Creative Minds: Lauren Brokenshire's inked tales & odd tongue-twisting talents

Name: Lauren Brokenshire

Origin: Auckland, New Zealand

Places lived/worked: Auckland, New Zealand

Pronouns: She/her

CV:

Senior copywriter , The Brand Agency, July 2023 – now
Art director, FCB New Zealand, Feb 2023 – July 2023
Copywriter, FCB NZ, 2021-2023 
Creative, Colenso BBDO, Auckland New Zealand, 2013-2020

1. How did you end up being a creative?

My career advisor didn’t know what to do with me—I sucked at everything but Art, PE and English. Then one day I realised someone had to be making the ads I watched and loved on TV. So, I looked into it and decided I wanted to be a suit. Decided I’d be a terrible suit and became a copywriter instead. Then eight years after that, switched to art direction.

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

Puppo - Every dog has its ad from Colenso BBDO on Vimeo.

Probably ‘Puppo, Every Dog Has Its Ad’. Coming from little old New Zealand the idea of having a campaign run in New York has always been cool, add to that we wrote 100,729 headlines. Well, an algorithm did but I helped.

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

This is a hard one but the one that pops to mind is ‘Fearless Night’ by TBWA Paris. It was published in France in July, 2021 an combats the problem of women and minorities being scared to walk alone at night.  For this they used digitally illuminated billboards already present in the public space, by displaying white screens whose luminosity has been boosted by 20%, in order to light up the darkest and most frightening streets of Paris from 9pm to 7am. Simple, effective, genius. And most importantly, genuinely helpful.

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

My grandad. I never got to meet him as he died long before I was born. But he sounds incredible, and he was a short person at 5 feet—in front of him, I’d feel like a giant! I’ve been told that and I would be besties, so it’d be cool to be able to just spend one night with him. I’ve also recently started boxing, and he boxed as well—we could both exchange some pointers.

5. What advice would you give to 10-year-old you, if you could?

Those pink and grey checkered board shorts aren’t cool. Please stop wearing them. Please. Maybe invest in a dress or two. Also stop taking selfies, they aren't cute. Then or now.

6. What really motivates you?

Not being miserable. My sole aim in life is true happiness. If I know it’s not going to make me happy, or it isn’t making me happy, why would I be motivated to do it? I wake up every day with being happy and making others happy as my aim. And, if something is interrupting my happiness, I figure out how to change that. Sometimes that means doing really scary things, or taking risks, but it almost always pays off. And if not, I figure something else out.

7. How would your co-workers describe you?

For this question, I asked actual co-workers. They said: “bad b energy” (I’ll take that) Other words they used to describe me were “Hmmmm” followed by something I refuse to repeat, so I asked for another description and they said “Determined” (I’ll also take that). Then I asked our IT guy, and he said lots of nice words but my favourite was “smooth with a touch of chocolate” so I’ll add that in.

8. Do you have any secret or odd talents?

I can stick my tongue to itself. I don’t even know where to begin describing what I mean… Basically, I can put the tip of my tongue on the back of my tongue and keep it there without holding it with my teeth. I’ve never met anyone else who can do it - so if you can hit me up. Just want to know I’m not alone.

9. Tell us about your tattoo(s).

I have a fair few. But two of them stand out. One that I don’t remember getting at all, and to this day don’t actually know what it’s meant to be. (McDonald's fries? Hands? Abstract art?) And the other, is a line that goes through all the arteries in my arm. I call it my lifeline. So it’s either a really good indication of where to avoid ... or to aim for…

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

Oh, a serious answer. Migraines. I’ve had them since I was four-years-old. I get hemiplegic ones. My ability to form words, feel the left side of my body and even see are taken away. But for 23 years I’ve been told it’s just in my head. Recently a lot of studies have started happening so I think people are realising how bad it can be, and I think it’s even classed as a neurological disorder now. But migraines are awful and there should be more research, maybe even a cure?!

11. Who is your 'hall pass' celebrity?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt. So if you know him, send him my way.