Joe Staples spoke to us last week about some campaigns he’s working on. You may know Joe, he worked on this spot. 

Joe is a Creative Director on Dodge/Chrysler and an ex-12 director. His title says “copywriter” but in actuality he’s a problem solver. His favorite part of his job is solving problems—to the point where he’ll set up his own challenges to solve them. He once set up a zoetrope in the London tube just to see if he could figure it out.

Our conversation started by watching compelling new work (best car ads we’ve ever seen) and turned into a chat where Joe dished out advertising wisdom. And we took notes. Here are a few:

• Sometimes advertising isn’t the answer to the business problem
• You’re in the business of business, know what’s going on with your brand
• Tell companies the reason they do what they do because they don’t always know
• Know what’s fact about your business
• Go where your audience is going to be
• Everyone approaches problems in a particular way because it’s habit, but you have to break that habit in order see all the other options

Overall, Joe’s fucking awesome.