Two teams have each written a script for the same car advert. One is safe and clear, the other is funny and slightly risky. The creative director reads both, sends one back with three notes, and decides which version goes to the client on Friday. A week later, the same person is in the edit making sure the finished film still has the joke. That is the job. The creative director decides what is good enough to leave the building.

The title means two related but different things, depending on where you work.

What a creative director does

At an advertising agency the creative director leads the people who come up with the ideas for adverts. These are usually pairs of a copywriter (words) and an art director (visuals). The client, a brand, asks the agency to solve a problem, for example to make a new product known. The creative director briefs the teams, reviews their ideas, picks the strongest, and presents them to the client with the account director. Once a script is approved, they stay involved through the shoot and the edit to protect the idea.

At a production company the creative director looks after the creative identity of the company as a whole. They help decide which formats, series or films the company develops, give notes on scripts and cuts, and often lead pitches to broadcasters together with the head of development. In some companies the title is close to that of a senior executive producer on the creative side.

Responsibilities

  • Set the creative standard and the kind of work the team or company makes
  • Brief writers, creatives or development teams and review their ideas
  • Choose which ideas are presented to the client or broadcaster
  • Present and defend the work in pitches and client meetings
  • Give notes on scripts, storyboards, rough cuts and final edits
  • Lead, hire and develop the creative team

How the role touches the budget

Indirectly. A creative director does not manage a budget day to day, but their choices decide what a production will cost. An idea with a night shoot, a large cast or heavy visual effects costs more than one with two actors in a kitchen. In commercials, the agency producer and the production company translate the approved idea into a quote, and the creative director has to accept trade-offs when that quote is higher than the client's budget.

How people become creative directors

At an agency, almost always by starting as a copywriter or art director and building a reputation with strong campaigns. At a production company, usually through development or producing, after years of picking and shaping projects that worked.

In commercials

The agency creative director sits in the middle of a triangle. The brand pays, the agency owns the idea, and a separate production company (with its own director) makes the film. The creative director helps choose that director and keeps the idea intact while the production company works out how to shoot it. More about this chain is on how a film is made.