Five Questions with Havas Chicago SVP and Group Creative Director Jeff Beck

What do Led Zeppelin, brain surgery and the best pizza in Chicago have in common? They’re all right here as Havas Chicago SVP and Group Creative Director Jeff Beck stops by for a thoroughly entertaining round of Five Questions with SCREEN. Let’s get to it!

SCREEN: Ok Jeff, let’s settle the debate: where do you go for the best pizza in Chicago?

JEFF: Zarella. Stop reading this. Drop everything you’re doing and go there immediately. Get the Spicy Vodka pie or the Soppressata Mortadella.

SCREEN: If you could be a member of any musical group in history, what would it be?

JEFF: Led Zeppelin, no question about it. I can’t sing as well as Robert Plant, can’t play the drums like John Bonham, can’t shred like Jimmy Page or slap the bass like John Paul Jones but I play a mean triangle and I think that could have taken the band to another level.

Let’s enjoy some tunes from the iconic band…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u43IgCg_yWw&list=RDu43IgCg_yWw

SCREEN: What is your most prized possession?

JEFF: My sanity, I hope to hang on to it for many years to come.

SCREEN: Your favorite commercial ever?

JEFF: Whew, that’s a tough question. I don’t know if I can pick just one favorite but I can pick ONE of my absolute favorites. The whole “search one and done” campaign from Kayak was pretty killer, but the “Brain Surgery” spot in particular always gets me. I have no idea how this got approved and on air, but I’m so happy it did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqrTEQ_1h68

SCREEN: Worst job ever?

JEFF: One summer in college I vacuumed dorm rooms. No AC, 3,000 degrees and a huge Ghostbusters style vacuum cleaner strapped to my back. Something like that tests the soul of a man.

BONUS QUESTIONS!

SCREEN: What’s that TV show you’re a little embarrassed to admit you love to watch?

JEFF: Traitors. It’s trash TV at its finest but I can’t turn away. It’s full of lies, deceit and murder. What else could you possibly ask for? After watching the US version, I’ve also watched the UK, Canadian and Australian versions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbBHB3Sg80

SCREEN: Your greatest athletic achievement? 

JEFF: In high school 4 friends and I won a city-wide 3 on 3 basketball tournament called Gus Macker. They shut down the streets in our small town, then put up half-court basketball hoops and let us go at it. We ripped through the tournament with an efficiency that can only be described as cold and calculated. Everyone knew their role and played it beautifully. It was poetry in motion. Chillicothe, Ohio still sings songs about us.

SCREEN: Best advice you’ve ever received? 

JEFF: Focus on making 80% of the work “good” so you have the mental availability to make 20% of the work “great”.

Thanks for playing, Jeff! For more from Jeff and his talented teammates at Havas Chicago, click right here.

Check back here at SCREEN for new rounds of Five Questions with SCREEN. You can also click right here to subscribe to our weekly email newsletter.