Week 7: The Big End of Town
Hi and welcome to my blog! Over the 8 weeks of filming, I wrote about my experiences making the awesome television series, Man Up, including some of the amazing guys I got to talk to about what it means to be an Aussie bloke today. It’s been an incredible ride and I can’t wait to share it with you…
This week we shot at Triple M. It’s been great having Triple M involved because it means that I can talk to our listeners about a lot of the stuff I have been learning on the show – like how important it is to talk to a mate and reach out before things get out of hand. My Grill team co-hosts have been awesome because this stuff matters to all of us.
Then I dusted my suit off and headed to Melbourne to join another of Tom Harkin’s workshops – this time with a bunch of CEOs. Tom talked about how if a leader can change the way they behave, there’s a good chance that the people he’s leading will also change. A lot of the guys at the workshop realised how much they keep to themselves. One of the guys said, ‘I’ve talked more and shared more with this guy that I’ve never met before, than all the chats I had playing golf with the same blokes for the last twenty years.’
Back in Ad-land, I was pumped to show Adam Ferrier my big campaign idea including a t-shirt and two jingles I had come up with, but it all went downhill pretty quickly.
Adam thought I was taking the piss! It was a bit awkward for a couple minutes.
But I’m big and ugly enough to take it. I realised that I’ve given it a hell of a crack and at least Adam’ll be able to fix it. Or at least he knows someone who can help … Adam #2 to my rescue.
We were lucky to get Adam Hunt involved, because he’s retired from advertising to run a couple of first class bars – and you know I’m always happy to meet someone at a bar.
So the two Adams and I sat down, had a few beers and whiskeys. We got the butcher’s paper out and jotted a few ideas down. I do love a good think-tank, where no idea is a bad idea. It was a brilliant afternoon.
And how can you not be passionate about a topic like this? Everyone understands it; everyone’s been affected by it. Most people I meet know someone who has taken their own life. And it stays with you forever.
I’m really excited to see how the ad turns out. It’s kind of a journey within my overall Man Up journey. And we’re almost at the end of shooting. Next week is my last blog post!
