Rothco is a multi-awarding independent creative agency that has been getting its hands dirty in the advertising industry here in Dublin for the last twenty years. With some impressive clients under their belt, Heineken, Unilever and AIB to name a few, we have three of their hard-hitting team gracing our main stage this year. Ahead of their OFFSET talk we caught up with producer Jessica Derby and copywriters Shane O’Brien and John McMahon to talk all things advertising.

Rothco have had multiple defining moments over the years since opening their doors in 1995, including the global launch of Hailo but last year’s Shred Of Decency campaign for Daintree paper is one that certainly stands out. With no budget but a campaign that the whole agency believed Rothco created a campaign that was shared worldwide and also nabbed them their first Cannes Lion.

We had a really simple idea – to take homophobic campaign literature and turn it into confetti to sell in support of marriage equality. We wanted to create a Catch 22 for the No Campaign – spread hate and you’re inadvertently raising money for the Yes Campaign.

Working in what they refer to as “gangs”, the environment in the agency is an exceptionally collective one with permission and authority being dispersed amongst everyone and ideas being approved if the gang likes it enough for it to fly.

The responsibility for any aspect of a job is distributed over the whole gang instead of being focused on one or two people based on their job title. Sure, there are creatives. But, at Rothco, anyone can have an idea, anyone can ‘be creative’.

With an already loaded CV behind them, what’s next for the creative agency?

We’re currently working with a rake of new clients – Irish ones like DAA, Dairygold, the Defense Forces, Fáilte Ireland, but also global ones like Delonghi, Unilever, and Kodak. We’re also launching new campaigns for Heineken, as well as our second and third hour-long documentaries for AIB. And we’ve just started a series of films called the Taxi Driver Reports, which is all about garnering insights from taxi drivers worldwide. So, you know, we’re kept busy.

Get your tickets here to see Jessica, Shane and John on the OFFSET stage this April.