A prisoner, an escape mastermind and a mouse walk into an agency
But let's go back to the beginning of this story
It began when Fran Luckin, new co-chief creative officer, Boundless, was freed from prison in a daring plan by mastermind and Boundless CCO & co-founder, Roanna Williams, on 1 April, which many thought was a joke.
But it's no joke, and since her escape, Fran says she has been enjoying life… "feeling the sun on my face and going outside in daylight, that's been great, smelling the flowers, you know, occasionally doing a little hop, skip and a jump outside, just because of the sheer novelty of it.”
Talking about the escape, Roanna says it was a no-brainer to get Fran out. Apart from being friends for years, she felt it was her duty to free Fran as a “good, kind person”.
Plus, she says she had a fancy getaway car that she had to put to good use.
Fran is slowly getting accustomed to life after prison, but it is still early days, so Roanna says they are breaking her into this new world gently.
Watch the daring escape (look out for the mouse).
Time for a new challenge
Why did she choose now to escape?
“I had done my time, needed a new challenge. There is always something more to learn, and there's always more to do.
“This is a great opportunity to just do something I haven't done before."
I ask her what she is looking forward to now that she is free. The most obvious one, she says, is being part of a working creative team again.
“For a very long time, I have been a manager of people, not writing briefs myself but guiding, steering and giving advice.
“And while I loved helping creatives crack ideas and break new ground with their own talent and help them discover skills that they didn't know they had - that was really rewarding – in that environment, you don’t create as much as you used to.
“Here I am going to have to get my writing pencil out again, and get back to creating again, being at the coalface again.”
Growth and letting ideas breath
Fran’s escape plan worked so well because Fran and Roanna are a tight team, despite not having worked together more in the past.
Years ago, they briefly worked together on an Exclusive Books Fanatics project years and they have also worked at the same agencies at the same time, but not worked together. Roanna was a junior at TBWA when Fran was there as well.
The one time they did work together, the work they produced won numerous awards, which bodes well for the future.
Now that they are officially a team, they want to grow - but slowly and with the right clients.
This includes working with clients who believe in what they do and see the value they bring.
Take their daring escape, all captured on video.
“All our clients love the escape video – and this is what we can do for them, if they trust us to do our best.
“The bravest work in the world is out there. You show it to clients, and they'll absolutely love it, but if you want to sell that work to clients, you have to take them on a journey with you to get to that work,” they explain.
They also like to encourage ideas not to die too early. “Vaughan Croeser, vice president of marketing at South African Breweries, does that. He lets an okay idea live a bit, lets it breathe, lets it develop… He trusts the creative process, and that’s how an idea goes from okay to great,” says Roanna.
Lessons from prison
They want to create a great agency where people can come and do the best work of their lives.
As they say, “Isn’t that what it's all about? It is why you go into the industry in the first place - To do great work.”
But you can get lost, and that is no one’s fault; it just kind of happens, and then before you know it, you are in prison.
But Frans says her time in prison was not all bad. “Prison can be quite nice in that it can give you some life lessons; lessons that you can bring into your new environment.”
She says this includes never losing your sense of humour - probably the most important one in the great cosmic scheme of things. “Then to be kind. It's a very complex and difficult world, and not likely to get any easier.”
But the best piece of advice she says she ever got (from a friend’s father) is to always say the second thing that comes into your mind.
“Don't blurt out the first thing that comes into your head. Stop a little bit. Think it through. Think about how it sounds before you say it.”
This is especially important in prison, where saying the first thing that pops into your head can “get a lot of trouble”.
An uncertain world made for thinkers
Fran says the world and the industry are in an uncertain place, and this is going to be the status quo for some time.
There is a lot of talk about agency models, AI, big networks, independents, but Fran says none of these matters - “not if you have a clear vision of where you're taking your business”.
“I think if you've got a clearly defined offering and a distinctive agency culture, there'll always be a need.
“You see it when somebody goes in and just does something with a little bit more care, a little bit more attention to detail, and then they fly while everyone else is going under around them.”
She also likes the spirit of independence coming through. “You see new people starting new opportunities, with a different mindset, and then you get these lovely green shoots or going back to the roots of the industry.”
She adds that she has always believed that the future is perfectly aligned for people who think.
“I think we've lost thinkers in this industry. Good creators are thinkers, and they solve problems.
“That's the future. We need to keep reminding ourselves of that, and keep doing more of that, and then that will set you apart.”
What about having a little fun
It is also about having fun.
“I think before Boundless, we had lost some of the fun and passion that needs to be in all aspects of the business, not just in the creative department.”
“It’s important to have fun, to be around people who are passionate about the work,” says Roanna.
What about Mouse?
Before I leave, I must ask, what happened to Mouse?
Such an integral part of the escape plan, Fran says his messages helped her not to lose hope and comforted her.
“But Mouse was also looking for an escape. They are your companions in prison, and they are also the people you want to take with you,” says Roanna.
Fran interjects, saying, “Mouse is definitely a keeper.”
(I look around the agency; I am sure I sense Mouse close by…)
