Oli Beale, the pen behind ads, mimes and various subversive acts talks to Dave Dye (Creative Consultant to...well, companies like yours.)

“Hello Dave,

We’ve not met before. I’m an ad creative too.

I felt compelled to write and tell you how much I’m enjoying your blog. I’ve learnt loads. (Now I’ve started writing this email I feel a bit silly!)

Anyway, keep pumping your stuff from the loft out into the ether.

It’s wonderful.

Thanks,

Oli.”

I got that email in 2013.

I wondered where this charming young man went to college or was on placement, so I googled him: ‘Partner and Executive Creative Director at Anomaly.’

Before that Creative Director at Mother.

Before that – Wieden + Kennedy (where he’d won a pencil, the yellow one, for one of the coolest ideas of that year; The Kaiser Chiefs album launch.)

What an unusually modest guy?

Since then I’ve worked with Oli a few times (once on the Virgin Trains campaign below) he was just as modest and charming as he presents himself in that email. (Listen to the podcast if you don’t believe me.)

But what I found and what I love about Oli, is whatever he touches – multi-million pound ad campaigns, complaints letters or tweets, his humour, intelligence and humanity come radiating out, like he literally can’t help himself.

Psychologists have a term for it – ‘Talent’.

(We had a lovely chat, hope you enjoy it.)