Ant Jackson: from Creative Advertising MA to national supermarket tagline
01 August 2024
After feeling unfulfilled as an in-house marketing manager in 2014, Ant Jackson followed her creative curiosity and undertook a master’s in Creative Advertising at Falmouth. Since graduating, she has gone on to have success creating campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands.
It was while she was working as a marketing manager that Ant realised she wanted to be writing the adverts herself, not commissioning creatives to do so. Ad school had been on her mind for a while, and one day her curiosity got the better of her, so she applied for the course at Falmouth.
“The course taught me good foundational skills,” says Ant. “I learned how to use the Adobe Suite and the differences between copywriting and art direction roles. I had the opportunity to work with different people, understand the dynamics of creative duos, and visit different agencies. The course was where Vicky Katsarou and I came up with the idea of ‘The Lion Arse Award’. After realising that Cannes Lions Festival winners only got the front half of a lion, we sold the rear ends to agencies in exchange for a placement. Within a couple of days, we’d been featured in Campaign Magazine and went industry-viral.”
Fast forward to 2017, and with a creative advertising MA from Falmouth under her belt, Ant made a name for herself in the ad world by writing the legendary supermarket tagline: ‘Big on quality, Lidl on price’.
“That was a weird moment,” recalls Ant, who was then at the creative agency TBWA\London. “I only had three years’ experience, and that kind of early achievement can skew your perspective. I still had crazy impostor syndrome – would people expect genius all the time? Where do you go from there?”
“Problem solving has always been my ‘thing’ – and the world is full of problems that still need solving.”
Ant Jackson
In a career route she describes as “squiggly”, Ant has since worked with celebrity photographer and director, Rankin and global agencies like Wunderman Thompson. She has created campaigns for the likes of Airbnb, IKEA, UEFA, and Wimbledon. She has illuminated the endeavours of Olympic athletes for Bridgestone, breathed life into bank advertising, and elevated waste into works of art for sustainable spirits brand Discarded – scoring a win at the Independent Agency Awards for best use of copy.
“The Falmouth MA taught me the foundational knowledge and skills, and gave me an awareness of what to expect,” says Ant. “We were encouraged to keep our eyes and ears open to the world around us, so we could write to resonate with the everyday person.”
Now a brand consultant and creative director, Ant remains inspired to use creativity to influence behaviour for the better. “For me, it’s about pursuing joy and curiosity over big names and competition success, following your own path and instinct rather than being led by industry expectations.”
“Problem solving has always been my ‘thing’ – and the world is full of problems that still need solving.”
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