VML Co-Chief Creative Officer Tom Murphy reflects on relevance, imposter moments, AI misuse in creative work, a daily reading habit for creatives, and notable campaigns he's led.
Staying relevant, for Murphy, means staying open, curious and uncynical rather than chasing trends.
He experienced imposter syndrome early when joining a high-performing comedy team and felt exposed reading scripts to them.
Murphy advises all creatives to read long-form material off their phones to broaden perspective.
# Overview Tom Murphy is Co-Chief Creative Officer at VML. He moved into that role after serving as CCO of McCann New York. His work at VML spans major brand assignments, including Hellmann's, Vaseline and Mastercard. He also led the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism's "Stand Up to Jewish Hate" campaign, which won a Gold Effie.
# Staying relevant Murphy argues that actively trying to "stay relevant" can backfire. Instead he focuses on remaining open, curious and uncynical. His routine for keeping perspective includes consuming news, art, film and music, following a wide range of people on Instagram, and asking his two Gen Z children for their takes. The practical takeaway: treat cultural awareness as a daily habit rather than a strategy to chase trends.
# Imposter syndrome
# Creative pet peeve: lazy AI comps Murphy is critical of unthinking use of AI for visual comps. He accepts that AI can be a useful tool in the hands of a skilled art director, but warns that generic, cheesy AI outputs can drain the life out of an idea. His stance is practical: use AI with care and taste, not as a shortcut that replaces creative judgment.
# One thing all creatives should do outside work He gives one clear recommendation: read. Not social posts, but actual reading — longer-form material off the phone. That discipline is a method for expanding thinking, improving craft and resisting narrowness in perspective.
# Personality note and autobiography title Murphy frames his approach as consciously maintaining openness and curiosity. He also shared a potential autobiography title: Reasons to Believe: A life in advertising.
# What his work shows The pieces and clients mentioned (Hellmann's, Vaseline, Mastercard, and the award-winning "Stand Up to Jewish Hate" campaign) point to a career that spans commercial brand work and socially engaged campaigns. The Gold Effie signals industry recognition for measurable marketing and effectiveness.
# Practical takeaways for creative professionals
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