AME's Grand Jury members are award-winners themselves,their stellar reputations and commitment to creative and effective work set the benchmark for innovation. The jury panel's high standard of excellence and global perspective ensure entries are reviewed with utmost attention and based on an international view of industry standards and trends.

Grand Jury member Jamie Peate is Head of Effectiveness (UK) & McCann Worldgroup Global Head of Retail Strategy, he has helped to drive a culture at local, regional and global levels that holds creativity and effectiveness central to all of the agency’s output. His strategic approach to the Aldi account exemplifies his approach – long running campaigns such as Like Brands and Kevin the Carrot have reaped benefits for the client and helped redefine the grocery sector.

Jamie got his first taste of retail at his parent's shop near Blackpool. He first joined McCann Manchester as a recent graduate before forming his own insight and innovation agency Blue Banana in the early 1990s. When the agency became part of McCann Manchester 20 years later, Jamie returned as Director of Strategy and Insight.

He is now a key part of the McCann UK Aldi leadership team and also leads the CPG and Retail Practice for McCann World group which supports, promotes and shares best thinking, approaches and practice for retail globally.

In the interview below Jaimie shares his perspective on how has the brand’s voice has changed since the pandemic, how advertising will look in 2021, his all -time favorite creative/effective ads and much more.

AME Awards: As a strategic creative, what stand-out attributes do you recognize in award-winning creative effective advertising?

Jamie Peate: Really great and effective creative is not always work that is innovative and disruptive just for the sake of it. It is work that is highly distinctive, memorable and that builds lasting positive associations in the people’s minds. It creates distinction by making the familiar seem new and the new seem familiar. Often it is how it is executed, the performance within in it, and the little details and aesthetics of it that make the difference. Most importantly it entertains – with drama/humour etc. and gives a sense of the place in both life and time, which in turn intrigues our and makes them want to know more.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Jamie Peate: Effectiveness is the only true guide to the value of the work we do. It is the bridge between creativity and the commercial/societal/cultural results we want to achieve. It builds and re-enforces the case for creativity and the importance of a long-term commitment to it and investment in it. It is the Yang to creativity’s Ying. Effectiveness competitions is how we and the wider industry judge just how effective we are, and they are how we show our support of effective work and build an effectiveness culture in agencies and clients alike.

AME Awards: How has the brand’s voice changed since the pandemic confinement measures? Speak to the evolution of brand positioning, values, and tone of voice during COVID.

Jamie Peate: Brand's voices have gone through 3 stages of evolution:

a. Information and Reassurance – letting us know what’s happening and reassuring us.

b. Instruction and Clarity – telling us clearly and consistently how we need to do interact with them now.

c. Comradery and Entertainment – showing that they are on our side, are with us and can lift out spirits.

The best brands have managed this well, not just in what they have said but in how they have behaved and the things they have actually done. They have pivoted from just playing a meaningful role in peoples live to earning one, and in doing so have really demonstrated what they stand for. 

AME Awards: What will advertising look like next year?

Jamie Peate: What brands have evolved and succeeded during this year and why? The two big challenges of Covid and recession are very much going to be part of the landscape next year. Brands cannot afford to ignore either of them and have to lean into them both as much as they can. The brands that have evolved and have succeed this year have done just that, producing work that is:

a. Useful – has actually really helped people – offering information and utility.

b. Entertaining – has helped people stay positive – offering escapism, joy, humour and distraction.

c. Self-Actualised – has helped people understand who they are and how they can be resilient and grow.

d. Created Connection – made us feel we are not alone but are part of something bigger – locally, nationally, and globally.

e. Delighted – offered surprise, intrigue, discovery, and inspiration.

Most importantly they have not become mired in or mere reflections of the Covid world we live in (e.g. Self-Generated content/Zoom calls/Support for Essential Services/Empty City Centers) but have found ways to express their own brand voice in the our new context.

AME Awards: What new creative trends have come into play this to deliver creative and effective results?

Jamie Peate: Proper storytelling. By that I don’t mean the use of multichannel around a consistent idea - although that is really important. I mean have a really involving and engaging story as the driver of the central creative idea, and the craft of telling it beautifully. Stories have the power to get the viewer/listen to experience the same emotions as the creator (a phenomenon known as Neural Coupling) which creates positive shared experiences, and also make it very hard to flip channels or scroll on to other items.

AME Awards: Why did you agree to participate on this year’s AME Grand Jury and What do you hope to learn by viewing entries into this competition?

Jamie Peate: I think it has never been more important to both champion the value of effectiveness and the role creativity plays in delivering it, and to understand how effectiveness can dimensionalise and demonstrate itself in more new and varied ways. The best way to achieve this personally, professionally and for the wider community is by taking part in the judging of events like this, and in particular being part of the Grand Jury. It allows you to see and learn from some of the very best work being produced, and to interact and share ideas with some of the leading people in the area. I am particularly interested in how effectiveness is measured in ways beyond the usual commercial and brand metrics. Does the work we produce have positive effects on culture and society? Does it have a positive impact on our lives, and on how we see and frame the issues, both big and small, that we face? What does is mean for brands in the future and how we the roles they can play in our lives?

AME Awards: What is your all time, favorite most creative and effective ad and/or ads (share the link or a visual) and why in your opinion did they triumph?

Jamie Peate: I am going to choose 2 retail brands:

a. John Lewis in the UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBtHj0674Is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ResTqd7LN8g  These ads are a master class in both story-telling, in creating advertising that creates a much wider cultural conversation across all channels, and in creating a retail eco-system to capitalize on this – all powered by a clear Meaningful Role about more thoughtful giving. ‘The Long Wait’ is in my opinion the best example but they are all great.

b. Intermarche https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVdn6qSFPe4 The work is beautifully crafted and tells a story that holds you right until the end. Also and importantly, it showcases the product range and builds ‘food love’ which re-enforces quality and taste credentials.