Experience
I have 20 years of experience in top ad agencies (UK, Europe, Australia, with some US, Middle East and China thrown in) creating successful, effective and award-winning campaigns, honing strategy, generating concepts and key messaging, and crafting copy and content for famous brands. Previous full time positions include:
Droga5 Sydney > DDB London > adamandeveDDB UK > Grey London > ACNE UK (Deloitte)
Resume >
Belief
I care about every word. Get them right, and everything flows. Whether it’s a brief, a headline, an idea, a platform, post, piece of content or a conversation - Words are the foundation for the strongest ideas and that’s where I add most value.
Specialisms
I’ve worked across most products and sectors but particularly enjoy dreaming up ideas for sports, tech, entertainment, fitness and nutrition, automotive, alcohol and luxury brands. I also have a knack for bringing clarity to complexity, which has served well while working at Deloitte, and on banking and finance, telecomms, and mobility (oil and gas) brands. (Sorry, but tobacco, vapes and gambling are where I draw the line.)
A real human
I’m a father of two, husband of one, and daily barista for the household. Long-time Christopher Nolan obsessive, Martin Amis pusher and hip-hop enthusiast. Reformed sneakerhead and active point guard, with a fairly reliable three-pointer. I like to balance my passion for pottery with motorcycle rides and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Currently Blue belt.
Awards
Cannes Lions / Bronze / Outdoor (Ambient and Digital Screens)
Cannes Lions / Bronze / Promo and Activation (Digital & Social: Use of Social Platform in a Promotional Campaign)
Clio / Silver / Innovative Media
Eurobest / Grand Prix / Outdoor
Eurobest / Silver / Branded Content & Entertainment
LIA / Bronze / Billboard (Innovative Use of Billboard)
Bill Bernbach Award / Media & Outdoor
Cannes Lions / Agency of the Year, 2014 / adamandeveDDB
LIA / Agency of the year 2014
Campaign / Agency of The Year 2014 / adam&eveDDB
Campaign / Top 10 digital innovations of 2014
MAA / Merit / Remember A Charity Before It’s Too Late
Travel Marketing Awards / Silver / Star Alliance Upgrade Awards
Travel Marketing Awards / Silver / Star Alliance Upgrade Awards
Campaign / Agency of the year, 2014
MAA / Merit / FT Business to Business Card
DMA / Bronze / Remember A Charity Before It’s Too Late (Best Public Sector and Charity Campaign)
DMA / Silver / Virgin Media TiVo launch (Best Launch Campaign)
Campaign Big / Finalist / Remember A Charity
YoungGuns / Finalist / Remember A Charity Before it’s too late (Best PR Led Integrated Campaign)
YoungGuns / Finalist / Remember A Charity Before It’s Too Late (Best Use of Celebrities or Live)
YoungGuns / Finalist / Remember A Charity Before It’s Too Late (Best Charitable and Non-Profit Campaign)
AWARD / Finalist / YoungGuns / Campaign / Quit In Style (Craft In Art Direction)
AWARD / Finalist / YoungGuns / Campaign / Quit In Style (Art Direction)
One Show / Finalist / YoungGuns / Quit In Style (Collateral Poster Campaign)
One Show / Finalist / YoungGuns / Quit In Style (Promotion)
One Show / Finalist / YoungGuns / Quit In Style (Innovation Media Campaign)
APMA Star Awards / Finalist / VB Top Ticket (Best Sponsorship Campaign)
The Work / In The Book / Annual / YoungGuns / Quit In Style
YoungGuns / Finalist / Watch Us Tazer Our Boss (Film)
YoungGuns / Finalist / Stella Artois Gold Room (Promo)
Caples / Finalist / FFA / Interactive Fan (Ambient)
Yahoo! Big Shot at Cannes Contest / Finalist / Switch Off
Yahoo! Global Think-Tank / Student Winner
B&T Magazine / Cinema Commercial of The Year / FFA / 90 Minutes 90 Emotions
The story so far - A sample of my personal tone (you can select others)
Life as a full-time barista and underpaid barman was great. Back in Australia in the early 2000s, beer was cheap and the days were long. But I knew I was destined for more.
With a degree in Creative Advertising from England and an art foundation from Bristol (that’s where Banksy’s from), I walked - head held high - into Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney to accept their offer. There wasn’t one.
A couple years later at Lowe, I got my first paid job as a copywriter. With the constant fear of making flat whites swirling around in the back of my head, I worked long and hard and nourished my creativity with cheap Thai food.
Within 15 months I snuck into Droga5, Sydney as their first creative hire. Five people in an un-air-conditioned garage is uncomfortable in summer. We drank mid-strength beer to celebrate pitch wins and keep our minds cutting edge.
As the agency expanded I exited, to The Campaign Palace, an internationally acclaimed local powerhouse you’ve probably never heard of. Now, other people were making my macchiatos. I had an Australian passport, an Australian wife and with the global recession not looking too gloomy, we made our move to London.
DDB London. Gentlemanly, extremely nice and fairly good. It got even better when adam&eve came in and renovated. Dart boards, L-shaped sofas and office walls were an extravagance we could do without. Time flew, and just as we peaked as Agency of the Millennium or something like that, my partner and I charged off to Grey, riding on a couple of Cannes lions with a Bill Bernbach Award to boot.
Six months later, I began creative directing Dairy Crest and HSBC. Working alongside some very talented people, we brought in new business wins for Sixt and Which? creating the brand’s new line, Keep questioning.
After 5 years of drinking the same old brew at Grey HQ, I craved risk. Hey, freelance could be fun… Accidental monogamist that I am, I jumped into ACNE and stayed for nearly two years. My Swedish improved. There was real Fika. It was fast, social, experimental and often, just mental. But presenting to brands like Netflix, YouTube, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Company, Uber, Burberry and the Winter Olympics Committee made me feel lucky. Acne was owned by Deloitte, and I’ll (genuinely) forever cherish the hours me and the Global Chief Creative Officer, Andy would spend tweaking each other’s copy.
After the pandemic, it was time for a fresh challenge. I teamed up with Paul Moran for a fully remote project for META, out of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York. Metaphorically rubbing shoulders with ‘The Sound of Metal’ director and Oscar nominee, Darius Marder and his Oscar-winning Editor Mads Mikkelsen went to my head. I promoted myself to ‘global creative consultant’ because my problems are bigger now. These days, I have an ECM espresso machine and indulge in latte art before meetings.
