Nicolas Duménil and Jacques Denain
Nicolas Duménil and Jacques Denain are creatives at Paris agency, Herezie. They talk dream collaborations and their favourite advertising masterpieces.
How you got into advertising...
Nick: I got into advertising because I wasn’t good enough to become a pro surf rider.
Jack: I once went to a party with my flatmate and this other (drunk) guy we met told us advertising was cool so I gave up everything and joined.
The most recent campaign we’ve worked on...
The Miyabi Knives campaign. There is also a campaign for Nespresso which will make your senses travel.
The best piece of creative work around at the moment is...
Nick: “Bentley Burial”: A simple but brilliant idea, with no budget at all, which caught the attention of thousands of journalists and revealed that they came for something way more important than a billionaire’s whim. Genius!
Jack: Definitely the Bentley burial. But if I had to choose another one, it would be Volvo Trucks’ “Epic Split”. It proves that the product demo is immortal and is still the most relevant way to convince an audience.
The next big thing in advertising is going to be...
Nick: Intergalactic pitches - as Carioca Studio have previously said on Who’s Who. I bet on it too (and would love to cross the galaxy for a client presentation!)
Jack: Real time advertising. You’re at your grandmother’s funeral and on the way to the cemetery you pass by a Pizza Hut and immediately get a 20% discount on the new Margherita with anchovies. Awesome.
The piece of advertising work I wish I had thought of is...
Nick: The one that made me fall in love with advertising: “The Glove” from Y&R Paris for Surfrider Foundation.
Jack: BGH’s “Summer Hater” from Del Campo Saatchi&Saatchi. A masterpiece.
The internet tool we couldn’t live without is...
Nick&Jack: Adblock.
In a film about my life, I’d like to be played by...
Nick: Hugh Grant. But my friends would probably tell me they saw me in a boring movie.
Jack: Anyone. The first guy who wants the part.
A word or phrase I overuse...
Nick: C’est clair! (“obviously” in French)
Jack: Mythique!
My last social media update said...
Nick: “Nothing to say...” (about the Fifa world cup Metro cover which was totally brilliant)
Jack: “Farewell Neverland”. Saying goodbye to Robin Williams felt like burying a piece of my childhood.
My dream collaboration is...
Nick: Making a spatial hologram projection with an alien director for the Galactic Wildlife Foundation. What? It’s a dream isn’t it?
Jack: A film directed by Tarantino, starring Bryan Cranston and whose soundtrack would have been composed by Philip Glass.
A piece of criticism I’ve received was...
Nick: Being compared to a Jamaican rastafarai by my ECD...It still makes me smile.
Jack: I’ve been called “Hitler of typography”. Imagine what typography would look like if he had dedicated his life to it. Comic Sans would have never existed that’s for sure.
The last piece of music I listened to was...
Nick: “Roadkill Ghost Choir” my last Spotify update.
Jack: Action Bronson “Easy Rider”.
29 October 2014
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