Dustin Tomes of TBWA\Chiat\Day on Empathy, AI, Photography and More

You can be hard on the work without being hard on people

Dustin is currently chief creative officer at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York

We spent two minutes with Dustin to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired. 

Dustin, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up on a farm outside the village of Utica, Neb.—population 813. I now live in the borough of Brooklyn—population 2.6 million.

How you first realized you were creative.

Others recognized it before I recognized it in myself. I have a grandfather who is a woodcarver and a grandmother who is a ceramicist. So, if I think about a specific moment in my life that stands out, it was doing projects with them, where I realized that I enjoyed creating things and loved attention to detail.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

I found advertising late in my college career, and was behind my peers when it came to my portfolio. Once I had enough work to fill out a book, I set up meetings with the highest-level creatives I could find around Lincoln, Neb., because I wanted honest feedback. Needless to say, I got absolutely shredded. One CCO in particular, Carter Weitz of Bailey Lauerman, did something that still sticks with me. He started pulling Communication Arts and Lürzer’s Archive annuals from his shelf, and said, “This is the standard. This is what you are chasing. If you want to be great, your ideas and your craft need to be at this level.”

Your most important creative inspirations, and some recent stuff you love.

Photography. Particularly street photography. I love studying the work of anyone who is or was a part of Magnum Photos and the various projects they’ve done. There are technical things in photography that translate to our industry, from color to composition to framing. To tell an interesting, relatable story in a single, static frame is an art form. It’s something we’re always striving for. Check out the work of people like Martin Parr, Bruce Gilden, Vivian Maier, Garry Winogrand, and Robert Frank. 

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

The “For The Throne” campaign we did for the final season of Game of Thrones. The HBO clients were incredible partners and wanted to make everything we brought to them. And we did. We had people literally bleeding for the throne at SXSW, and traversing remote areas of the world searching for hidden thrones. But the centerpiece was the Game of Thrones x Bud Light Super Bowl commercial where the Mountain “killed” the Bud Knight. Not only did we pull the rug out from 140 million people at one time, but it was an agency collaboration for the ages—Droga5 x Wieden+Kennedy.

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A recent project you’re proud of.

The “PSAi” for Columbia Journalism Review is not only a powerful idea with great craft, but it is something that addresses an issue growing in relevance and concern. Seventy-six percent of Americans struggled to tell the difference between AI images and real ones, resulting in the spread of misinformation and the deterioration of journalistic integrity. The “PSAi” used a music video featuring fake images spreading misinformation. Misinformation is still actively being spread with images that are clearly fake—so education is important.

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Someone else’s work you admired lately.

“Engineered for Whatever” work from Columbia and “I Think of You Dying” from Life360 are two recent things that I’ve found myself extremely jealous of lately. 

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Your main strength as a creative person.

Empathy. Our industry can be pretty unkind. It’s demanding, and has a way of creeping into the life you try and live outside of it. You can lead with empathy, without compromising being great. You can be hard on the work without being hard on people. 

Your biggest weakness.

I’m a perfectionist, which has always worked in my favor when it comes to creativity and craft. But when you transition from being a creative maker to a creative leader, it can slow you down. I need to use it in the right ways at the right times.

A mentor that helped you navigate the industry.

I’ve been fortunate to have learned from some of the most legendary talents—from David Droga to Rob Reilly to Susan Credle to Alex Bogusky. 

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

Photography—with the ultimate goal of building a body of work I could submit to Magnum Photos to become a member. Right now, it’s where I plan to put my creative energy after my advertising career. Maybe I can become the oldest member ever accepted.