Industry legend Mark Denton got the sleeper train down to Cornwall to give a talk to BA and MA Creative Advertising students last Friday.
We we were all blown away by his sheer embodiment of creativity. He just doesn’t stop creating stuff!
He even once turned his flat into a fake stately home, complete with busts of his fake ancestors.
Mark is one of the advertising industry’s legends.
Son of a scrap metal merchant Mark started out as a visualiser and paste-up artist, he got his lucky break at Leo Burnett where, by posing as Senior Art Director, he blagged his way into getting his ads made for free by up and coming photographers and directors.
Since then he’s been a partner of a famous ad agency and the owner of a design company. He’s launched a magazine, re-launched Britain’s oldest advertising organisation and put on the UK’s first ever World Championship Mexican Wrestling event. He’s currently directing commercials, designing and bossing people about at COY! Communications.
Denton has produced winning work for Nike, Wrangler, Heineken, Levis, Greenpeace and many, many, many more. He really has won an obscenely large amount of awards.
Especially if you count bronzes and certificates (and he does count them – regularly).
Current projects include an exhibition and documentary on youth culture, and a range of leisure wear. But is he still available to shoot commercials? I hear you ask… you bet!
When Mark does a talk, he always asks for a poster to promote it – and our students came up with some great ideas.
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