck Fashion!”
Every creative director in that room melted just thinking about the magic of that dyslexic bit of genius.
“Anyway, mates, let me show you a bit of what we’ve been up to.”
He then stepped over the pile of boards around him and pushed play.
I don’t remember all of the specifics of that three-minute hype film other than a veritable tsunami of FCUK executions: OOH, stores, street posters, print ads, and a sponsorship of boxing great Lennox Lewis.
What I do remember clearly — and I can still feel it to this day — was the feeling I had watching it and that could be summed up in a single word: “FUCK!”
It was truly a gob-smacking experience.
It felt like the first time any of us had seen a “summary” of creative work put together in something equally and profoundly creative as the work itself — a case film.
For seven hours, we saw everything in two dimensions on some form of paper. Or simply a TV commercial.
The FCUK film was three dimensions, multi-sensory and longer-form storytelling.
It was like going from black and white to CinemaScope.
It was an entirely new medium.
Today, we take these case study films for granted. Heck, we actually resent them. I hate them at times.
But Trevor’s FCUK film was the first.
It was bloody extraordinary.
And certainly, my world, TBWA’s world, and the industry at large have never been the same since.
When was the last time you were FCUK-ing blown away?
Rob Schwartz is the Chair of the TBWA New York Group and an executive coach who channels his creativity, experience, and wisdom into helping others get where they want to be. This was originally posted on his Substack, RobSchwartzHelps, where he covers work, life, and creativity.
Header image courtesy of the author.