Spike Jonze, ‘GoldenEye 007’, and Houseplants: Ross Garner’s Essential List

Ross Garner is an award-winning strategy director and currently leads the strategy practice at Imagination’s Detroit studio.

With a background in social media, integrated marketing and brand experiences, Ross has been lucky enough to work with world-class brands like Ford, LEGO, Kellogg’s, and Samsung to bring them closer to their most important audiences.

When he’s not developing insights to help unlock more impactful, emotionally-resonant ideas, Ross can typically be found in pursuit of a good cup of coffee or out-and-about with his family and Bernedoodle puppy Ollie, who may be part sheep.

Below Ross lists his everyday ‘must-have’s’ from quality time with Ollie the Bernedoodle to getting his daily fix of reading in, and his coffee obsession.

Lifestyle

• Place of birth: Fitchburg, Massachusetts
• Hometown: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
• Staycation: Northern Michigan (or as the locals call it, ‘Up North’)
• Vacation: Any place that inspires my mind to wander.
• Pet: Ollie the Bernedoodle
• Place of work: Imagination
• Place of workout: Basement gym - not fancy, but gets the job done.
• Good Habit: Reading! I need my daily fix.
• Bad Habit: I’m fairly certain my blood is half coffee at this point.
• Mode of transport: Walking with purpose.
• Bonus Travel Essential: Handheld steamer. Hotel irons are amateur hour.

Culture

• Artist: Chuck Close
• Musician: ‘WALK THE MOON’ for all-time favorite live show, Bon Iver for all the feels
• Commercials / music video director: Spike Jonze
• Film director: Christopher Nolan
• Author: Alex Michaelides, Don Winslow, Lee Child, Dennis Lehane, Andy Weir
• Photographer: Joe Gall (AKA @camera_jesus) for his perspectives on Detroit/Michigan, Saul Leiter for his stunning street photography
• Film: ‘Moonrise Kingdom’
• Series: ‘Shōgun’ was so good
• Invention: Stagg electric gooseneck kettle for the pour-over coffee snob in me
• Commercial: Lacoste did this commercial called ‘The Big Leap’ that lives in my head rent-free; it’s a beautiful piece of work, with a perfect song choice from Disclosure/Flume
• Music Video: I wouldn’t consider myself a diehard Ed Sheeran fan, but he did a music video for his song ‘Bloodstream’ with Rudimental that featured the late Ray Liotta as a washed-up rock star; that one’s stuck in my mind
• Video Game: I spent way too much time playing ‘GoldenEye 007’ for N64 back in the day
• Board Game: ‘Monopoly’; fair warning: I take no prisoners
• Book: Too many to pick just one; recently ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ by Chris Whitaker
• Graphic Novel: If we’re going to be strict about terms, ‘Watchmen’ left an impression on me; if I can extend this out to comics, ‘Poorly Drawn Lines’ hits my sense of humour
• Podcast: ‘The Daily’ by the New York Times
• Newspaper (off or online): How about a newsletter? ‘Morning Brew’ is essential daily reading.
• Magazine: I will impulse buy both ‘Men’s Health’ and ‘Esquire’ from overpriced airport stores.
• Obsession: Finding the most absurd LinkedIn analogy that an influencer uses to try to reveal a blatantly obvious ‘business truth’
• Bonus Culture Essential: The stuff Jasmine Bina puts out from Concept Bureau is super smart - really great cultural hot-takes for strategists and non-strategists alike

Food and Drink

• Breakfast: Protein bar
• Restaurant: Selden Standard in Detroit
• Cheap bite: I’m a sucker for a good diner.
• Working lunch: Sweetgreen
• Dish: Adobo chicken
• Snack: Something savory; I’ll always take a classic potato chip.
• Guilty Pleasure: Dark chocolate
• Bar: The Violet Hour, Chicago
• Booze: Bourbon
• Not Booze: Way too much sparkling water.
• Bonus Food: Fresh seafood; growing up by the ocean definitely rubbed off on me.
• Bonus Beverage: Pour-over coffee; ideally an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (IFYKYK).
• ​

Kit

• Phone: iPhone
• Computer: Macbook
• Headphones: Airpods (See a pattern? Apple’s got me in deep…)
• Camera: Nikon
• Pen / pencil: A quality gel roller, black, or an extra large Sharpie if I’m feeling spicy (I think the size is literally called a Magnum, which feels aggressive…).
• Where you document an idea: On paper! I probably need to plant a few trees to make up for my need to physically sketch things out.
• Casual Clothing: My wife says I own too many hats.
• Smart Clothing: Ministry of Supply - my absolute go-to for business travel.
• Footwear: A classic pair of Onitsuka Tigers is always in my rotation.
• Accessory: I have a helix piercing that I’m stubbornly holding on to; it’s very Millennial of me.
• Collection: Houseplants. It’s a problem.
• Home comfort: Vinyl on a rainy day.
• App: Waze is the best navigation app; don’t @ me
• Website: I’m a big fan of Huckberry - both the gear they curate and the content they put out.
• Blog: Derek Thompson’s Substack
• Work program: I make a mean PowerPoint deck.
• Digital work tool: Unsplash.com - great source of quality, royalty-free photography.
• Analogue work tool: 3M Post-It Easel Pads…I have a reputation.
• Morning grooming / makeup essential: I got a custom cologne from Olfactory NYC as a gift; having a go-to ‘signature scent’ is pretty cool.
• Bonus Kit Essential: Take Vitamin D! Chances are, you’re not getting enough.