Meet the pablo creative council

Pablo has spent the past three years quietly - but stealthily - assembling one of the most potent creative benches in the business.

First came the former 4creative heads John Allison and Chris Bovill, responsible for 'We're The Superhumans' who joined in 2021 from Warner Music.

They were followed one year later by the former Mother creative team Victoria Daltrey and Will Bingham, who created KFC’s gravy-scented candle and Stella Artois’ 'The Life Artois' where they turned social distancing into art.

And then in 2023 the former McCann London ECDs Dan Norris and Ray Shaughnessy, who at Wieden & Kennedy helped create Three’s 'The Pony' and repositioned Lurpak, with the campaign 'Weave your magic', joined the top team with creative partner Tim Snape who oversees key accounts in the business.

All seven work alongside Pablo's ECD Dan Watts forming the agency's Creative Council, created to ensure that the agency produces the best work it can.

This ranges from clients as diverse as the Met Police to HMRC, Dr Pepper and the recent surreal campaign for Giffgaff (below).

It's undoubtedly a heavyweight team, composed of eight leaders that any agency would love to have running its creative department. So how did it come about and how does it work in practice? We spoke with Watts, Norris, Shaughnessy, Daltrey, Bovill and the agency's founder Gareth Mercer to discover how it's paying off.

Creative Salon: So, tell us about why you created a creative council.

Gareth Mercer; All agencies say they’re different, but often, they’re led by a small group of people at the top—usually three—which can become a bottleneck. We wanted to avoid that. The idea behind the council is to prevent those bottlenecks. We have two people in each key position, so we can land the plane while taking off, metaphorically speaking. We appear to move quickly, but without burning people out.

Our goal with the Creative Council is to offer our clients senior talent that's truly invested in their business. We don’t want to be managing lots of junior teams to create great work. Think of it like a star striker in football; it doesn't make sense to pull them off the field and have them manage the youth team. We want senior people to continue crafting the work.

It’s hard to keep growing with a team like this because of the level of talent they bring. But their drive to go further is incredible. The council helps us focus on delivering great work, without being pulled in too many directions.

Creative Salon: In traditional creative departments, you often have one person at the top who gets most of the attention. But it sounds like you have a more democratic setup with multiple “superstars.” How do you manage that? Are egos a problem?

Dan Watts: Not at all. We always say this is an agency of one. Everyone's responsible for the work, just in different ways. The vision is clear, and everyone contributes to it. We’ve got some of the best people in the industry—people who had considered leaving but stayed because they wanted to make things simple, fun, and collaborative again. The absence of egos is crucial, and it just wouldn’t work if there were any.

Victoria Daltrey: That’s the best part. We’re all friends, and I mean that genuinely, not in a cheesy way. There’s a shared respect among all of us. We know what we’re doing, and we each have our own strengths, which we share to improve the work. There’s nothing better than seeing a great idea come to life, and that collaborative process benefits the individual and the agency as a whole.

Dan Watts: We also talk a lot about tone. Often, in agencies, you can tell an ad comes from a specific shop because of a particular "superstar" style. Here, though, we have a variety of creative brains. Dan and Ray’s tone is very different from Chris and John’s, mine, or Vicky’s. That variety ensures our work doesn’t feel one-note, and it better reflects the client’s needs.

Gareth Mercer: What I’ve learned from Dan is that we’ve got a creative leader who pushes everyone forward from behind the scenes, rather than leading from the front. That’s been a massive benefit. It’s more like a writer’s room in the U.S., where people build on each other’s ideas, constantly improving. It’s a positive environment, full of collaboration.

Ray Shaughnessy: Another advantage of this devolved power is that it eliminates the fear that sometimes comes with creative reviews. It’s not a big, intimidating meeting with the ECD. Instead, we’re constantly exchanging ideas—whether it's through WhatsApp or informal chats. It’s a fluid process. And the best part, selfishly, is that I get to sit with people whose work I’ve admired for years. I’ve learned so much just by collaborating with them.

Dan Watts: It takes time to get to know each other, but once you do, you start seeing that real collaboration emerge. We’ve become friends, and that makes it easier to be honest about ideas and criticism.

Gareth Mercer: We’ve also made an effort to remove pressure. You can’t create great work under constant pressure. The economy is always shifting, and marketing departments change constantly. In a high-pressure environment, it’s hard to be fresh and innovative. That’s why we’re so focused on removing unnecessary pressure from our teams.

Creative Salon: That makes sense. But how do clients respond to this model? Agencies typically operate in a specific way, and clients are used to dealing with certain creative personalities.

Gareth Mercer: Clients always ask, “Are you staying or are you moving on to another project? Will I still get to work with you?” When they see that our answer is “Yes, we’re staying,” and that they consistently work with the same senior talent, they really appreciate it.

Dan Watts: There’s always a sense that our teams—creative, account, and planning—are doing the day-to-day work, but we’re always in the background. Clients love the collaborative nature of what we do.

Victoria Daltrey: And it’s not about ideas by committee. We come together to share, build on things, and get feedback, but each person still owns their project. It’s nice to have that space to cross-pollinate ideas.

Dan Watts: Exactly. You can take or leave the feedback, but it’s there as an option. We trust each other to make the right call, and that’s essential.

Chris Bovill: That trust is key. It removes pressure and allows for a more open, creative environment.

Victoria Daltrey: Sometimes, you need to step out of your own silo and get a fresh perspective. It keeps you from getting stuck in your own head, and it keeps the work fresh.

Creative Salon: How does all this work feed into the council? Does everything go through the council?

Gareth Mercer: Yes. There are about 16 people at Pablo who have held ECD roles. They’ve set those titles aside because they want to be closer to the work. It’s all about being creatively led. It’s not about titles here; it’s about doing great work together.

Creative Salon: Do you go to clients as the council, or is it more internal?

Gareth Mercer: We do both. We collaborate internally, but we’re also heavily involved with clients. Every week, we come together to discuss the big picture: What are we trying to achieve for each brand? What’s our creative goal for the year?

Creative Salon: Do you feel like having a broad range of work, from funny ads to serious campaigns like those for the Met Police [below], makes it harder for clients to understand what they're getting from Pablo?

Gareth Mercer: Not really. Clients tend to categorise us as a shop that creates “talked-about work.” Whether it’s funny, shocking, or dramatic, it earns attention.

Dan Watts: Yeah, it’s all about the idea. No matter the execution—whether it's humorous or serious—the thought behind it is what matters.

Creative Salon: How do you handle creative conflict?

Gareth Mercer: Honestly, we haven’t had any. We’re here to support each other, not to compete or impose opinions. It’s all about helping each other out and making the work better.

Victoria Daltrey: If something isn’t working, we’ll address it before it becomes a problem. It’s about sense-checking and debating, not conflicting.

Creative Salon: It sounds like you’ve avoided groupthink, which is impressive.

Gareth Mercer: Yes, that’s key. We’re not here to beat each other to the best idea, like in some traditional agencies. It’s about how we make each other’s work better. That’s the culture we’ve built, and it works for our clients and our teams.

Creative Salon: What’s the best work that’s come out of this Creative Council setup?

Dan Watts: Honestly, all of it. The work that’s come out and what’s still in production is the best we’ve done. And it’s because of this system—we’re able to move quickly, get feedback, and make decisions. The council setup makes everything better.

Creative Salon: Pablo isn’t a new agency, but it’s been on everyone’s radar recently. What sparked this new approach?

Gareth Mercer: We’ve always wanted to create a brand that reinvents itself as the landscape changes. The council is part of that evolution. When we first started, no one had heard of us, and no one wanted to work here. But we were already doing things differently. As we found people with the right sensibilities, we layered in more and more talent. The council helps us focus on both culture and output without compromising on either.

Dan Watts: A lot of us joined because we saw something different at Pablo. It’s like a creative project in itself, and that’s what keeps it exciting.

Gareth Mercer: Exactly. We’ve always had a plan for where we wanted to go. The council helps ensure that no one person is overwhelmed, and it keeps the work fresh and innovative. It’s about creating an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and momentum. We’ve learned from the best agencies and adapted those lessons to build something that works for us and our clients.