Theo Gibson, ECD of Joan Creative and visual artist Bank Moody, joins us from Joan's NYC office to share his Jedi-like wisdom around authentic artistic creation, and how it has served him during an award-winning advertising career, from his early days building a creative community in Toronto, Canada, to his current role and life in NYC.

Our favorite stories:

• How a friend's words, "sketchbook Theo is the best Theo," reminded him to re-prioritize making art with his hands
• Intentionally curating your own inspiration; "our experiences shouldn't just stay with us"
• Being a horror buff and Theo's favorite quote (and solid advice) from "Hellraiser"

Big moments from doing the work:

• Learning how to and the value of picking your agencies even as agencies are picking you
• Straddling/pushing the line of safety to make good work
• While others are focused on RTBs, KPIs, etc. focus on making the work resonate with those who are watching

Career advice we'll live with:

• Your own essence will inform the work better than the industry standard
• If you haven't made anything in 2 years, it's on you, not the agency
• Never think of it as a performance

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This episode, we sit down with Lameya Chaudhury, the driving force behind social impact at Lucky Generals, the UK-based advertising agency known for work that doesn't just resonate—it challenges perceptions and drives meaningful change.

With over 15 years of experience connecting brands to their communities, Lameya shares her journey of being curiosity-led, collecting mentors, and helping brands align their actions with their words.

Our favorite stories:

• Making a complicated topic simple and working with an oil-drinking national treasure for Make My Money Matter with "Oblivia Colemine" (Olivia Coleman)
• Matchmaking client partners e.g. The British Army + The Black Curriculum, educational partnership
• The difference between UK and US cultures in business and social impact

Big moments from doing the work:

• Getting brands to be brave, invest robustly, and have receipts
• The value of forging relationships and partners within an industry where a Head of Social Impact has few to no peers
• Navigating the stages of a client relationship

Career advice we'll live with:

• The benefits of curating a curiosity-led career
• "Never stay in my own lane"
• How can we make social impact "a core component of the brand platform, not an addition?"
• Collect mentors everywhere you can

Find us us on Twitter, Instagram, and at The Bad Podcast dot com

Multi-hyphenate creative legend JoRoan Lazaro, ECD of Experience.Monks joins us to talk all things emerging technology, career lifecycles, and getting his start AOL in a time when UX design was still a nascent discipline.

Our favorite stories:

• One of the odd birds in both product design and brand communications
• Going against the grain: started in client-side and transitioned to agency
• "Instead of choosing one major I chose three. Computer science, psychology, and art - it didn't make sense at the time. It goes back to the Asian experience because you're afraid to tell your parents that... I want to do art..."

Big moments from doing the work:

• "One of the first things I did was the actual concept of the yellow running guy with a pencil... the idea was an easily identifiable icon or visual." - it changed how people use technology and helped usher in social
• "There was no usability testing. We just did it."
• "In general, I already know all the questions I want to ask, but I'm always still really really surprised when I land."
• Pitching: receiving a standing ovation but losing the pitch. It is about relationships and it is about chemistry. There's just so much you don't know.

Career advice we'll live with:

• Financial safety-net to take risks; "if I don't like it, I could always move again."
• "Nothing replaces doing it."
• "A little bit of luck, a little bit of bravery" - the idea of working in a space that is deeply unsexy to designers, but makes a gigantic difference for every day people.
• "The following your passion sounds really obvious but it makes more sense the older you get, because if you are doing something you are deeply interested in, you're gonna stick with it and work hard, and that's important for longevity."
• "The contact in America is... you have a job. They will pay you for the work you are supposed to be doing. Everything else is up to us to make great or wonderful... nothing is entitled."

Find us us on Twitter, Instagram, and at The Bad Podcast dot com