The backstory: The entire world knew a new iPhone was coming. Very few knew that there were actually two new iPhones coming. MAL in the US needed TV ideas that would work across the globe. They couldn't get one that everyone agreed on.
My claim to fame: While leading the Singapore MAL office, we traveled to LA to take the brief. While there, we kept hearing that the US scripts were 'too American' to work globally. So I took a shot. Instead of trying to find humor that worked globally with words, I did it with a song. I pitched my script to LA, they pitched it to the bigwigs and the rest is history- that will live forever on YouTube.
My concept for the script "Duo" that featured Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon was 'transcreated' into over 30 countries around the globe. Tim Cook even shared it at the keynote address.
Global launch spot.
Some press we got
No one wanted to touch this brief. Not even I did at the start. Fleet & Business was the Ebola of the advertising world. So when I had no choice but to work on it, I vowed to make something different. Instead of dull talking heads telling people how much money they could save by adding Jaguar cars to their fleet, I chose to write short, fun, sketch-style comedy spots that gave all the info that was required but in a way that would get people to listen.
The end results were loved by the clients who personally thanked me for finally talking to fleet decision makers like real people.
After 5 years of hosting duties, SingTel handed the F1 sponsorship to SIA. It was a huge deal, as it's the biggest sporting event in the country.
We were tasked to make the launch a big deal- and turn it into a more fashionable affair to tie in with the SIA brand. It took 5 months, 3 of which we were spent locked in a secure room to keep it confidential. Every type of media was used- we even got to redesign the winner's trophy.
Here’s Lewis Hamilton holding my trophy
Here's Lewis Hamilton kissing my trophy. #Blush.
Some press
Nescafe was launching six new instant mixes of coffee. We created this social campaign that 'pulled' keywords from social media (Twitter/FB/blogs) and determined the 'mood' of Singapore daily.
Once the mood was determined, the app suggested the perfect mix to go with it. As the mood changed, the cup handle spun to indicate what it was, while a word cloud displayed trending topics.
The big news behind the New XF was that it was 190kgs (400lbs) lighter than the previous model.
We created these cheeky films to help make the public aware. We even got to work with 'The Mountain' from Game of Thrones. He's massive - at the time he actually weighed 400lbs. True story.
Caltex Asia (Malaysia/Philippines) wanted to get younger drivers to drive more and gain some love for the brand. The problem was that in these countries, the younger generation only has access to cars (owned by parents) after normal working hours- when parents come home.
Instead of seeing this as a barrier, we used it to create The Nocturnals campaign. Basically making super cool things happen only at night. It launched with an App that only functioned during specific hours (6pm-6am), out of home that only turned on in the evenings and having all events & promos happening at night.
We had £30K to tell people that Jaguar now make pet accessories. We decided to use the world’s number one surfing dog to share the news.
The new XJR is a beast. It has 575HP, it's built like a tank, but it drives like a two-seater sports car.
The idea we wanted to sell in was that the moment just before an exhilarating experience is what helps make the actual moment so, well, exhilarating. Tell me if it worked.
Standard Chartered are the title sponsors for LFC. They wanted to share insider stories with their die hard fans about past legends. This episode featured John Barnes.
The idea for this ad came to me while riding my bike to work. I wrote it, shared it, sold it and recorded it all within a week. I hope you like it.
A fun print campaign we developed for BK in the Middle East when they advertised a new closing time of 4am.
