One on One with Ari Merkin the Founder of Ari&friends
An amazing life story that began at a yeshiva community, working with Spike Jonze on the Ikea lamp ad, and fulfilling a young kid's dream. It's a must-read for your friends and beyond.
1.Please tell us a bit about your early days. How did you start your creative journey
Coming from a yeshiva world, I had zero art training to speak of. My dream of getting into Parsons School of Design had to wait until I had two years of art college already under my belt. It wasn’t until senior year that I discovered advertising. And there weren’t really schools for that like there are today, so I took daily trips from the suburbs to the NY Public Library where I would pour over old One Show books from the 60’s and 70’s. That’s when I noticed the same names kept coming up in the credits. Roy Grace and Diane Rothschild. And it was at Grace&Rothschild I got my start. From there it was CP+B, Fallon NY, my own agency Toy NY, back to CP+B and now, Ari&Friends.
2.What do you think about the movement of talented creatives from big agencies? What are the pros and cons of this trend?
Whether at their own shops, big agencies or client side. Creatives find a way. I don’t think about it in terms of which is better or worse. To me it’s always been about setting an example through the work. I’ll place my bets on great creatives wherever they are. That said, it’s important to understand the type of creative person you are. Do you like to manage people, focus on the work, or want a bit of both? Are you good at politics and managing up? Are you entrepreneurial? Go where you’re strongest.
3.How do you tackle performance marketing and data within your creative work? Do you think it should be separate from brand campaigns or included as a part of the same production or idea?
We went through that very dilemma a while back with performance projects. We had to figure out that performance is its own thing. Of course, it can and should be done with a voice that’s on brand. That said, you have to learn to embrace the rules of the world you’re working in or it’s an uphill battle the whole way. And, recognize that sometimes, performance is the right move and focus on making it great regardless of the limitations. As for data, yeah, if you got it, use it. But use good judgment too and stay inspired. The data answer isn’t always the creative answer.
4.Are there brands or campaigns from recent years that aspire to? Which brands have you learned from? And what did you learn?
Dove Real Beauty continues to be one of my all-time favorites. The work is always honest, subversive, empowering, super smart and very human. Big, enduring brand platform ideas should be every brand’s aspiration. Then there’s Liquid Death which makes the idea of risk-taking seem like a total no-brainer. That brand is a content machine and everybody’s watching to see what they do next. Honestly, I think Liquid Death should take all of their most successful campaigns, put them in front of a focus group new to the brand and film the carnage. Then again, they probably already did and I missed it.
5.What do you think the next challenge in creative work will be? Does AI play a part in it?
AI may well create a better world for health and safety. It’s creativity I worry about. Every time I use Midjourney, I can hear the AI Gods saying, “Thank you to all you creatives for your amazing contributions over the past 5,000 some-odd years. We couldn’t have done it without you. Now back the fuck off, we’ll take it from here.” But hey, progress, right? That said, there are too many channels and the need to produce content at scale is only growing. At this point, we have no choice but to embrace AI and stay competitive. God help us.
6.As a freelance or small agency, how do you manage slower months with less work? How do you deal with stress and anxiety in general? Is there a stark difference between working as an independent and in an agency?
Any downtime is generally used to develop agency materials, create social posts, maybe do some outreach, create short films, write screenplays, and play NBA 2K. Come to think of it, we could use a little more downtime.
7.How do you envision the work process when working with a brand strategy and brand DNA in fast-paced, dynamic, and ROI product-based companies? As companies face product and audience changes very quickly, how do you recommend managing it on a creative level?
We tend to not be very intimidated by words like fast-paced and dynamic. This isn’t because we have some sort of speed and endurance superpower, it’s just how we’re built. We don’t take on more than we can handle, we’ve never pitched creative for free, and we don’t have big numbers to meet or overhead to pay. I guess you could say we’ve created a system that gives us the time we need to get things right. Which was the whole point of starting Ari&Friends in the first place. We also insist on getting the DNA piece super solid with every project we work on. And our “True Friends” discovery process lets us do that faster and more efficiently than any agency I’ve been a part of.
8.What are Ari & Friends business philosophy and strengths? How do you envision your future and what are you most interested to take part in?
Being independent and small gives us the freedom to focus on what we love and what we believe in. We like to think of Ari&Friends as practicing Friendship Based Creativity. As friends, we don’t tell you what you want to hear, we tell you what you need to hear. There is no client side and agency side, just a group of friends all working side by side. We play extremely well with in-house teams, and we introduce our friends to more friends if there’s work we can’t handle. We don’t charge you for stuff you don’t need and we believe that every brand has a voice. We’re here to help you find yours and use it well. Basically, we're friends that have your back.
9.What would you recommend a new brand, company, or start-up do when it comes to its brand story and creative strategy? What is the first must-do for their business growth?
It’s funny, for a lot of creatives an ad is an ad. Tell them you need a 30-second spot and they’ll hit the ground running. That was never me. I always had to take three steps back, look at the brand, the voice, the look, the feel. I think it’s because I personally loved brands that told their truth. Until you really understand what that is, it’s impossible to create something truly ownable. This is especially important when it comes to start-ups, so we focus on building a foundation of story, look, and feel, and a message that can break through and deliver the transformation the founders envision. When that’s compromised or short-changed, people feel it and it can hinder future efforts. But hey, nail the voice right out of the gates and the path forward becomes super clear.
10.A not-so-relevant question: Please share a funny, interesting, weird, life-changing, or feel-good story that you have experienced on your personal journey.
Here’s one I think you’ll like. I was on the set of Paramount with Spike Jonze filming the “Lamp” for Ikea, and I saw a woman with a teenage boy walking past. The boy was wearing a yarmulka and looked Middle Eastern, the woman, a head covering that suggested she too was Orthodox. They seemed extremely out of place. Not just because of the location, but because it was about three o’clock in the morning and the lot was otherwise empty. As I approached, I noticed the young man had terrible scars running up and down his arms. The woman explained that she was escorting the boy on a make-a-wish type of journey. He had been the victim of a terror attack in Israel and was there following a lengthy recovery. The boy then explained in Hebrew (which I understand better than I speak) that his wish was to experience the magic of movie making up close. I said, “I think I may be able to help with that.” I told him to look up at the clear sky above, and he did. There wasn’t a single cloud. He then looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, a bit underwhelmed. So I said, “See that man Spike over there? In about two minutes, he’s going to make it rain.”
Ari Merkin Founder. Friend. CCO. AAF Hall of Achievement. AdAge Top 10 Global CD. Top 15 Campaigns of Century. 40 under 40. Cannes Grand Prix. One Show Best of Show. Board Member. Grand Clio. Emmy Nominee. DGA. Failed Screenwriter.
