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A courageous journey, a chance meeting and a single ring on the bell at the gilded gates of his future, changed everything for Kevin Tewis and launched him into being! And nothing has stopped him ever since!
At 15, a disastrous careers interview informed Kevin that he simply wasn’t good enough and a life of stacking biscuits as opposed to a glorious creative career lay ahead. To quote Churchill Insurance's iconic dog Winston that Kevin subsequently went on to create: "Oh No-No-No-No-No!"
A day later Kevin found himself at the gates of 5 Star, his very favourite band. And having taken his destiny into his own hands, there at the gates, his future began. That mix of nerve and pitch-perfect timing became a blueprint that Kevin still follows: Create work with staying power, not sugar highs.
In this extraordinary episode we explore how a shy Superfan became a Photographer, a Music Producer, a Brand Builder, a Creativity Legend and the mind behind one of Britain’s most loved advertising icons, Churchill’s nodding bulldog Winston: "Oh Yes-Yes-Yes-Yes-Yes!"
We dig into the craft. Kevin’s teenage habit of hand-charting Top 40 hits helped him decode what makes a song endure across formats and decades. That data-meets-feel approach fuelled records designed to live on Heart and Smooth long after the charts. It also birthed a branding masterstroke: “Winston,” a bulldog that turned insurance into affection by blending British heritage with warmth and simple, memorable language. You’ll hear how he later applied the same logic in government, naming ANTENNA for Number 10’s secure comms by building inward and outward meaning straight into the word.
Mentors loom large in Kevin’s story. From Five Star’s kindness to Eddie Gordon’s industry schooling, he shows how generosity scales careers—and why he now mentors young creators, sits on a school trust, and argues for business literacy in classrooms. We talk ad quality, radio’s surprising strength, Simon Cowell’s new boy band era, and why AI is best treated like Grammarly: a sharp helper, not a stand-in for empathy, timing, and taste. Creativity remains stubbornly human because what moves us keeps shifting.
The most luminous turn arrives with fatherhood. Kevin shares the joy and honesty of building a family through surrogacy and egg donation, keeping both women an active part of his children’s lives. It’s a lesson in dignity, clarity, and the kind of legacy that truly lasts. Anchored by a favourite line from Kipling’s If—keep your head when others lose theirs—this conversation is a guide for anyone who wants to make things people will still love in ten, twenty, thirty years.
Enjoy the story, share it with a friend who needs a nudge of courage, and if it resonates, subscribe and leave a review so more listeners can find these conversations. What bold step will you take today?
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
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