'We can sit around and shake our fists like blacksmiths in the 1900s, angry at cars': How creative Chas Bayfield is riding out AI

Unmade: media and marketing analysis

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'We can sit around and shake our fists like blacksmiths in the 1900s, angry at cars': How creative Chas Bayfield is riding out AI

Tim Burrowes

May 14, 2025

Transcript

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. In today’s edition of The Unmakers we talk to creative legend Chas Bayfield about his new venture 21 Madison, fixing the mistakes made by AI. Plus, Seven West Media shares continue their surge on the Unmade Index

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Introducing 21 Madison: Fixing ads knocked up in Canva by the business owner’s talented niece

In today’s audio-led edition of Unmade, we talk to an adland legend who quietly slipped into Australia under cover of Covid and now does global work from his home in Hobart.

Bayfield: Leaning into the AI disruption

Bayfield has a world-beating portfolio. His work is still instantly recognisable to anybody who grew up in the UK. Blackcurrant Tango’s 1996 90-second epic, ‘St George’ won most major advertising awards.

Now a freelance creative, Bayfield lives in Tasmania with most of his work for overseas brands.

This month Bayfield has launched a new business, 21 Madison. Recognising the fact that AI and tools such as Canva have made it possible for anyone to create an ad, even if they lack the skills to write a message that sells, Bayfield aims to overlay his human talents onto the machinery.

In the podcast interview with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, Bayfield describes his target market as those who cannot afford to commission an ad agency: “It's people who, for whatever reason, are self-generating their advertising. Potentially AI, potentially Canva. It might just be that they've got a talented niece or nephews, knocked something up in their year seven graphics class. Largely, I'm guessing it's going to be AI.”

Bayfield sees 21 Madison’s role as stepping in to turn the copy into something that sells. Recognising that these are not the big budget players, he adds: “These are people who are going to be putting ads out on Facebook and Instagram.”

According to the 21 Madison website, prices start from a $79 “quick fix” to $999 per month for a virtual creative director helping create eight ads per month.

Bayfield says 21 Madison is his attempt to make the best of the disruption being wrought by the likes of ChatGPT:

“We can sit around and shake our fists at the system and the way it is, a bit like blacksmiths in the early 1900s, just angry at cars. And where does that get you?
“So you have to work out, what can I do to move it on? I've never been one just to sit back and go, ‘this is always going to be the same forever.’”

During the interview, Bayfield also tackles the most controversial period in his career, when he and a colleague won a sex discrimination claim against ad agency JWT alleging that they lost their roles because the agency wanted to lose its reputation as “a boys club”.

Despite winning the case, Bayfield suffered a brutal social media backlash.

He reveals: “The backlash that came afterwards was off the scale.

And I got a monstrous amount of social media hatred and people telling me that I wasn't going to work. And I certainly wasn't going to work in Australia.

“I won a works tribunal. It was all I had done.

“It was nasty. That was pretty tough. Especially as I've always felt that I've been the one looking at what's next in advertising. To be cast as this washed up dinosaur was horrible.”

Seven extends its ASX charge

Seven West Media continued its charge on the Unmade Index, rising another 6.9% yesterday to a market capitalisation of $247m. The stock has now risen by more than 10% over the last week. However, in the bigger picture the stock is still trading close to a historic low.