Thomas Darlow

I have a BSc in Geology (rocks) and a BA in English Literature (words), despite barely being able to spell my own name. At the time, I’d signed a record deal in the UK that wasn’t set to kick off for another year, and I needed something to do beyond working in a bar. The MDS course was 9 months long and seemed like a good way to fill the gap - I never actually planned to work a single day in advertising.

Fast forward: I now run a small agency called Bad Magic. After graduating from MDS, my creative partner Beth and I were hired straight out of school by Andy Blood. I ended up turning down the record deal and going all in. That led to five years in New York, five years at Colenso, two at Deloitte, and eventually, starting my own thing. The wild part about this industry is that no two days are the same. You have to be smart and stupid at once, and just when you think you’re good at it, you realise you’ve got more to learn, and I love that.

You might be the most brilliant creative thinker on earth, but until you’ve learned the discipline of this craft, no one will hire you.”

My advice to anyone wanting to break into the field? Go to MDS. You might be a creative genius, but unless you learn the craft, no one will care. When it comes to ideas: focus on your argument, push past your first thought, and expose yourself to the weird, the niche, the stuff outside the advertising bubble. That’s where the good ideas live.

"MDS taught me how to think creatively. See what good is. Postarise a thought. Take failure on the chin. Deal with jealousy. Want something really bad.. try, fail, try again, fail 50 more times, and then finally get it.”