August, 2026.- The relationship between people and brands is constantly evolving. It changes as lives change, as technology advances, and now, it is accelerating as AI reshapes culture itself. Guy Bradbury, Chief Creative Officer at M+C Saatchi UK, believes the challenge is no longer just about building a brand—it is about building a brand that can adapt at speed.
In this interview, Bradbury and Regan Warner, Executive Creative Director, discuss what “Cultural Power” means in practice. It is not about making advertising people notice. It is about creating work that becomes relevant enough for people to care about, talk about, and carry forward themselves. Every time a brand shows up in culture—through advertising, creators, activations, PR, or employees—it all adds up to the same unifying idea.
Warner, who joined from McCann London where she worked on the Titanium Grand Prix-winning Xbox campaign “The Everyday Tactician,” explains that the campaign worked because it solved a real problem for people, not just a communications problem for Xbox. It showed that someone could develop real tactical ability through gaming and transfer it into the real world. The most powerful ideas often create value beyond advertising. They open doors, change perspectives, and make people look again at where talent can come from.
Bradbury also reflects on the importance of being selective about awards. Awards should be the by-product of doing exceptional work, not the objective. If you push an idea until it is impossible to ignore—because it is effective, original, and genuinely moves the needle—then recognition often follows.
Regan Warner, Executive Creative Director, M+C Saatchi UK
From McCann London to M+C Saatchi: You’ve joined from McCann London, where you worked on Xbox, Reckitt, and Peroni. What does M+C Saatchi’s focus on “Cultural Power” offer that McCann couldn’t, and what made you make the move?
For me, the move wasn’t about comparing what one agency could do versus another. McCann gave me some incredible opportunities and I’m hugely proud of the work we created there.
What excited me about M+C Saatchi was the ambition behind Cultural Power. It isn’t about making advertising people notice. It’s about creating work that becomes relevant enough for people to care about, talk about and carry forward themselves.
That felt closely aligned with the kind of work I’ve always wanted to make, and with the kind of agency I wanted to help build.
The Titanium Grand Prix and “The Everyday Tactician”: You worked on Xbox’s “The Everyday Tactician,” which won the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes. What made that campaign work so well, and what lesson from it are you applying to your new role?
It started with a genuine human insight. Millions of people develop leadership, teamwork and strategic thinking through gaming, yet those skills are often dismissed outside gaming culture.
Sport, in particular, doesn’t always offer a level playing field. There are still fairly traditional routes into many careers: being a player, having the right connections, or coming through the right school or system. Not everyone has access to those opportunities.
The Everyday Tactician challenged that by looking for talent in an unexpected place. It showed that someone could develop real tactical ability through gaming and transfer it into the real world. That didn’t just democratise access, it gave the club a genuine competitive advantage by finding talent others might overlook.
The campaign worked because it solved a real problem for people, not just a communications problem for Xbox. The lesson I’ve carried with me is that the most powerful ideas often create value beyond advertising. They open doors, change perspectives and make people look again at where talent can come from.
Mentoring the Next Generation: You’ve mentored through Cannes Lions See It Be It, SheSays, and Lollipop. What’s the most common gap you see in young creative talent today, and how will you address it at M+C Saatchi?
The biggest gap isn’t talent. It’s access.
A lot of young people don’t know these careers exist, don’t know anyone in the industry and have no idea how to get their first conversation, placement or opportunity. If you don’t already have the contacts, the language or the confidence to navigate the system, the door can feel pretty firmly shut.
That matters because the industry needs more than one shape of creative. I’m always interested in people who’ve come through a different route, because they often see the problem differently and bring ideas the rest of us wouldn’t have reached.
M+C Saatchi is already taking steps to address that through initiatives such as Open House, which is designed to open up the industry to people from a wider range of backgrounds and give them access to opportunities they might not otherwise have had.
I want to build on that by helping to make the path in even clearer, creating more genuine access and making sure that once people arrive, they have the support and confidence to grow.
Creativity at the Centre: You said the best work happens when “talented people from different disciplines come together with creativity at the centre.” What does that actually look like in a daily workflow—and what’s the most common way it breaks down?
It means involving the right people much earlier.
The strongest work rarely comes from creative disappearing into a room and presenting a finished answer. It comes from strategy, creative, social, production, design and clients building something together.
Where it breaks down is when everyone works in sequence instead of collaboration. You spend more time defending ideas than improving them.
Work That Earns Its Place in Culture: M+C Saatchi talks about work that “earns its place in culture rather than simply interrupting it.” How do you know when a campaign has earned its place versus just bought its way in?
People choose to engage with it when they don’t have to.
You know you’ve earned your place when people share it, talk or even argue about it, remix it or reference it because it means something to them, not because media spend forced it into their feed.
Media creates reach. Culture creates relevance. The best work needs both.
The Opportunity to Shape the Next Chapter: You said you were excited about helping shape the “next chapter” creatively. What’s the first thing you want to change or build that didn’t exist at M+C Saatchi before you arrived?
Culture.
Great work doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from talented people having clarity, high standards and the confidence to push ideas further.
M+C Saatchi already has an incredibly strong creative culture and some exceptional talent. For me, the opportunity is to build on that by creating an even stronger creative rhythm across the department: clearer expectations for every level, more opportunities to share work and learn from each other, and an even more connected sense of team.
If you get the environment right, better work tends to follow.
Guy Bradbury, Chief Creative Officer, M+C Saatchi UK
From Co-Founder to CCO: You co-founded Atomic London and spent nine years building it, winning awards including a D&AD Graphite Pencil for the Royal Opera House. Now you’re leading creative at M+C Saatchi. How does your approach to creative leadership differ when you’re building someone else’s agency versus your own?
My approach hasn’t really changed. I’ve always cared deeply about people and the culture. For me its always been about setting the right conditions for people to do their best work and bringing as much positive energy to projects as possible. This place, like the agency I founded, is full of entrepreneurial people who are determinded to make great things happen for clients. All I have to do is help channel their energy and hone their ideas to create ‘Culturally Powerful’ work.
Cultural Power as a Creative Framework: You’ve described M+C Saatchi’s focus on “Cultural Power.” What does that mean in practice – and how does it differ from the traditional agency approach of simply trying to get attention?
The relationship between people and brands is constantly evolving.
It changes as people’s lives change. It shifts as technology advances. And now, it’s accelerating as AI reshapes culture itself.
For me, the challenge is no longer just about building a brand. It’s about building a brand that can adapt at speed, so it doesn’t get left behind.
To do that, the most critical thing is working closely with brand owners to get to a clear conviction and a unifying platform that can genuinely sit at the heart of their organisation.
From there, we then bring together the incredible talent across the wider M+C Saatchi Group to create a living Cultural Playbook for brands.
So, every time a brand shows up in culture, whether through advertising, creators, activations, PR, or even its own employees, it all adds up to the same unifying idea in the minds of the audience.
The Department for Education and FCA Campaigns: You’ve led campaigns for the Department for Education and the Financial Conduct Authority. How does creative leadership differ when you’re working on government and public sector briefs versus commercial brands? What’s harder?
At M+C Saatchi, we’ve spent years working with government and public sector clients, tackling everything from improving public health to encouraging people to save for retirement. Through that work, I’ve been struck by how closely the agency understands Britain today.
We have a deep understanding of how people feel, how culture is shaping their lives, and what truly motivates people to change their behaviour.
The exciting part for me is bringing that insight to consumer brands – whether it’s helping established brands rediscover their edge or challenger brands scale.
For me, the creative approach is the same whether the client is government or commercial. It starts by inspiring clients with what’s possible, taking them on the journey to distinctive ideas that connect with audiences, and then executing them in a way that’s impossible to ignore.
Building on Strong Foundations: You’re stepping into the CCO role following the departure of Global CCOs Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson. How do you honor the creative legacy they built while putting your own stamp on the agency?
I’m hugely grateful for the two years I had with Rob and Lol and for how they brought our creative departments around the world together to raise the creative bar. As a result, our CCOs are now genuinely connected, supporting one another on global client business in a truly borderless way.
For me, the opportunity is to build on that by connecting the brands we work with to even more of the extraordinary talent and deep capabilities we have at 36 Golden Square. If we can do that consistently, I don’t think there’s a limit to what we can achieve for our clients.
Regan Warner as Your First Hire: Your first major appointment as CCO is Regan Warner, who led the Titanium Grand Prix-winning Xbox campaign. What specific creative gap did you see that Regan is uniquely suited to fill?
Regan is one of the industry’s most respected creative leaders, and for good reason. She has a proven track record of building high-performing creative cultures, nurturing talent, and consistently producing work that delivers real impact.
She also has a genuinely entrepreneurial mindset, so I knew she’d fit right in from day one.
But more than her experience or reputation, what I admire most is her energy and optimism. She brings an infectious belief that there’s always a better idea to be found, and that attitude lifts everyone around her.
Most importantly, Regan has an exceptional creative instinct for how brands can earn relevance in culture. She understands that attention can’t be bought indefinitely – it has to be earned.
For me Regan brings a rare combination to M+C Saatchi. She is a creative leader who can inspire teams, build businesses, and consistently create work that earns its place in culture.
200 Awards and Counting: Your work has won more than 200 awards across television, print, digital, experiential, content, and mobile. After 25 years, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned about what actually makes work effective versus what just wins awards?
I’ve been lucky enough to win a fair few awards over the years.
But the truth is, I’ve never started a project thinking, “This could win a Lion.” I’ve started by asking, “Will this actually work for the client?”
Because that’s the whole point.
Awards should be the by-product of doing exceptional work, not the objective. If you push an idea until it’s impossible to ignore – because it’s effective, original and genuinely moves the needle – then recognition often follows.
What I’ve never understood is the industry’s obsession with playing the numbers game. Some agencies and holding companies pour millions into award entries, submitting everything that remotely qualifies in the hope that something sticks.
I’d rather do the opposite.
Be selective. Ask two simple questions:
Did the work make a real difference?
And was it different enough to deserve a jury’s attention?
If the answer to either is no, don’t enter it.
