CB Hot Suit Takes: Christos Cardovillis, Group Business Director, Rare

CB Hot Suit Takes is our new Q&A series for senior leaders and senior suits across the WA industry ~ covering careers, creativity, challenges and the song that sums it all up. Next up in the hot seat is Christos Cardovillis, Group Business Director, Rare.

1. What made you get into advertising?
An early influence was definitely a creative print campaign for Beck’s beer when I was about 8 years old. The campaign depicted beer bottles as characters like Superman and Batman. The visual wit caught my attention, and I stuck the series of beer ads up on my bedroom wall, much to my parents’ dismay. To clarify the campaign inspired my interest in advertising, not beer. I think… Fast forward a few years and I was studying marketing at university with a major in psychology. An advertising elective helped me realise that the field combined creativity, business and psychology; three things I couldn’t choose between at the time. It was an easy decision after that.

2. Which piece of work are you most proud of, and why? 
A campaign for Teenage Cancer Trust and launching the first brand campaign for Wimbledon (AELTC) standout but I’d have to pick The Bisto Spare Chair Sunday project. Bisto is a British brand best known for creating a delicious, brown liquid (gravy) that lubricates and completes the iconic roast. In 2015 when the campaign launched, the brand was in decline with fewer people cooking roast dinners, which are typically done on Sundays. We undertook research to understand what was driving the decline and how we could turn things around. What we unearthed was powerful. The Sunday roast wasn’t just a meal but rather the one meal that everyone in the family came together around the table to connect. In addition, we learnt that this was the one time of the week that most people saw their elderly relatives and increasingly busy schedules meant this tradition was fading and with it elderly people were seeing less of their families and becoming increasingly lonely.

The campaign, in partnership with the charity Re-engage, invited families to offer a spare chair at their Sunday lunch to a lonely elderly person nearby. A national TV campaign asked people to volunteer to host a Sunday lunch with a lonely elderly person from their community and through the charity we facilitated the meals.

I’m proud of the campaign because we resisted the easy option of promoting the product using USPs and promotions but instead dug deep into a meaningful role the brand played in people’s lives. It tackled a real societal issue, rebuilt community connections and put Bisto back at the heart of a tradition worth saving while achieving record sales for the brand two quarters in a row. Spare Chair Sunday trailer>

3. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role right now?
Balancing the huge opportunities and possible downsides of technology is something I’m constantly grappling with. The need to be more efficient is undeniable but sometimes inefficiency creates magic. The best work, ideas and experiences rarely come from the most efficient process.

4. Was there a moment, a course, an experience, a mentor or advice that really kick-started your career?
I can’t think of a specific moment but exposure to some amazing people and thinkers in the industry at McCann London and adam&eveDDB helped me understand the power of advertising and standards I aim to achieve. Time working client side opened my eyes to the broader challenges clients face and helped me understand how I can position myself and the agency as a partner, not just a service provider.

5. What’s the most recent thing you’ve learned – professionally or personally?
Perth has more annual rainfall than London. Having just returned from holiday the importance of breaks is top of mind. I find it hard to disconnect from the fun and adrenaline rush of the job but the benefit of taking time to switch off, reset and refocus does wonders!

6. What song best sums up your career so far?
From the border hopping aspect of my career – Around the World by Daft Punk.

Read previous Hot Suit Takes below:

Jo Bulline – Trilogy
Brendon Lewis – The Brand Agency
Georgie Frampton – KWP+Partners
Nicole Lennox Gray – Wildlings Creative Agency
Hannah Muirhead – Chapter
Silvana Visinoni – Workhouse Advertising
Nat Green – Block
Kelsey Fraser – VML
Simon Stewart – Rare
Kate Kenyon – Berlin 
Nita Davey – Trilogy
Magda Wood – Gatecrasher Advertising
Amber Martin – Hypnosis
Samantha Hassall – Moonsail
Adelina Eisen – Anthologie
Georgia Sharman – Block
Nahum Hendricks – Nani