Sally Campbell is a production leader who stands up when it's easy to back down

Somesuch, one of the industry’s top production companies, consistently appears in the headlines for remarkable work from its talented and diverse bench of directors. The company’s Kim Gehrig and Camille Summers-Valli recently earned top honors at Ad Age’s Creativity Awards, respectively, for Director of the Year and Director to Watch. This year, Somesuch also picked up an Oscar, for the jarring short film “The Long Goodbye," directed by Aneil Karia and starring Riz Ahmed. The backbone of its success, however, is the leadership of Co-Founder and Global CEO Sally Campbell. Campbell and her husband and Co-Founder Tim Nash opened Somesuch in the U.K. in 2010, making the leap stateside in 2017. Since then, the company has made waves with well-crafted ads and films that have provoked the industry into thinking more boldly and more creatively—this year, for brands including Airbnb, Apple, Channel 4, The New York Times and others. See all of Ad Age's 2022 Leading Women here. Throughout, Campbell has been one of advertising’s most vocal and passionate nurturers of underrepresented directors. The company has one of the industry’s most diverse benches; its “Off Roster” list of budding directors and partnerships with The Kusp in London and Ghetto Film School in L.A. aim to ensure opportunities for even more fresh artists from all cultural backgrounds. Campbell admits, however, that the journey continues. For the past 18 months, Somesuch has been working with a DEI consultant in order to better navigate anti-racism. “We’ve got a lot more work to do but it’s been an extraordinary learning curve,” Campbell said. “[It’s] hard, upsetting to face your own complicity. Tough speaking up and challenging your clients, risk losing business. But being passive achieves nothing.” What advice would you give your younger self? Be confident in who you are; don’t try and be someone else. What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? Leaving New Zealand at age 21 for London with absolutely no money. Starting Somesuch in the midst of a recession, with only a credit card and some desks borrowed from the extremely generous Brooklyn Brothers. Moving to L.A. and setting up Somesuch in the U.S. knowing most U.K companies before us that tried didn’t succeed. Living with an aneurysm on my brain behind my left eye for 10 years. Then having it operated on, knowing the risks attached. Starting a business with my husband … still questioning that risk though. If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you be doing and why? I’d be a chef. I left school early and became a chef. I was pretty good at it, but being a young chef sucked socially ... and I was “social.” I still haven’t worked out which of the two industries is more stressful. What should the industry do to encourage more women and people of color into its ranks? We should add LGBTQ and non-binary to the list of people we need to be welcoming into the industry. While white [cis] women are definitely an industry minority, a person of color regardless of gender or sexual orientation suffers more prejudices, deals with racism on a daily basis and has even less chances than a white cis woman. So we need to try. Try a lot harder … to hire and to listen and understand. To mold our industry to accept all people, not expect all people to mold to it. “It’s too hard” is not an acceptable excuse. And it’s not just hiring people, it’s retaining them. That’s when you’ve really succeeded. See all of Ad Age's 2022 Leading Women here. What is the biggest lesson you have taken away from the pandemic? Learning to be grateful. I’m lucky. My family is healthy. My business is intact. I have a roster of directors I’ve never been happier and more proud of. A staff that is incredible. I live a good life.

Sally Campbell is a production leader who stands up when it's easy to back down

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