This was the year that freelance advertising fell off a cliff. The pandemic struck in mid March and I barely worked again until September. I was a Ltd company so there were no handouts from the government either. We froze the mortgages and Mrs B upped her hours just to get by.
Suzuki Hybrids: Choreography
After spending months on an unsuccessful pitch for P&O cruises, this was mine and Dave Jenner's last piece of work for iris before lockdown ended the freelance dream. We wrote the script and others took it on, shot it and finished it off. This ran across Europe.
Church ad: We are One
Cliff went to the same church as me in Cricklewood. He can barely see or walk after a life spent drinking and taking heroin, and decided that he wanted to "do a poster" to tell people about God. Global threw in a free digital billboard and Campaign ran a story. Created with Martin Casson.
Ltd: Facebook ad
This was a response to the lack of government support to freelancers and other individuals set up as Ltd companies. While sole traders and anyone on PAYE had access to the Chancellor's bounty, anyone paid in dividends was left out in the cold. We gave them this to post on their Facebook and other social media. Created with Matt Keen and Martin Casson.
Ltd: Not Limited
As lockdown tightened its grip and my income evaporated, Matt Keen and I continued pushing out films in an attempt to change then Chancellor Rishi Sunak's mind and persuade him to offer a lifeline to the UK's 1000s of Ltd company directors. Doing something felt better than doing nothing.
Blackcurrant Tango: 2020 Ltd Remix
As it looked like nothing was going to change, we persuaded Ray Gardner to re-voice his 1996 original and asked the original sound mixer, Simon Capes to rework the audio. A bit of a reunion!
#Ray2Rishi: Plants
Having reconnected with Ray Gardner, we decided to keep the pressure up on the Government by creating regular spots with Ray demonstrating the injustice of leaving Ltd company freelancers out in the cold. This was amplified by some tweets written by us and sent from Ray. A collaboration with Matt Keen, Martin Casson and James Cook.
#Ray2Rishi: Egg
Here Ray explains the Government's treatment of sole traders and Ltd company directors using the example of two eggs.
#Ray2Rishi: Cards
It's fair to say that, compared to sole traders who received 80% of their income during the pandemic, Ltd company directors who received zilch had a far worse hand.
King Arthur's: Lockdown OOH
DCX in Brooklyn threw me a lifeline in June with a couple of briefs. Baking had taken off in the US during lockdown, and as people faced uncertainty with their health and the economy, they found that their new hobby really helped their mental state. These posters ran in OOH sites in Boston and Portland and also on Pinterest.
Toniebox: TV re-edit
Toniebox is a German company that makes ads in German. Our task was to use footage from their existing ads and write a new voiceover that explains what the box is in a way that UK kids (and their parents) can understand. A direct to client project created with Martin Casson.
American Booksellers' Association: Boxed Out
Amazon is worth $1.6 trillion and pays almost no tax. It's everyone's first thought retailer and by lazily shopping there rather than at other sites or stores, we risk killing thousands of smaller businesses. Independent bookshops are a particular casualty, so this campaign aimed to make people more aware of how much of a danger shopping at amazon can be to a community. I helped DCX with the words.
The campaign made news everywhere from Adweek to CNN. And a retweet from AOC didn't hurt! Created for DCX Growth Accelerator with Doug Cameron and Tommy Noonan.
Ltd: Headphones online ad
This was our slickest production of the year for Ltd. Another attempt to get Mr Sunak's attention, dressed up as a snazzy ad for headphones. Created with Matt Keen.
Prime Tiles: OOH
Times were tough. In October 2020, I began creative directing ads for a billboard company in Romford for £50 a pop. Most were for clients who had bought advertising sites but had nothing to put on them. I split the ££ with my brother-in-law, Paul Hatton who designed and artworked them. This was for an East London tile showroom.
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JTP: OOH
As a student I would walk from Cricklewood to Brent Cross and marvel at the 48 and 96 sheet posters that lined the streets. To be making them was an honour. JTP make fancy taps.
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Thames Steel: OOH
Their existing ad had around 48 words on it. I simplified it and added a headline.
Brook Ellis: OOH
These builders loved the government's "stay home, save lives, help the NHS" messaging and decided to riff off it. Not brilliant but not as terrible as some of the OOH ads Paul and I had to do and which are not included here.
PEARL: OOH
I had to work directly with the owners of the companies who wanted advertising, but who had never really made any. This was for an industrial recruitment company in Liverpool.
