Grey New York’s Justine Armour on ‘pointless advertising’

Justine Armour, chief creative officer of Grey New York, joined the agency just three weeks before the pandemic hit hard in the U.S. She adapted by creating virtual spaces such as “Creative Hangs” and by hosting discussions on topics including coping with isolation and addressing racial inequity. She also led socially conscious work such as Grey’s “Unboxing” PSA about at-home gun safety and “The Pube Song” for Gillette Venus (an effort to “finally get comfortable with the word ‘pubic’ and the whole area down there,” per the campaign). “One of the things that we’ve been talking about with our clients is that doing purpose work around any issue that doesn’t have real action based in it, or doesn’t have a strategy that could make it effective, is pointless advertising. We don’t want to do that kind of work anymore at Grey. I don’t want to do that kind of work anymore in my career." See all of Ad Age's 2021 Leading Women U.S. and Europe here. What advice would you give your younger self? In general, lighten up, loosen up, play more and have fun. I was always very focused and business-minded even as a young creative, and I wish I had spent my younger years in a looser headspace. What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? I think saying goodbye to safety. Leaving safe agencies and safe relationships. Stepping into the unknown and believing that whatever I say goodbye to is going to be replaced by something bigger and better. I would say it’s a pretty big risk and it’s always paid off. If you weren’t doing your current job what would you be doing and why? If there was anything that would inspire me as much as this job does, I might think about doing it, but honestly, I love this job. I know that’s really boring. I love ideas, the people, the agency culture, and I love the work. I love the feeling of putting work out into the world and knowing it’s going to make a difference to our audiences and to clients. What should the industry do to encourage more women and people of color into its ranks? Listen to women and people of color. I think we have an opportunity right now, as we are all thinking about going back into a physical office, to rethink those spaces and the dynamics around work and really design work to support women and people of color. Not to return to the old structures that supported white men, frankly, but to really think about the way we work together as supporting a different type of leadership, a different type of talent. Which campaign or other piece of work have you seen in the last year that you wish you had done? Uncommon London’s “Build a Life” campaign for hardware store B&Q. As a kid who had a dad who was a contractor, I spent a lot of time going back and forth to the hardware store growing up. It really connected with me emotionally as somebody who loves going to the hardware store. I love the smell of sawdust and all that metal. It was something that really got me in the heart. See all of Ad Age's 2021 Leading Women U.S. and Europe here.

Grey New York’s Justine Armour on ‘pointless advertising’

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