On the Spot: Mike Byrne

Before Byrne, 32, landed his first full-time advertising job five years ago at Wieden + Kennedy, he taught English in Prague, sold medical supplies door-to-door and started a software company with a friend. His lauded copywriting work on Nike includes the current "Presto" campaign and "Tag," this year's film Grand Prix winner at Cannes. -Interviewed by Rebecca Flass Q: What inspired you to get into advertising?A: My brother was selling ad space, and he set me up with an interview. I walked into this agency in Philadelphia [Earle Palmer Brown]-I was interviewing for a junior account person-and I saw this print ad in their lobby. It was for some local florist, and it showed three vases. The one on the left had one rose, the one in the middle had three and the other had 40, and it said, "How mad is she?" I thought, "I want to do that." I love the notion that an idea can be expressed in such a simple way. Q: What did you learn from previous jobs that applies to advertising?A: A lot of great ideas never see the light of day because they don't get sold. Selling medical supplies was a brutal door-to-door job. It was constant rejection. It gives you a thick skin. I was driving around in my parents' station wagon, wearing the same suit every day. Q: What is the biggest misconception about Wieden?A: That we don't do serious advertising. We are just as equipped to do a packaged good as we are to do Nike. People think, "Those guys are crazy. They do Nike and ESPN," and that hurts us in new business. If you look at our track record, we've helped build brands from the ground up.Q: What work are you most proud of?A: The "Play" campaign, and the "Tag" spot in particular. I really believe the whole notion that play is the mother of sport. Q: How did the idea for that campaign come about?A: I'd seen a documentary on play the year before on PBS. Then I was at the airport and saw this little girl running around an island of chairs, just playing, enjoying her body. I thought that was so beautiful. Q: Are you athletic?A: I'm a diehard sports fan. Hockey is my favorite sport. As an athlete, I have to work pretty hard to just be average. Q: Now that you've won the Grand Prix at Cannes, what's next?A: You're psyched when you win and the advertising community sees the work you've done. But it's over, in the past. You try to get another one and keep doing good work.Q: How do you get past a block?A: Rant writing. I do it longhand and just write three or four pages about nothing in particular. You have all these things in your head that block you from a sea of possibilities-money, relationships. When you write rant like that, you download the crap.Q: What's the smartest business decision you've ever made?A: Coming out to Portland. I was in the New York office-I loved it and learned a tremendous amount, but I left at the right time. My learning curve had stopped.Q: What were the trade-offs?A: I miss the energy you get from New York. The cool thing about Portland is you can pour your energy into things that are outdoor-related.Q: What's your dream assignment?A: I feel like I'm working on a dream brand with Nike. It's one of the few brands where you can inspire people. It would be cool to do pro bono. I'm also fascinated with packaged goods. I'd love to work on toothpaste or toilet paper-everyone uses it. I have no connection to any toothpaste brand at all. Why can't toothpaste speak to me? You're talking to fucking human beings here-give them a reason to buy your product.Q: Give me three words to describe yourself.A: Passionate. Angry. Empathetic.Q: And how do others perceive you?A: Thoughtful. Angry. Driven.Q: What makes you angry?A: I get fired up or passionate about a lot of things, and I come across as angry, but I really just give a shit. I'm a feisty Irish guy. "Angry" to me is another way of saying passionate.Q: What's your personal motto?A: Never get comfortable, because once you get comfortable, you die-mentally, spiritually.

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On the Spot: Mike Byrne

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