Why Roald Dahl is Fran Palines’ Creative Hero

Fran Palines is a creative director at VML Manila. She caught the advertising bug as a copywriter at BBDO Guerrero in 2010 and simply never got over it. Since then, she's built her craft across some of Manila's top creative agencies and has picked up over 90 international and local awards, including at One Show, Cannes Lions, LIA, Clios, AdFest, MadStars, and Spikes Asia.

Her work for Fully Booked earned the Philippines its 5th Gold Lion, while her Break In Case Of campaign gave KitKat PH its first APAC Effies Gold. She’s also served as a juror for New York Festivals, Spikes Asia, and Gerety.

Fran sat down with LBB to discuss how the Welsh author continues to influence her and her work as well as how his magical books became her most prized possessions.

LBB> Who would you say is your creative hero?

Fran> Roald Dahl.

LBB> How long has this person been important to you and what are your first memories of coming across their work?

Fran> I remember finding a copy of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ someone had hidden in the school library. It was lodged behind these thick, paperback sonnets so you knew it had to be good – for someone to deliberately choose a spot no 10-year-old would go near. Library books back then were either classic lit, anecdotes on puberty, Filipino dictionaries, or picture books.

I ate up every word that night. I must’ve returned it a month later. I’ve never read anything so fantastical. I remember thinking that this old, scratchy, yellowish book was something that would get me in trouble in the best possible way.

LBB> How did you go about learning more about them and their work?

Fran> It was a natural progression. I was curious about his other stories so I started reading ‘The BFG,’ ‘Matilda,’ and ‘The Witches.’ And what I found was someone who had a wicked ability to make the boring adult world feel scarier, stranger, and therefore more interesting. A coven of witches attending their annual KPI meeting at the same hotel you were checked into. Or the delicious cruelty of making a child eat his favourite chocolate cake over and over. Or gaining the ability to use ‘X-ray eyes’ by training your senses – which I wholeheartedly believed, before giving up after 15 minutes of ‘hard’ trying.

I think that connected with me as a kid starved for whimsy, disobedience, and magic. These books became my best friends and most prized possessions.

LBB> Why is the person such an inspiration to you?

Fran> I might not remember the nitty-gritty of each story, but I still remember the feeling of being, for the first time, properly entertained. There weren’t many movies to watch, and local programmes were often on repeat. Dahl was my gateway into books, and all that reading was what got me into writing. First for my school gazette, later for magazines and newspapers, and now for different brands. So in a very real sense, he laid the foundation that set me on the path I’m on.

I actually took a short break from agency life to work for a bookstore chain, which isn’t as romantic as it sounds. I learned Dahl actually became a writer much later in life, which I loved. There’s something comforting about that. That creative lives don’t always begin on schedule.

LBB> How does this person influence you in your approach to your creative work?

Fran> Corny as it sounds, it’s looking for the magic. Is there a story in the data? What’s the human tension hiding inside this strategy? The good stuff tends to sit in the corner hoping you won't notice it.

He never looked down on his audience. He trusted their imagination and curiosity. Embraced the weird and allowed them to piece things together for themselves.

Whenever I’m writing, do I actually have something interesting to say, or am I on the safe side of risky? A lot of the day-to-day is hoping the pen doesn’t hover over paper too long.

I think we’re all just trying to tell good stories, hoping they endure and create the same sort of emotional impact.

LBB> What piece or pieces of this person’s work do you keep coming back to and why?

Fran> ‘Matilda’ might be my favourite. The world is full of Wormwoods and Trunchbulls, and it’s been helpful to take a step back and figure out your role and purpose with every brief. Even when the enemy doesn’t come with a suspicious moustache.

I’ve been enjoying the Wes Anderson adaptations too. He’s such a great fit, isn’t he? It’s a refreshing way to reconnect with Dahl’s short stories, some of which I’m discovering for the first time.