Interview

Martin Bihl

LevLane, United States

Martin Bihl is the Executive Creative Director of LevLane – an advertising agency in Philadelphia and has worked with national and local clients for a number of categories and in his spare time, he runs a site called the-agency-review.com where he reviews books on advertising.

1 Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your creative background.

I was born on a small island off the coast of America. My father and grandfather were in advertising. My writing has appeared in publications as diverse as McSweeneys, Advertising Age, MORE, New York Magazine, Adweek and others.

2 What made you become/why did you choose to become a creative?

It turns out I

3 Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.

4 What does “creativity” mean to you?

Creativity has to do with inventing something that doesn

5 To you, what makes a “creative” idea and/or design?

Lots of things I suppose but the two that come to mind are surprise and risk. If a thing doesn

6 Tell us about your creative and/or design process.

Oh jeez. Who knows. If I could quantify it I

7 What's your favorite part of the creative process and why?

My favorite part happens about a year later, sometimes longer, when I look at something I

8 Describe your creative style and its main characteristics.

Whatever it is, it goes on for a while, that

9 Do you think your country and its cultural heritage has an impact on your creativity process?

Well I can

10 Congratulations! As the winner of the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?

Don

11 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?

Okay, so we were fortunate enough to win several awards this year, and while that may sound like unnecessary bragging (and maybe it is

12 What was the biggest challenge with this project?

One of the things that people don

13 How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?

I don

14 What are your top three (3) favorite things about our industry?

Fear, surprise and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope. No, hold on, that

15 What makes your country specifically, unique in the creative industry?

16 Where do you see the evolution of creative industry going over the next 5-10 years?

What a curious question. I confess that I have struggled to answer it because I think it implies that any kind of creativity industry is linear. And maybe even singular. But creative industry is not one thing, any more than creativity is. There are many strands composed of many threads and we pick them up and drop them and pick them up again over time. Where is music going, where is film going, where is interactive going, where is experiential going, where is literature going

17 If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring MUSE Creative Awards submitter, what advice would you give them?

For a long time I taught advertising and marketing at a variety of universities. So I was around a lot students and aspiring submitters (which is a crazy expression, isn

18 What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the creative industry?

Is it inappropriate to promote one

19 Tell us something you have never told anyone else.

20 Who has inspired you in your life and why?

I don

21 What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?

Isn

22 Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?

Good grief no. Haven