This spot launched the new Family Pairing feature for TikTok USA. The challenge? Find a way to explain Family Pairing to parents in a way that doesn’t get their kids offside, all in the knowledge that today's teens are more tech-savvy than their parents. Launched in December 2022, early tracking results are strong.

Before buying a car, it’s sensible to go online and read the reviews first. Problem is, most car reviews are written by stuffy motoring journalists and aimed squarely at car geeks. With people’s online attention spans now a mere 4.1 seconds, we created a range of auto reviewers including a dog, a time traveler and a cactus who know their stuff – but in a fresh, snackable, and Absurdly Sensible way. The campaign broke every digital record Hyundai had, generating 6+ million views and $12m in sales from a budget of just $650k – making it Hyundai’s most successful launch ever.

APAC Effies, Gold, Automotive

Effies Australia, Most Original Thinking, Challenger Brand, Brand Value

AWARD, Creative Insight

Mumbrella Best Use of Data

B&T Best Use of Data

The Drum, Best Paid Social

The Work, Campaign Brief

Caples, Creative Use of Data and B to C

Contagious Magazine, ‘Insight & Strategy’ feature -Interview Here

When you get an amazing deal on a big brand item at TK Maxx, you’ll go to any lengths to wax lyrical about your latest buy. In YouTube & Social, we combined google map technology with our hero characters, offering our audience helpful directions to their nearest TK Maxx store.

Reimagining an ancient town into a virtual tourist destination.

Rekorderlig is a stylish Swedish cider that was getting old and outplayed by a host of new competitors. With in-venue marketing activities canned due to Covid, we needed to connect with at-home drinkers and bring its cool back.

Welcome to Rekorder-land – a new travel destination that reimagines Rekorderlig’s ancient hometown of Vimmerby into a series of unique digital tourism experiences. Dive for strawberry pearls in the old town fountain, explore the botanical meadows, then jam with an A.I. powered DJ. Using image recognition technology, the DJ creates beats when you makes faces or hold up pieces of the fruit it so craves to your camera. On your way out, stop by the Gift Shop to pick up some real-world souvenirs.

AWARD, in book

Campaign Brief, The Work

The Lovies, Best Influencer Campaign

Effies Australia, Small Budget

AIMCO Most effective ROI

What happens when the machines we’re building, become smarter than us?

To be seen as a tech leader and compete with the likes of Tesla and Google, Audi needed to lead the conversation. So, we turned the car maker into a film maker. MACHINE is a collaboration with Audi and FINCH, praised by movie critics for its thought-provoking and entertaining approach to the subject of artificial intelligence. At times optimistic, alarming and awe-inspiring, MACHINE is a glimpse into a tomorrow that’s already here. Directed by Justin Krook and produced by the team behind Chef’s Table, it premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival and was released at cinemas nationally. Watch it on iTunes.

WEBSITE: https://machine.movie/

ONE SHOW 2020 in Branded Entertainment, in book.

AWARD, Branded Content & Entertainment, Silver.

AWARD, Non-Fiction Film over 30 mins, Bronze.

AWARD, Graphic Design, in book.

Margaret Pomeranz, renowned movie critic, five-star review.

Turning an American restaurant into an Australian icon.

Australia Day is the day when one of the most patriotic nations on earth becomes even more patriotic. McDonald’s had a problem. Synonymous with America, they were the last place Australians would go on the most Aussie day of the year.

In Australian culture, there’s no greater sign of acceptance than being given a nickname. And McDonald’s, unlike anywhere else on earth, is affectionately known as 'Macca’s'. Our idea was to drive Australians in store by proving how Australian McDonald’s actually is by making our unique nickname official.

The campaign generated over 300 stories across traditional media channels, mass conversation in social media and over 11 billion PR impressions. By the end of the campaign, one of the world’s most iconic American brands had become one of Australia’s most loved brands, leading to a year on year sales increase of 6.7% for January, equivalent to an additional 300,000 Big Macs for the month. 

In a world first in McDonald’s history, they made their Aussie nickname official and transformed McDonald’s stores into Macca’s stores. The change was rolled from the smallest details of Macca’s crew changing their badges and adopting their Aussie nicknames, to the in-store placemat, to bespoke 'Macca's uniforms, and changing the golden arches above the most prominent stores in the land.

Gold Cannes Lion - Media

Gold Cannes Lion - Effectiveness

Silver Cannes Lion - Media

Bronze Cannes Lion - Promo and Activation

Spikes Asia Gold - PR

Spikes Asia Silver - PR

Spikes Asia Silver - Media

Spikes Asia Bronze - Media

Bill Bernbach Award

AWARD Bronze - Media

AWARD Bronze - Promo and Experiential

Insurance companies are probably the most risk adverse companies on earth. So we created an anti-ambassador who represents everything Budget Direct don’t believe in.

Budget Direct offer low-cost insurance. But many consumers assumed they must be cutting corners. So instead of just talking about low prices, we decided to explain why they’re cheaper. It’s because they don’t insure bad drivers, high performance cars and other types of high risk – it’s too expensive. But it means they can insure everyone else, for less. Enter Captain Risky. He embodies all the real-life risk that Budget Direct won’t cover. 

One Show Silver – 60 second television

One Show Bronze – 90 second cinema

Cannes Finalist

AWARD Bronzes – television & craft categories

Campaign Brief – The Work

Spikes Asia

What’s the world’s biggest mystery? Why anyone would pay more than they have to for insurance.

This campaign blends a new take on the classic crime thriller mystery with a unique series of otherworldly events. The launch spot introduces a new character for Budget Direct, a detective named Sarge, who investigates a series of truly remarkable incidents. Despite the inexplicable happenings, Sarge uncovers the real mystery – why the people involved in these incidents paid more than they had to for their insurance. 

Shot by legendary British Director Daniel Kleinman, it first aired on Sunday night primetime television including 60 Minutes, The Block and The Project, also running in cinema and on Youtube.  A 60sec version of the TVC and digital activity complemented the campaign. 

In the run up to the launch, 6sec teasers were seeded on YouTube & Facebook, with teaser large format digital billboards across major cities and online display. The campaign includes the full array of integrated channels, with yet more spots to roll out. 

In a world facing major social and environmental challenges, this generation has a sense of urgency that others haven’t. They’re getting restless. They refuse to believe that the challenges our planet face are just too big or too complex for them to make a difference. It’s up to all of us to step up and have an impact– and that’s what this brand platform is all about. Launching with a Sunday night 60 sec TVC roadblock across all stations, this was Curtin’s first brand campaign in over 5 years, with hundreds of touch points.

The campaign smashed all metrics, brand tracking placing it in the top 2% of all globally standardised campaign launches, across all categories. Despite Curtin having not run any major brand activity for 7 years, within just 5 months, recall and linkage results for Curtin beat rival ECU, UWA and Murdoch Universities, despite all competitors having long-running campaigns and new activity in market.

Brand Campaign of the Year, University Marketing Awards Australia 2021

Campaign Brief The Work

Success isn’t born 9 – 5.

Hyundai wanted to launch the new N-Line Sports i30 to an ambitious segment of Gen Y who love music and tech, yet barely own a TV. We launched a branded music video depicting playful, dream-like sequences of people pursuing their passions after hours, whilst mashing up bedtime lullabies and hip-hop. Performed by Aussie rapper Julian Joseph, the full-length track dropped on iTunes and Spotify, it was the No.1 performing ad on Twitter in Australia and APAC for Q4 in 2020.

No.1 performing ad on Twitter in Australia and APAC for Q4 in 2020.

Campaign Brief, The Work - Branded Content, Cinematography, Direction, Music.

You drive a German car, have a smartphone designed in California and wear a Swiss watch. So why are all your investments based in Australia?

Magellan is one of Australia’s leading investment firms with funds of more than $50 billion under management. Our challenge was to launch the brand nationally to above average net worth individuals and leverage its inaugural sponsorship of the 2018 Ashes as part of a three-year partnership with Cricket Australia.

Despite 97% of the world’s listed and most iconic companies being based overseas, most people tend to base their investments primarily in Australia.

We wanted to open people’s eyes to the amusing irony that whilst people choose the best brands from all over the world every day, their purchasing behaviour doesn’t match their investment behaviour.

Gold at New York Festivals Midas Awards for the World’s Best Financial Advertising.

How do you hear what everyday Australians really think about our nation’s future?

The 2015 Intergenerational Report outlined some big economic and demographic challenges and opportunities facing Australia. So we needed to spark a national conversation as to how we tackle these challenges that affect our nation today and how we plan for the next 40 years. We termed it The Challenge of Change.

Webby Awards – Winner

When you crave French fries, you start seeing them everywhere.

By tapping into this truth, we found a way to build the iconic status of desirability of McDonald’s in China, where French fries are still a relatively new concept. 

We developed a smartphone photo filter application on China’s biggest social media photo sharing platform Meitu (the Chinese equivalent of Instagram) that enabled consumers to see fries in everyday objects and share them to their friends.

People were encouraged to snap pictures of everyday items resembling fries and collect them into their virtual McDonald’s Fries Box. Participants were then rewarded with free fries at McDonald’s. This campaign originated in Sydney and was brought to life in China through our agency network partnership.

Cannes Lion Bronze - Promo and Activation

Cannes Lions Shortlist - Mobile, Media

One Show Interactive - Merit

Clio Awards - Shortlist

AME Awards - Gold

XXXX shouted its customers an island to enable them and their mates to spend more time together. 

Welcome to XXXX Island. With twelve different huts, five full time staff, its own ferry service, prime fishing spots, a beer delivery system, one-hole golf course and a dog called Spinner. Cost to stay? Free.

With the help of our drinkers, we created the ultimate mate’s destination, backed by a national tourism campaign to showcase Australia’s newest resort. 

This is the largest campaign ever created by Lion to date.

It drove XXXX sales from second place to the number one selling beer in Australia.

“Can we go for a coffee?”

This simple phrase can strike a note of paranoia into even the most stable minded person.

So we positioned Dare Iced Coffee as the coffee you have, when you’re not having a coffee.

Cannes Lion – TV Bronze

AWARD Silvers x 2

One Show

Campaign Brief – The Work

With over 50% of Australians now overweight or obese, it’s become ‘normal.’ 

But just because it’s normal, doesn’t mean it’s right. It’s affecting our health, our wellbeing and costing NSW billions of dollars each year.

This integrated campaign was designed to reset our sense of ‘normal’ before it’s too late. The two TVC’s, one positive and one negative ran top and tail in the break, showing how things you ‘normally’ do have big effects on your health. 

Nobody thinks much about what fuel they put in their car. 

Despite having a higher octane than 95 and being better for the environment, most mistakenly people think E10 is dirty, slow and clogs up their engine. 

 On behalf of the NSW Government, this campaign is all about getting people to question their behavior and attitude towards E10. When the old school petrol head mechanic is forced to lay out the facts, it’s abundantly clear to himself and others that E10 is the better choice.

 The campaign ran on TV, outdoor, online and social.

Sometimes it’s the work you do that wins the client’s confidence that enables you to go further.

This spot led six other TV commercials, outdoor and promotional activity that captured the spirit of summer at McDonald’s. Without this campaign, the ‘McDonald’s to Maccas’ campaign that followed wouldn’t have happened. It also effectively helped win DDB back an entire pillar of the McDonald’s business previously lost to Leo Burnett.

Introducing new Vodka & Seawater summer coolers.

In summer, going for a swim can seem like a great idea. Introducing new Sinkers; a parody of pre-mixed drinks popular with our audience. Young males are notoriously hard to influence with scare campaigns, so the idea needed to fit in their world and speak their language. We partnered with YouTube influencers to land our message.

Launch of Wonder Performance Bread, designed especially for teens.

Cannes Gold Lion – Direct Product Launches

Caples Gold

Echo Awards Gold

AWARD Bronze – Integrated

ADMA Silver – Integrated

ADMA Silver – Digital DM

This campaign launched TED on tap.

The beer was to be served in a stylish custom TED glass on premise. The idea was borne from the notion that at some point, almost everyone has swiped a beer glass from the pub. Note that case study videos have come a long way since we cut this one.

D&AD Yellow Pencil – Integrated

Cannes Bronze – Integrated Direct

AWARD Bronze – Direct Response