The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Katie Deighton, Senior Reporter

March 22, 2017 | 1 min read

The former Leo Burnett creative director on what happens when real sparks fly in an agency.

Jessup brought fireworks into the office, causing much excitement among his fellow creatives. His colleague Nick Wray went to show the team next door, then an ominous 'whoosh!' sound was heard. They had wafted a lighter underneath jokingly, which backfired...

“I rush out into the corridor to see a rocket without the stick spiralling down the corridor. It hits these big double doors at the end where the studio is and explodes like rockets do.”

Unbelievably, this wasn’t the first pyrotechnical incident that occurred when Jessup was in the agency.

Watch Dave Trott tell the tale of how he got drunk and fired as a junior here.

You Couldn't Make This Crap Up is created by Nicole Bosky and Tom Baker.

John Jessup Advertising

Other episodes in the series

Episode 1

Dave Trott gets drunk…and gets fired | You Couldn't Make This Crap Up Episode

In the first episode of You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up, copywriter and creative director Dave Trott explains why you’d better be doing a good job if you’re going to swear at superiors.

Episode 3

Kiki Kendrick gets nine typos into one ad | You Couldn't Make This Crap Up

Actor and playwright Kiki Kendrick worked in advertising for 20 years prior to making it on the screen herself. And in her ad land days, many mishaps occurred.

Episode 4

Mark Denton gets snubbed by a ‘clerical error’ in his copywriting youth | You Couldn't Make This Crap Up

The creative boss of Coy Communications explains how his first big piece of work on a Cadbury’s commercial landed him the job at BBH in You Couldn't Make This Crap Up.

Episode 5

Iris’ Nina Taylor goes on a shoot and loses a falcon | You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up

The creative director at Iris Worldwide recalled a recent shoot, where things didn’t quite go to plan.

Episode 6

Steve Henry gets his teenage ad cast stoned | You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up

Once upon a time, Decoded co-founder Steve Henry tried to overtake the power of American denim advertising with a few joints in a south London park.

Episode 7

Rosie Arnold experiences creative differences with Ben Affleck | You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up

The head of art at AMV BBDO, Rosie Arnold, discovered that Hollywood hunks call the shots, even when it comes to creative direction.

Episode 8

Steve Harrison fires Virgin Atlantic after a client disco goes wrong | You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up

Steve Harrison, the former creative director of HTW, got more than he bargained for when he invited client Virgin Atlantic to a party at his offices in London.

Episode 9

Patrick Collister shares untold stories of Heineken’s Water In Majorca and milk's Accrington Stanley ads

In the latest episode of You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up, The Drum’s contributing editor and Google’s creative lead in The Zoo EMEA, Patrick Collister discloses why the Milk Marketing Board picked on Accrington Stanley in its memorable Ian Rush ad and the story behind Heineken’s iconic ‘the water in Majorca’ work, explaining how the best ideas tend to come when disaster strikes.

Episode 10

Nicole Yershon gets called ‘too emotional’ | You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up

In the final episode of You Couldn’t Make This Crap Up, the founder of Lab for Hire and Ogilvy Labs shares with The Drum her experience of gender discrimination in the workplace.

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