The A List | Dan & Charlene

Charlene Chandrasekaran

2024: hire or fire?

Extended probation period.

Commercial TV is 70 this year – what's your favourite TV ad of all time?

“Real men of genius: really bad toupée-wearer” – Budweiser [DDB Chicago].

If you could swap lives with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

I’m quite content with my life, so have no desire to swap lives with anyone – even a fictional character.

Are you bored of being asked questions about hybrid working?

Better than being asked questions about AI.

Summer 2024 was “brat” – what will summer 2025 be?

I’m not about being a “hot mess”, so hopefully summer 2025 will be neat, tidy and put together.

Name one fact about you that would surprise people.

I once sat on a sofa with a chimpanzee, sharing Maltesers while she groomed me. Weird but true.

Team Glinda or Team Elphaba?

I hate Wicked, so neither.

What advice would you give to someone considering leaving adland?

I have adland Stockholm syndrome, so when you finally figure out how to do it, please let me know.

What was the biggest professional challenge you tackled in 2024?

There are so many I can’t even pinpoint a specific one to talk about without triggering myself.

What one thing will shape advertising/media in 2025?

Tom & Dylan. [Tom Snell and Dylan Hartigan, The Or]

Dan Morris

2024: hire or fire?

Fixed term contract.

Commercial TV is 70 this year – what's your favourite TV ad of all time?

“St George” – Blackcurrant Tango [HHCL].

If you could swap lives with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

My two-year-old son has created a character that’s a tyrannosaurus rex pirate named Captain Rexy. He sails the seas and has all sorts of adventures involving but not limited to mermaids, treasure, Batman, eating chips and rockets. I’d swap lives with him in a heartbeat.

Are you bored of being asked questions about hybrid working?

I just tell people to watch Severance.

Summer 2024 was “brat” – what will summer 2025 be?

Prudent.

Name one fact about you that would surprise people.

I once worked in a prison.

Team Glinda or Team Elphaba?

I feel uncomfortable discussing politics in this forum.

What advice would you give to someone considering leaving adland?

Whatever you do, protect your back and knees.

What do employees appreciate most about working at your company?

Free lunch.

What was the biggest professional challenge you tackled in 2024?

Celebrities needing a private jet.

What one thing will shape advertising/media in 2025?

First contact with sentient alien life. Or budgets.