Due to the many legal restraints and restrictions facing those who do pharmaceutical and healthcare advertising, you normally won’t find a whole lot of brilliant creative campaigns in this sector. Unless you come across the work of New York agency Harrison and Star who, again and again, have been gracing our pages with ingenious ad campaigns. Editor-in-chief Michael Weinzettl recently spoke to Harrison and Star’s EVP, Chief Creative Officer Adam Hessel.
Hi Adam, we’ve had the pleasure of featuring several of the brilliant print campaigns you did while working at New York agencies GSW and, later, Harrison and Star. Both are known to be healthcare ad agencies, both manage to do outstanding work in a sector of advertising that frequently gets little love for being so restricted and subject to so many legal requirements, not a playground for creativity…
First off, I truly appreciate the kind words regarding the work. Thank you. I have also noticed the surge of groundbreaking work in the healthcare space and would go on the record to say a lot of it smokes general work these days. In my eyes, no matter if it is general or healthcare advertising, a great creative brief is everything for many reasons. It can make creatives think more provocatively. It can build client buy-in before showing the work. And lastly, it should serve as a sacred covenant. When generating my own work or evaluating my team’s work, I always hold it to the brief. And only the best of the best makes it to the client.
How did you get interested in the healthcare part of the ad business? Was it a conscious choice or did you drift into it because you simply wanted to have a job?
Ha, all of the above. I spent over the first two decades of my career at premier agencies including TBWA/Chiat Day, Deutsch, SpikeDDB, The Kaplan Thaler Group and Publicis while working on award-winning accounts like Pepsi, Ikea, Snapple, Mountain Dew and Aflac to name a few. As I began trying to figure out what my next move would be in a field that I had spent decades developing…bam, GSW entered the picture. I’d actually never heard of them at the time, but if you look at who had it popping in healthcare first, it really was GSW. I kept an open mind and met with Nick Capanear, the ECD, who sold me on his vision. He wanted to crank the heat up and I was super motivated. From that moment on we broke as many boundaries as possible at GSW without looking back.
Did you see this type of advertising as a special chal-lenge or just part of the job of advertising?
It’s a mixed bag, truthfully. I’ve noticed during the last five years in healthcare some of the same exact responsibilities that a general creative would have, and then some. You need to have a bigger bag of tricks in healthcare though because there are more curveballs. Art has similar responsibilities but also a lot of scrutiny, especially with so much regulation on written claims. Visuals have historically been the international language. For writers, there are the usual day-to-day tasks such as headline writing, long format copy, etc. But sometimes copy shifts it into a whole other gear, which I have never seen in general. The accounts that are more technical, like oncology, can have a steep learning curve. At the end of the day, it’s all about having vision and passion, it’s truly as simple as that. Great ideas are hard to come by, selling to clients is never easy, and production is key. So many things are always in play.
Where did you get your education? Were you somehow connected to the pharma and medical professions growing up? Was your family in some way involved?
The only thing I knew about medical and pharma growing up was my annual visit to the doctor and dentist. My mother was an elementary school teacher and my father was an executive recruiter, or also referred to as a ‘Headhunter’ which I always thought was cool growing up.
And where does your artistic background, your artistic sensibility come from?
Looking back… growing up in the US during the 80s influenced me for better or for worse. Loud, fast, and in your face is my go-to. I loved neon, hair metal bands dressing like girls, Garbage Pail Kid trading cards and my Rad Berry RL-22 BMX bike. No matter what I had I always had to make it mine and change something visually. I would either be painting a part, stitching a piece, or removing and putting on something to make it unique. If it wasn’t custom, it was ordinary, and frankly that bored me. In the 90s, I really got entrenched with cinema, from the movie posters, acting, directing, and obviously visual storytelling. Movies that had a strong point-of-view and were visually stunning, like Pulp Fiction, Schindler’s List, and The Road Warrior really captivated me. I watched some dozens of times and I studied them, always noticing something new. I always had an eye for something. My mom always said that “I walked to the beat of my own drum” - that sorta ingrained in my head. Looking back, I’d have to agree.
When did you first get interested in advertising of any kind? Do you remember any key moments from your teenage years or perhaps earlier?
I went to University of Hartford Art School and decided early on that I was going to major in ceramics. It was great, the freedom to create with no rules. Just a lump of clay that you could make into anything you wanted. There was a scientific angle to it though, which I found interesting, as we had to understand the elements to make our own clay, glazes and fire our own kilns. Around that time the first Apple machine came out with the Adobe suite. One random day on campus a graphic design lab popped up along with a new curriculum ‘Graphic Design’. I remember my father saying “Give it a shot if you want to graduate and start making some money. You may be a great ceramist, but they usually don’t make their money until after they… cough, cough.” So, I signed up for some courses and gave it a try. One of my professors would ask us to bring one piece of communication weekly to speak about to the class. I always gravitated to the Art Directors Annuals in the library and would always talk about the visually mind-blowing ads that were featured. Hands down, this was the spark that ignited the fire to pursue advertising, art direction, graphic design.
How do you feed your creativity?
Let’s be honest, advertising is a competitive business. Who plays to lose? Winning ideas, pitches, awards – whatever. With so many publications, public curators and of course, festivals it’s not hard to find inspiration. It’s like fuel for your creativity and a sign of being hungry. When that feeling goes away, you need to check yourself. You’re probably ready to move on.
What is some of the work you’re especially proud of?
There are so many of them. So many babies that were birthed and cared for. From TNT NBA Thursday where Sasha Baron Cohen (as Ali G) interviewed players. A spot for Pepsi pushing the limits of vfx where twenty break dancers formed one breaker for the ultimate battle. Swiffer’s “dysfunctional” tools campaign. Where folks cleaning at home were seduced by their old brooms and mops, dialogue set against some great 80s tracks. I’ve created in all media over my career. I’m really amped about some of the print work Harrison and Star is pumping out. Especially the “$ick Money” campaign for give.org. With all the hashtags and trendy buzzwords out there, people have said print is dead. I think that’s somewhat of a naive take. It’s alive, kicking and should be the Holy Grail of mediums for any creative that’s pure of heart. Print has nothing to interact with, no time to pass to advance the story line, just purity where art and copy unite and the idea reigns, not trying to make it any more than what it truly is.
Can you tell us a bit about Harrison and Star? How long have they been around? When did you join them? (Does the “Harrison” in the name have anything to do with Steve Harrison, one of DM’s most celebrated creatives?)
Harrison and Star just celebrated its 30th year in business. The agency was originally formed by Tom Harrison and Larry Star. Both had a vision for better communication around health care to benefit mankind. Larry continues to mentor Harrison and Star employees to this day.What hasn’t changed in 30 years is our focus on the tremendous good that can come when you unite people around the common cause of changing people’s lives for the better; what has changed is how we get there. It’s always been about the people – we recruit and nurture the most talented folks in the business – and we’re focused on empowering them to bring bold creativity, to be savvy about our business and our clients’ business, and to hustle and push boundaries every single day. I joined the H&S team two years ago as Chief Creative Officer and it’s been one of my best career decisions to date. Mario Murreda, our CEO, had the vision to bring a new flavor of creative fire to the agency. I remember him telling me “I want H&S to be known in the industry for its creative product.” Hopefully he thinks I am doing an ok job. :)
On Harrison and Star’s website, it says that, for you ”there are more boundaries to be broken, more creative barriers to be shattered.…” What are some of the barriers and boundaries that you find particularly irksome?
Pushing to shatter more barriers and break more boundaries has become more challenging. Clients would be the same clients on a piece of business for years and years, many times a full career at one employer. Today it seems like average marketers’ turnover is fourteen months. When you have consistent clients, great relationships can be made.
You understand their challenges and get a seat at the table for the grown-up conversations. It’s something that I preach to my creatives. Don’t just show up to the meeting when it’s time to sell the work. You’re on the clock leading up to that meeting. Sometimes it can take years and a lot of energy on both sides to form those bonds. But when you do, the rest is history. Agencies sell a creative product, so when business and clients come and go, it makes it more challenging to make magic happen.
Who are some of the people in advertising or graphic design who you count as influences on your work?
There have been so many amazing creatives prior to me entering this business and while being in the business. I am going to butcher this question, but here goes. Early on David Carson’s work from a graphic design aesthetic stood out to me. He was always experimental, looking to do something you’ve never seen. When it comes to commercial work, I’ve always loved the comedic styling of Eric Silver. Damn, this is making me nostalgic. I remember the first time I saw the FedEx “Caveman” spot. It’s a timeless masterpiece from start to finish. If I sit back and think about print, there’s one name that influenced me more than anyone else and it’s Erik Vervroegen. Such an amazing body of work. The Playstation “Mushroom Cloud”. I ripped that one out of a magazine and taped it up on my wall back in the day. I was loving Erik’s body of work even before I got into the business come to think about it. I had the fortune to cross paths with Erik years back at Marcel New York. Since then, Erik has been an unbelievable mentor and a great friend. I am humbled to be working with Erik currently at H&S.And how can I forget the amazing Spike Lee? Working for the legend himself at SpikeDDB was a once in a lifetime experience, as he was involved in many of the ideas that came out of the agency. It was kind of mind-blowing to work for an icon whose body of work in and out of the industry spoke for itself.
At the end of the day, it’s all about having vision and passion.
Excepting advertising, what area would you choose for your alternative career?
I have joked about moving to the Caribbean to rent jet skis at multiple times in my career. I love the sand, sun, and ocean. The sound, smell, and the feeling of overdosing on vitamin D. I can really see it now with a couple of mandatories, a drink, a cute little doggy and my lady.
What does Adam Hessel do to relax? What are your interests outside of advertising?
Cycling is my zen place for the last fifteen plus years. I know it sounds crazy and it probably is. How does one relax while spending 4 hours on a bicycle while your heart rate is at its threshold? I really don’t have the answer outside the feeling I get while on the bike and after the ride. There is just a rhythm to it that is just soothing. Man becoming one with machine. There’s something about it that is oddly relaxing. Perhaps it’s the full focus of being in the moment of the peloton. I guess all the work stuff, personal responsibilities get put on pause during this sacred time. I have raced competitively, ridden in tons of group rides and traveled to specific destinations to ride. Depending on the year, I will lay down five to ten thousand miles. The sad part is getting older. They don’t really make replacement parts for us humans like they do bikes. I have aches and pains from the past, but I grin and bear it and press on. Kind of like advertising, I guess.
