Creative Minds: RGA’s Irisy Wang wants Nolan to direct her next commercial

Name: Irisy Wang

Origin: Nanjing, China

Places/lived: Shanghai, London, Beijing

Pronouns: She/her

CV:

• Group creative director, RGA, Shanghai, 2022-present
• Creative director, Wieden+Kennedy, Shanghai, 2020-2021
• Creative director, BBH, Shanghai 2015-2019
• Group head, Karma, Shanghai, 2013-2015
• Art director and graphic designer, 2006-2011

1. How did you end up being a creative?

With a background both in computer science and graphic design, I started to have an interest in digital design and new media in advertising world. From there I built a career path to become an art-based creative.

2. What's your favourite piece of work in your portfolio?

‘The Taste of Life’ for Martell in 2018, a Chinese meal occasion campaign. Martell wanted to promote the concept of cognac as a dinner alcohol in the Chinese market. When doing preliminary research, we found that for Chinese people, every gathering is not just for eating, but more about emotional connection and building relationships. Therefore, in the creative stage, we abandoned the traditional promotion method of using cognac beside different dishes to bring out the concept. Instead, we created a virtual ‘taster of life restaurant’ under the big idea of ‘Be Curious’ that staged scenes of life stories. In this virtual restaurant, everyone is a taster, exploring a different taste in life. And you can even interact with the character in the story and decide how you want the story to end.

3. What's your favourite piece of work created by someone else?

Nike’s ‘Find your Greatness’ campaign for the London Olympics has always been my favourite. Powerful concepts are brought to life in a simple but brilliant way. I was also living in London during the entire campaign launch, and this wave of promotions became the centre of conversation at the time and had an impact on sports culture.

4. What/who are your key creative influences?

Surrealism artists like René Magritte and Tim Walker are my biggest inspirations. Like advertising, all the masterpieces in that field are communicating a subconscious when facing the audience.

5. What kind of student were you?

Since childhood, I have been an outlier observer. A manga fan who draws avatars all over her desk. A teenager who uses four-frame comics to write a review book in a typical and conservative high school.

6. What's on your bucket list?

Go surfing in Hawaii and become a music video director.

7. Who’s on your dream dinner guest list (alive or dead)?

Christopher Nolan. I would ask him whether he could be the director for our next commercial.

8. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.

I once took a freelance job shooting an Asian campaign for a sports brand, and I was going to Korea to shoot celebrities from different countries. We encountered almost all the problems that could happen during a production, such as language barriers, miscommunication between different teams, and the shooting location needed to be changed at the very last minute. I clearly remember sitting in the conference room on the eve of the last day of shooting and asking the team at the time: Did I accidentally participate in a reality prank show? If yes, please ask the filming team who is hiding to show up quickly, I really can't hold it anymore. In the end, the filming was successfully completed, but I don't want to encounter such an experience again.

9. How would your co-workers describe you?

A mature and optimistic person

10. What's your guilty pleasure?

My stationery collection. I probably have hundreds of various brushes and writing tools. Just looking at them makes me happy.

11. Tell us about a charity or cause you think needs more attention.

The problem of plastic pollution in the ocean and the disappearance of corals.