ABOUT ME
IN SHORT
AWARDS
WAY TOO MUCH INFO
2. AWARDS
2024
D&AD
Shortlist — Impact — Campaign Communications — ‘We Are The Warning’ (UNCLOUD).
Cannes Lions
Shortlist — Health and wellness — Education & Awareness — ‘We Are The Warning’ (UNCLOUD).
B&T Awards
Judge — Radio category
Shortlist — Bravery — BWShhh ID Checks
Winner — Bravery — ‘UNCLOUD’, Minderoo Foundation
Shortlist — Best Digital Campaign — ‘UNCLOUD’, Minderoo Foundation
Shortlist — Best Direct Response Campaign — ‘UNCLOUD’, Minderoo Foundation
Shortlist — Best Integrated Ad Campaign — ‘UNCLOUD’, Minderoo Foundation
Shortlist — Best Media Campaign — ‘UNCLOUD’, Minderoo Foundation
Mumbrella Awards
Shortlist — Bravery — BWShhh ID Checks
Shortlist — Insight — BWShhh ID Checks
Shortlist — User Experience — BWShhh ID Checks
Melbourne Advertising Design Creativity (MADC) Awards
Winner — Digital & Social — ‘We Are The Warning’ (UNCLOUD).
Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) Awards
Shortlist (pending) — Poster Art Direction — ‘We Are The Warning’ (UNCLOUD).
Shortlist (pending) — Health Awareness and Social Responsibility — ‘We Are The Warning’ (UNCLOUD).
Shortlist (pending) — Integrated Campaign (Purpose) — ‘We Are The Warning’ (UNCLOUD).
2023
London International Awards
Silver — Audio — Best Script Writing
Silver — Audio — Best Consumer Campaign
Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) Awards
Bronze — Best Radio Ad (over 30”) — Steggles Turkey (History)
Shortlist — Best Radio Ad (over 30”) — Steggles Turkey (Tech)
Shortlist — Best Radio Campaign — Steggles Turkey.
New York Festivals
Finalist — NYF’IN FUNNY — Best Copywriting — Steggles Turkey (Campaign).
Shortlist — NYF’IN FUNNY — WTF?!?!? — Steggles Turkey — Tech (Single).
Australian Commercial Radio (Siren) Awards
Round 5 — Winner — Best Single — Ugly Makes You Super (Tech) — Steggles Turkey.
Round 5 — Winner — Best Craft — Ugly Makes You Super (Tech)
Round 5 — Highly Commended (Single) — Ugly Makes You Super (History)
Round 5 — Highly Commended (Campaign) — Ugly Makes You Super (30” campaign).
Gold Sirens — Highly Commended — Most Innovative Audio
Gold Sirens — Finalist — Best Single
Gold Sirens — Finalist — Best Campaign
Gold Sirens — Finalist — Best Craft.
Effies
Gold — Long Term Effects — BIG W — Every Day’s A Big Day
Creativepool Annual Awards
Bronze — Best copywriting
Finalist — Rebel category.
One Show
Shortlist — Radio & Audio — Craft — Best Writing.
Spikes Asia
Shortlist — Excellence in Radio & Audio — Best Script.
Pitches won:
Australian Retirement Trust.
2022
One Asia Creative Awards
Silver — Best Audio & Radio — Steggles Turkey (Workout songs).
Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) Awards
Finalist — Best Radio Advertising campaign — Steggles (Unsung Hero).
One Show
Finalist — Print — Craft — Art Direction — Steggles (Unsung Hero).
Australian Commercial Radio (Siren) Awards
Round 4 — Highly Commended — Best Radio Campaign — Steggles (Unsung Hero).
Australian Advertising Council — Copy School
Selected as the national tutor for up and coming copywriters.
Pitches won:
Minderoo — Collaborate Against Cancer — Anti vaping campaign.
2021
Clio Awards
Silver — Audio Craft — Best copywriting — Steggles Turkey (Workout songs).
London International Awards
Silver — Best radio & audio — Humour.
Silver — Best radio & audio — Foods.
Silver — Best radio & audio — Original music.
Bronze — Best radio & audio — Best campaign.
Bronze — Best radio & audio — Script writing.
Spikes Asia
Silver — Audio — Best use of music (campaign).
Bronze — Audio — Best script writing.
Bronze — Audio — Best FMCG campaign.
Finalist — Best social behaviour campaign.
Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) Awards
Silver — Best Radio/Audio Advertising campaign.
Silver — Best Radio over 30 seconds.
Bronze — Digital Art Direction, campaign.
Finalist — Use of Branded Entertainment and Content.
Finalist — Social Media / Tactical — Tourism Australia — ‘Ee-moo Says’.
Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (Special Awards)
Bronze — Emerging Creative of the Year.
Creativepool Annual (UK)
Finalist — Emerging Talent of the Year.
Australian Commercial Radio (Siren) Awards — Gold Siren winner
Steggles Turkey won four out of the top annual awards.
Gold Siren — Overall winner
Gold Siren — Best radio campaign.
Gold Siren — Best radio single.
Gold Siren — Best radio craft.
Round 5 — Single Winner — Ugly, but good for you (German Jog Techno) — Steggles Turkey.
Round 5 — Craft Winner — Ugly, but good for you (German Jog Techno) — Steggles Turkey.
Round 5 — Campaign Winner — Ugly, but good for you — Steggles Turkey.
Round 5 — Highly Commended — Craft — German Jog Techno, Hip Hop Spin Class, Pop Power Pump.
One Show
Shortlist — Branded Entertainment — Best audio.
Shortlist — Music & Sound Craft — Best original music.
Shortlist — Branded Entertainment — Best audio campaign.
The Immortal Awards
Finalist — Steggles Turkey, Ugly But Good For You.
B&T Awards
Finalist — Best Radio/Audio campaign.
Best Ads
Best print of the week (Steggles, ‘Unsung Hero’).
The Australian Effie Awards
Bronze — Travel, Leisure & Media (Tourism Australia, ‘Holiday Here This Year’).
‘The Heart of Saatchi’ global awards
Best Radio & Audio in the network.
AWARD School Tutor
One student in the Top Ten, another selected as the NSW mentorship recipient.
2020
Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) Awards
Bronze — Best radio campaign.
Bronze — Best radio/audio copywriting.
Young Glory (came 6th globally)
Gold - Round 8 - PR
Silver - Round 6 - Marketing Stunt
Finalist - Round 6 - Marketing Stunt
Appointed to the Australian Commercial Radio (Siren) Creative Council
(Press).
M&C Saatchi Australia
2020 ‘Hunger’ award.
2019
D&AD
Next Copywriter Pencil.
New York Festivals Advertising Awards
Finalist (best radio).
Clio Awards
Shortlist (best radio).
BEFORE THAT
Top 8 Social Media Accounts
— Happy Mag (Music Magazine).
Australian University Band Comp
Came third nationally. The grand final was held beside the stingray tank at Sea World.
The Meredith Gift nude race
Came last.
Bi-Lo discount supermarkets
Fastest grocery scanner in the state, three years running. I was so fucking fast.
FEATURES
Giving People a Story to Tell (Little Black Book)
Making Art to Stay Fresh (B&T Magazine)
M&C Saatchi’s Jason Leigh appointed to Siren Creative Council (Mumbrella)
3. TOO MUCH INFO
My career began at 11, working illegally in an Italian pizza kitchen.
The owner demanded sweat. You had to run everywhere, onion tears streaming down your face. Scrubbed and chopped everything? Pick up a mop. Find something to do, do it faster, put your back into it. Work ‘til it hurts. Invaluable lessons.
After the pizza shop my teen years were spent under the informal tutelage of a heavy metal guitar teacher, knee capper, karate sensei and an alcoholic gate maker. I went on to study journalism, then a postgraduate degree in public relations.
For the next decade I worked in PR by day and rock and roll bands by night. Both jobs were the same — getting attention with no money. I once wrote a speech for the Victorian Premier then filmed a viral video in a storage unit for my homoerotic sailor band on the same day.
I got Honda engines all over the news by finding a Shetland Pony farmer who’d used one to build a vacuum for horse manure. Journalists liked it because they could run cute photos of ponies, but they loved it because they could run the headline ‘powerful poo sucker’. I then got my band in the news by giving out Golden Tickets to our tour through Red Rooster chicken shops across the country, without their knowledge or consent. Still, they ended up giving the tickets out.
From there I did a bunch of serious suit-wearing stuff — crisis management with CEOs and politicians, helped run the government’s media unit during statewide bushfires and translated scientific research papers into sexy news stories.
But eventually I got sick of earning money during the day and being creative at night. I needed to do it all the time. Problem was, I didn’t know that ‘advertising creative’ was a job, until an art director explained it to me in a park. She’d run out of beer and I had plenty, so we struck up an immediate friendship.
From her I learned:
No, it doesn’t matter that you can’t draw. Our office is full of notepad carrying weirdos like you, they’re called ‘copywriters’.
No, it doesn’t matter that you didn’t go to a fancy school. But also, no one cares that you have two degrees. They’ll be more interested in the band.
No, there’s not much money at the start so you should stay in your highly paid PR job.
I quit my PR job immediately and started again as a 30-year-old Junior Copywriter. It turned out to be a smart decision. Under the guidance of some excellent mentors, performing hundreds of stand up comedy shows and sweating like a pizza shop boy I was soon recognised at D&AD as the world’s best up and coming copywriter. Then I was lucky enough to have a beer with Jeff Goodby.
Thanks for checking out my website.
If you bothered reading this far, I’ll buy you a beer.
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