Speed Talks

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:49:21 +0000

Write The Future

Fri, 28 May 2010 08:28:26 +0100

Write The Future tells a simple story: what football players do on the pitch dictates what happens off of it, from national happiness, to celebrity status to being immortalised forever as a statue.

The film skips along at a rapid pace with the idea being that it would bare repeat viewing online, each time unearthing more sticky moments. It launched in its 3 minute entirety, during the Champions’ League final, in 32 countries. The YouTube version got 7.8 million hits in the first week which is a world record apparently for a viral. Total views now exceed 20 million.

Hit The Target

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:09:51 +0000

Take a pair of new Nike T90 Laser III boots. Stick them on one of the world’s greatest strikers, Wayne Rooney. Then get another deadly marksman, in the shape of Fernando Torres, to put both boot and rival through their paces. Launched Saturday morning, Wayne went on to score in the afternoon for United. Nice work from Mike & Phil, director Anthony Dickensen at Pulse, and the guys at Time Based Arts. SFX by Will Cohen. Dubstep courtesy of 16 Bit.

Fast Is Never Enough

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:24:28 +0100

Part of Nike’s Make The Difference football campaign, this spot takes a reflective look at Arsenal star Theo Walcott as he attempts to elevate his game beyond pace alone. A lesson young players watching can apply equally.

H.O.N.D.A

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100

A series of individual press ads detailing HONDA’s environmental credentials. When combined they form the company logo, which is otherwise missing. Brave client. Good client. Shot by Guido Mocafico they were awarded a silver Lion at Cannes in 2009 and featured twice in D&AD. Note, in order to make the copy sit flush meant we had to hit sixty words. Tricky when you’re trying to explain fixing the world.

Show Your 5

Mon, 25 May 2009 21:36:36 +0100

Five a side football has overtaken the 11 a side game in terms of participation. Nike were keen to further their grip on the market by attracting younger players especially.

British youth is shown in 60% negative media coverage according to the Prince’s Trust. Pair this with the fact that the UK has one fifth of the world’s security cameras and we had the backdrop for our idea. Show Your 5 sought to highlight youngsters skills on the pitch by subverting the use of CCTV.

While filming one of the local kids bet Wayne Rooney tickets to the Manchester derby that he would nutmeg the England star at some point.

True to his word he did just that, much to the amusement of Rio Ferdinand. Wayne kept his promise too, giving the youngster two seats for Sunday’s game, where he scored the winner in a 1-0 victory. The out-take got over half a million hits on YouTube and featured on BBC TV.

Paula Chasing

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Paula Radcliffe was in line for her third New York City marathon triumph. The competition was struggling to keep up. Paula Chasing asked Nike Plus runners if they could match her pace, together. Paula went on to win the race. While the digital campaign won at the One Show in conjunction with the guys at AKQA.

I’ll Be Ready

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 10:02:30 +0100

A press and digital poster campaign featuring young UK athletes in the countdown to London 2012.

More Goals Please

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

First game of the season and defending Champions Manchester United are beamed live around the world. The perfect opportunity for Nike to hijack in order to launch the new Premier League ball, with the help of 60,000 fans.

ASIMO

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 08:29:36 +0100

Never work with children, animals or robots. Shot over six nights with zero CGi creating the museum spot with Honda’s ASIMO was a painstaking process. The machine is mindblowing in terms of its ability and engineering however. A lot of the thinking ends up applied on the road in Honda vehicles. Nice to do a film for a car company featuring two legs instead of four wheels however. The spot won an Andy and Creative Circle silver, plus a silver nomination at D&AD.

Nike Live TV Show

Sat, 24 May 2008 20:00:04 +0100

Nike Live was a new format TV show, focusing on Spanish footballer Cesc Fabregas. It proved the chance to dig deeper with an in depth profile of one of the world’s leading midfielders. Shot in front of 400 fans the show featured Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and a host of other guests, plus a variety of VT inserts written and filmed in the three months beforehand with Cesc.

The programme aired on Sky Sports and was then split into bite sized chunks and distributed online as webisodes in conjunction with the guys at AKQA. It was then syndicated across Europe featuring other stars. As the show’s Creative Director of content I was responsible for writing the sketches and crafting the narrative thread for the hour long pilot.

Nike are always pushing the boundaries and having the chance to write a sixty minute show rather than a sixty second ad was great. Cesc went on to pick up the PFA Young Player of the Year that season. While Nike Live won gold in Media & Entertainment at the Campaign Big Awards.

Hondamentalism

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:35:48 +0000

If you can get someone to spend fifteen minutes with Honda you can convert them to the brand, the backstory is that strong. The Hondamentalism campaign attempted to do exactly this online.

The launch film was shot by Mark Romanek and is actually an indoor set, comprising of a freshly laid 200 feet stretch of tarmac. The struggle of the engineers to reach the vanishing point on the horizon is a metaphor for the process that goes into creating a car awarded the rare Red H badge.

The spot sat on a dedicated website where consumers were challenged to find out if they were Hondamentalists by completing a series of interactive challenges. Thousands found their rating online and the site won Campaign Digital’s Best Automotive site annual award.

Not Without A Fight

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:54:48 +0100

England were the current Rugby World Cup holders following a miraculous last gasp win over Australia in their own back yard. 4 Years on and retaining the trophy looked a tall order. Not without a fight however.

This became our working line to which we needed a visual. The thirty man squad lined up along the white cliffs of Dover seemed apt staring out to France. Throwing down the gauntlet to all comers, as further detailed in the accompanying manifesto.

Many of the national papers ran the image free and ITV even incorporated the shot into their opening title sequence. As the tournament unfolded England began defeating more favoured teams on their way to the final. Here they eventually succumbed to the mighty Springboks. But Not without A Fight. The poster won gold at the Campaign Big Awards.

St Wayne

Fri, 9 Jun 2006 15:51:08 +0100

Nike wanted a poster for the 2006 World Cup Finals. The country was awash with St George Cross flags. National passion ran high. We looked at reference of Wayne Rooney, the England talisman, and his goal celebrations - arms outstretched in the form of a cross. Bingo. The answer jumped out at us. We spoke to the client, who loved the concept. There was talk of comping it but we insisted it had to be done for real. Top off. Painted. Visceral.

Photographer Nick Gheorghiou agreed to shoot it. Little did we realise it would cause such a stir. I picked up a copy of The Sun newspaper on the bus into work and saw they had emblazoned the shot across the front and centre pages. All the other papers had somehow got hold of it as well. The image was everywhere. The poster generated millions of pounds worth of free media coverage. It later won both Gold for best poster and best press ad in the same year from Campaign and the £25000 top prize at the ANNA’s.

But the ultimate accolade came from Dan Wieden himself, the original author of Just Do It, who said the line ‘had waited twenty years for the right shot.’

Run London

Wed, 10 May 2006 23:13:08 +0100

A multi faceted campaign encouraging Londoners to get off the couch and run in Britain’s biggest ever race. 10K on the day, but ultimately with no finish line.

PlayStation

Tue, 9 Nov 2004 00:24:22 +0000

A selection of PS2 stuff I did with Trevor Beattie at TBWA. My favourite is the Basketcase spot that launched the new console. Midgets + 7 feet ballers = fun.

The Time Crisis viral was shot on a shoestring by Seb Edwards and won best new director at Cannes. I still owe him a drink. Or is it the other way round?

Transport For London

Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:27:06 +0100

Shot by Oscar winning film director Mike Leigh this Transport for London commercial won an IPA effectiveness award by helping reduce the number of assaults on women by illegal minicab drivers by over a third in a year.

Virgin Megastore

Wed, 11 Aug 2004 16:29:29 +0100

Whatever Turns You On was a campaign developed for Virgin Megastore. It launched with a series of spots of music lovers telling of their various passions. Everyone was street cast, lending to the authenticity. The idea stretched across from TV to retail plus online. The Air Guitar spot won best commercial at the Music Video awards with the campaign featuring in D&AD.