The Famous Q&A ~ with Shelley Smoler

By James Herring on Thursday, October 23, 2025

Shelley Smoler is a Chief Creative Officer who’s spent her career proving that creativity isn’t just about selling things, it’s about shifting the way people see them.

She started out in South Africa, where she learned early that big ideas don’t need big budgets, just the right ambition. That belief shaped the Black Pencil-winning “Trillion Dollar Campaign” for The Zimbabwean.

After moving to London 13 years ago, she joined BBH and later Droga5, where she became the agency’s first female CCO.

There, she helped familiar brands say unfamiliar things such as letting Uniqlo play on a high fashion stage, making Amazon feel more human, and pushing BrewDog into unexpected territory. Her work spans continents and categories, from Philips to Adidas, Diet Coke to Alexa, but always starts with the same question: how do we make people care?

In 2024, Shelley joined Lucky Generals as CCO, alongside longtime strategy partner Damien. Together, they’re focused on helping brands stop blending in and start being impossible to ignore.

What’s exciting you most in your work at the moment?
We’re in a confident place with great momentum, which means we can afford to be dangerous. When the business feels safe, the work doesn’t have to be. And we’ve got clients brave enough to back big, bold ideas. IRN-BRU, for example, took on every mega-spend soft drink brand by creating a category of one. It’s not a soft drink. It’s IRN-BRU. And that’s the sweet spot, brands that stay true to themselves, not to a category.

How do you see the future of the industry in the world of A.I.?
AI will make more. Humans will make things that mean something. We add the taste, instinct, chemistry, curiosity. In essence, the humanity. That stuff can’t be broken down into numbers. Yet. Let AI have the answers. We’ll have the most interesting questions.

The best bit of advice you were ever given
If you aren’t a bit scared, you’re doing something wrong.

A brand you’d love to add to your portfolio
System 1. That would be a good test.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Taller. Still waiting. Also an artist, which sort of came true. I’m just more of a con-artist than a fine one.

When you hit a creative rut what do you do?
Ideas (like good evenings out) hate being chased, they show up when you’re looking the other way. So, I try to look as far in the other direction. Even if there’s just a blank wall staring back at me.

Something surprising people don’t know about you
My surname’s spelled differently to the rest of my family’s. They have two Ls. I just took one and ran. Long story. Shorter name.

A favourite campaign you didn’t work on
Guinness “Surfer.” A bit of a cliché but it set the benchmark that I don’t feel like we have ever really matched again.

Your last supper. What’s on the menu?
Red meat and red wine. Maybe beef bourguignon because it takes longer to cook, so I get a few more hours on the planet.

Favourite campaign you worked on
The Zimbabwean Trillion Dollar Campaign. Our client, The Zimbabwean Newspaper, was forced into exile and hit with a 55% luxury import tax, making it unaffordable for its own people. We printed our ads on worthless Zimbabwean banknotes. Suddenly, the money that couldn’t even buy bread, bought global attention. One of those rare moments where good work actually did good.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
KFC tower burger, chicken fillet, coleslaw, fries, garlic mayo and diet pepsi. Don’t judge me, it’s called balance.

If you could change one thing about the industry
I’d remove the fear. The scariest thing in advertising is overly safe work.

Your biggest fuck-up?
Going to the wrong airport before a flight to Mexico. Still made the plane, only just. Still traumatised.

Most challenging brief you ever worked on
This one.

Go-to karaoke song?
I don’t do karaoke. I like people too much to put them through that. But if forced: Forever Young by Alphaville. Irony included.

Pitch horror story
Turned up to the wrong building. Do you see a pattern here?

Your favourite / most overused mantra
“I don’t want to see any advertising references.”

Share an item from your bucket list
The Galápagos. Where chaos first evolved into something interesting. Also, they have dragons.

A person who inspires you
Anyone still trying to make advertising interesting.

One piece of advice for people considering a career in this industry
Don’t. Just kidding. Advertising is not for the faint hearted, but hard work pays off and when it does, there are very few things that are more rewarding. And my one piece of advice would be: don’t try and follow the people who came before you. Find the thing that makes you different and make that your superpower.

All-time favourite movie
Laurence Anyways. Gorgeous, defiant, and human, everything great art should be.

The weirdest brief you’ve ever been given
Advertising a city that hasn’t been built yet. In the middle of the desert. For a Saudi prince.

A habit you’re trying to break
Having habits.

Best decision you ever made
Adopting my whippet, Walter.

And the worst?
Smoking. Still working on that habit.

Creative spirit animal
Can you still say that? Walter. Fast, loyal, and a bit chaotic. I’m the same, just less skinny.

Biggest influence on your early career
Muzi Kuzwayo. He taught me to stop copying what everyone else was doing and use my South Africanness as a creative weapon.

One piece of jargon you’d banish
Trends. Formulas. The twin killers of originality.

One book everyone should read
I think that there are many books that have lessons for marketing and yet aren’t necessarily about marketing at all. I’m currently reading ‘I regret almost everything’ a memoir by Keith McNally and so far I’d highly recommend it.