Today we're Q-and-A-ing with the great Scott McAfee about all things advertising and creative in Austin. Scott's worked on just about every brand out there, from AT&T to Coke to Pennzoil, Chili's, Chevrolet, State Farm Insurance, Shell, and on and on. He's also famous for growing an impressive beard. Let's get the questions started.
Scott McAfee
So, what do you do again?
I’m a partner at Sanders\Wingo Advertising. I started as ECD in 2002. Now, my four other partners and I work together to set the agency’s strategic vision — and to create an environment where people can do the best work they’ve ever done.
What inspires you?
My daughter. What is better than seeing the world through the eyes of a child?
How lucky are you and why?
Incredibly so. I was born into a proud, loving family. I married an extraordinary woman. I have business partners I admire and trust. I’ve spent 25 years in a career with many remarkable people. I’ve had some incredible adventures.
What do you love about Austin?
There are so many wonderful things — the live music, the creativity, the entrepreneurship, the livability. Ultimately though, Austin is a place where people have full permission to be who they really are.
What were the major turning points that got you where you are?
1. Cracking open a One Show Annual in 1987.
2. Quitting my in-house agency job and going back to school in 1989.
3. Moving to Austin and going to work for GSD&M in 1992.
4. Meeting Bob Wingo in 2001.
What helps you access your creativity?
Good ideas often come at the very outset of a project, when you’re taking it all in. I have a Moleskine notebook with me at all times. Sometimes I like to disconnect and sit out on the deck at Mozart’s Coffee, close to the lake. Large bodies of water inspire openness and possibility.
What are a couple of your most memorable projects?
Last year Sanders\Wingo launched our Behavioral Science Lab with our partners at Somerset Consulting. Great advertising should help solve problems people didn’t realize they had. BSL allows us to do that.
The University of Texas came to us to help rebrand its MFA Program for Creative Writing. So we developed The New Writers Project from the ground up — name, branding, all of it. The first year of the launch, the number of applicants went up by almost 600%.
In 2008, we worked through Christmas break on a huge campaign of national full page ads for State Farm that recognized that the inauguration of the nation’s first black president fell the day before the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. No other brand had made that connection, and it was gratifying to work with the one that invested in celebrating it.
Give me 2 truths and a lie about you.
I am more famous for a beard I grew in 1997 than anything else I’ve ever done. I’ve run six marathons. I LOVE raw tomatoes.
What’s the most fun part of your job?
Seeing great ideas become reality. An old friend once said, “I wish I’d known how fragile ideas really are.” Indeed. There’s nothing like taking a chance on an idea, nurturing it, and seeing it come to life.
What do you think Austin needs most to help its production community succeed nationally, internationally?
The days of “We have to do it in LA” are over. They are coming here to shoot and to finish. But studios and agencies need to better help each other attract brands and business to Austin — and to keep it here. If any of us lose out on an assignment but it stays in Austin, that’s still a win.
Aside from your professional side, you're very obviously a dedicated husband and father. How do you balance the demands of your career with the needs of your family? What's your secret?
We’ve recruited a team of extraordinary folks who do the daily heavy lifting better than I ever could. I try to be home by 6:00 each day. None of us will be on our deathbed wishing we’d been on more conference calls.
If you could shadow anyone for a day, who would it be?
J.J. Abrams.
Fill in this blank: If I were Mayor of Austin, I would __________.
Beyond the transportation infrastructure issues, I would work to make Austin more attractive to a more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population — not just people like me.
Favorite place to hear live music?
My sentimental favorite is Antone’s. Continental Club too. These days, I really like the Moody Theater at ACL Live.
What do you wish someone had told you 10 or 20 years ago?
Stop overreacting. It will all be just fine.
Thank you so much for answering the questions! Anything else to add?
Pay it forward. Support the future of our industry at e4youth.org and 3percentconf.com.