After spending the lattter half of 2015 working on First Direct, Mr Kipling and Aston Martin briefs that went nowhere, we were hiired as a full time senior team at JWT in January 2016 and set to work on HSBC and Oxo.
Dave and I soon took over the creative direction of HSBC and realised what a poisoned chalice it was. The clients enjoyed mind games, ignored deadlines and had a checklist of over ten things that needed to happen in each ad, (including zero dialogue despite only advertising in the UK, and shooting overseas without being specific to any location). This was around the 100th script we presented and getting it over the line was an absolute miracle. Directed by Louis Sutherland.
OXO: Unexpected Guests
We were also made Creative Directors on OXO, the last piece of the Premier Foods business that hadn't left the building. Happily, we brought back the Oxo Family, the business stayed withe the agency and sales went up by 9%. Written by Giles Fraser and Bill Hartley, creative directed by me and Dave Jenner and filmed by Declan Lowney.
OXO: Popular Girl
What I love about this is that it was written by a placement team who completely nailed the family and were only a little older than the kids in the ads. Bravo Kenny Ken Diego Abalos and Samuel Adio. Boo to the prudes who raged about an entitled teen at the table with her phone.
Qatar Financial Centre: Brand film
We won the pitch with this idea and made the ad using stock footage and real film that we shot in Qatar. It was a breath of fresh air for the category and not like anything else to come out of the Gulf. The shoot was one of the most fun I've been on. Created with Dave Jenner, Jaspar Shelbourne and Jeff Wixon
Qatar Financial Centre: DOOH/Print
The client wanted us to dramatise the effect that launching in Qatar can have on a business. Created with Jo Taylor.
The International Christian Playboys
After putting the Light City Angels concept album to bed, we went back to recording our own brand of indie rock. Video by Rob O Hara, dad of Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell.
HSBC: Secret Den
The bank remained unable to buy any scripts and finally, our CEO Joe Petyan suggested this idea which they begrudgingly bought. Dave flew to NZ to film it while I was in Qatar. The kid is Polynesian, spoke almost no English, was from a poor part of Auckland and got to keep the bike after the shoot finished. The director (Louis Sutherland) also discovered Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Deadpool 2)