With Selby Jennings, we turned the billboard into the message, letting it comment on what advertising can’t do, and what the right hire can.
Campaign / Strategy / Copywriting
Turning the Billboard on Itself
In some of London’s busiest transport hubs and financial districts, most advertising competes for attention. We decided to do the opposite. For Selby Jennings, we created a campaign that turns the billboard on itself: a series of headlines that highlight what advertising can’t do and what great recruitment can.
“This copy is a placeholder. Your next hire won’t be.”
“Good ads get attention. Great hires get results.”
Speaking to the People Who Move Markets
Selby Jennings connects financial institutions with the leaders who drive them forward. They wanted an outdoor campaign that would speak directly to those leaders, the people who don’t just look at ads but make the decisions that shape markets.
The challenge was to stand out in London’s transport hubs and financial districts, places like Canary Wharf, Bank, Heathrow, and the Elizabeth Line, where every surface is fighting for attention.
A Campaign That Turns the Billboard on Itself
We chose clarity over noise. Instead of competing with the chaos, we paused it. The campaign makes the billboard self-aware, using simple, direct copy to create a contrast between the limits of advertising and the impact of the brand itself.
Confidence Through Restraint
We stripped everything back to what mattered: confident typography, white space, and balance. The absence of noise became the point of difference. Every placement was chosen intentionally, appearing in high-traffic financial and commuter zones where leaders in finance move every day. The result feels confident but understated, a calm presence in a busy environment.
Intelligent. Calm. Leader to Leader
The copy speaks to leaders in finance, not candidates. It’s confident without being loud, intelligent without being smug. The tone is calm, direct, and self-assured, speaking to leaders on their level. The campaign ran across large-format billboards, digital 6-sheets, and escalator screens across London’s financial and commuter routes. Each execution followed the same discipline: no clutter, no unnecessary design, just the message and the space to let it land.
