“I think that humor makes us more human. Certainly there’s advertising in the world that’s emotional and heart-breaking. But if you think about everything that’s super famous in advertising, 90 percent of it’s funny.” ~ Kate Baynham
For my latest episode of The Creator’s Journey, I had a delightful conversation with Kate Baynham, an Associate Creative Director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco.
Kate has created work for clients that include Frito Lay, Adobe, Nintendo, 
Sonic and the Ad Council. For her work on an Ad Council campaign to curb bullying, entitled “I Am A Witness”, she won awards at the One Show, the Art Directors Club, a yellow pencil at the Design & Art Directors Awards, as well as a Cannes Lion. Most recently, Kate, along with her creative partner Hanna Wittmark, was named one of the Next Creative Leaders by the One Club and the 3% Movement.
She is renowned for the humor she brings to her writing and creative concepts. She adheres to the old adage that tragedy plus time equals comedy. “Comedy can also be so painfully human and relatable that we have to laugh to keep from crying.”
Just as most of us who are making a living in a creative endeavor, Kate faces ‘imposter syndrome’ and the fears that often come with the prospect of failure on a project. Anytime she gets a new project brief, she admits to hearing that anxious voice in her head that says, ‘Do I know how to write copy anymore? Do I know what I’m doing? Has all of this just been an accident?’ “That kind of voice is always there.”
And sometimes procrastination can come with that anxiety. “If I never start it, then I can never mess it up. But you just have to push forward and move beyond that voice.”
Her final words of wisdom? “Fight for what you believe in, but know that you might not be right. Work hard, sleep well and eat your vegetables.”
https://charlesgupton.com/podcast/kate-baynham_using-humor-human-advertising-65/