Anneliese Sullivan.
In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's DDB senior copywriter Anneliese Sullivan.
Time at the company:
18 or so months.
How long have you been in the industry?
Nearly nine years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I knew I wanted to write but hadn’t heard of copywriting until I hit uni. I switched out of a professional writing and publishing degree and into a creative advertising one, cut my teeth at some great agencies in Perth, and then made the move over to Melbourne about two and half years ago.
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
At DDB I have the privilege to be guided by the very best — creatively speaking Psembi Kinstan, Giles Watson, James Cowie, Becky Morriss, and strategically by Matt Pearce. The entire DDB leadership team are absolute guns. It’s kind of intimidating but gives you high standards to live up to.
And as for my day to day as a writer, it’s James Cowie. We’ll have a robust discussion about comedy, politics, and my use of the Oxford comma here later. Don’t get him started on ellipses.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Making things. Collaborating with the very best to turn a blank page into a film or product or experience or any other ad. Commercial creativity means restrictions and budgets and deadlines — which present their own challenges — but also means that you will make a thing. Heaps of people have heaps of amazing ideas every day. We’re some of the lucky ones who have the teams and resources to make ours a reality.
And the biggest challenge?
Making something memorable. Media saturation and hyper-personalised feeds means we just don’t have access to the collective consciousness like we used to. You have to work harder to get noticed and then once you do, everyone has already moved onto the next thing.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Maybe ACDing or CDing. Maybe overseas. Maybe doing more screenwriting, which is something I started last year with my girl Melle Branson. We’re shooting our first narrative short later this year, funded by Screenwest.
Five years from now also puts me at 34, which is an interesting time professionally for any woman. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll pursue parenthood (not that it’s a given to have the opportunity to do so) but five years from now feels closer to crunch time. Hopefully by then the industry has continued to evolve, so motherhood is less of a professional and financial sacrifice than it has been for the mothers who came before me. Superannuation on the Government Paid Parental Leave scheme was a good start. But we can do better.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
I try to keep up with whatever Eric Kallman and Greg Hahn are doing. I also watch a sh*t tonne of film and TV. Like, way too much.
My favourite advert is:
So hard to pick just one. Of late, Lynx 'Robbery' by LOLA MullenLowe. Historically, Toohey's Extra Dry 'Harvested'. I was absolutely transfixed by it as a youngin and still am as an adult.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I fear everyone at DDB knows everything about me. I have absolutely no filter and we really put the ‘open’ in ‘open plan office’ here.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future
The personal assistant to one of DDB’s many talented junior and mid weight creatives. They are so much cooler than me. That or literally any job that lets me hang out with Phoebe Waller-Bridge and/or Michaela Coel. Please be my friends.
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