After Blackcurrant Tango, Jim and I were given a lot more freedom and had the pick of the briefs at HHCL. The late 90's was a brilliant time to be in advertising as you still had a chance of making work that everyone saw and which could become famous
Go
Name an airline? Who me? I couldn't possibly! Oh, OK then. This short-lived but much loved airline was named by, ahem, me whilst at HHCL. What does flying in a plane operated by the airline that you named feel like? It feels good. Created for HHCL+Partners and Wolff-Olins with Jim Bolton
Short film: Hammerman
This five minute film was directed by Andy Shelley and won best short film at the Wrangler Short Film Festival in 1998. It subsequently appeared on the TVs in long haul BA flights. A result.
J2O: What Men Like
Launching a soft drink for men was tough. We needed it to feel blokey and hit upon the idea of finding things that men like, then photographing them as if they were part of a calendar that might be found in a mechanics' workshop. This wouldn't pass any inclusivity test today, especially the "pretty girls" execution. Tsk! Created with Jim Bolton at HHCL.
The shoot with the girls being chased by a giant Terex truck was in an open cast coal mine north of Edinburgh. I don't think the models really had any idea of why they were there and only the one on the right saw the funny side. Photo by Harry Rankin.
Greenbelt Festival: Cereal box
Greenbelt is a Christian arts and social justice festival and to celebrate its 25th anniversary, we created some DM that pastiched a cereal box. We even made the cereal ourselves using foam and food dye. Created with Trevor Webb and designed by Simon Manchipp.
Orange Tango: Prayers
It helped having a Christian as a client at Tango (David Atter). He saw no problem in children praying about his fabulous product. An old lady whose vicar didn't like the ads made us a tapestry as a protest - I still have it hanging up in my shed.
Ray Gardner in France
Fresh from his adventures on the White Cliffs, we sent Ray to France to create some stings for ITV's coverage of the 1998 World Cup. ITV weren't sure what to do with them but played them anyway.
World Cup France 98 song
Ray Gardner gave it his best shot but we lost out to Vindaloo. We even used the tune to the Marseillaise. Created with Michael Auld and Jonny Hawkins
Tango: Trade ad
In 1998, Tango introduced snazzy black plastic bottles as well as cans and needed to tell the trade all about it.
Church ad: Fix the World
Another Christmas campaign that never happened was this one from 1998. Like 2000's Millennium and 1996's X Files that also didn't run, this one made the news too. The illustrations are mine. Created with Martin Casson and Trevor Webb.
Church radio ad: Sale
Back in 1998, Justin Hawkins was a student at Huddersfield Poly who wrote songs for his mum and his mates on a Bon Tempi organ. We cashed in on this for an advert for the church for Christmas.
Church TV ad: Sing Song
This ad featured 'real' people who'd had a bit of a life but who were still Christians. Made with Trevor Webb and Martin Casson and shot by Patricia Murphy.