The soft drinks category is addicted to showing refreshment. So, instead of another slow-motion bottle with splashes and condensation, we created a series of absurd origin stories explaining the secret behind Mountain Dew's legendary refreshment.
CONVINCING A SOCIAL-FIRST GENERATION TO SEARCH WITH GOOGLE
Gen Z doesn’t search the way previous generations did, they look to social platforms first, even when they don’t quite have the words for what they’re trying to find. For the Google app, the challenge wasn’t awareness, it was habit. So instead of telling people to switch platforms, we tapped into a universal Gen Z experience: navigating life’s awkward “firsts”. Partnering with some of Australia’s most-loved TikTok creators, we turned real-life first-time moments into content that showed how Google’s visual search could help you find what you’re looking for - even when you don’t know how to ask for it yet.
‘First Times’ Case study video:
Robert Irwin’s “First Time” making a mocktail:
Avneesha Delulu’s “First Time” doing something without her Mum’s help:
Luke Donkin’s “First Time” at the gym:
Bridey Drake’s “First Time” in Japan:
MY ROLE
Creative direction and concept development, with hands-on involvement across art direction and creator collaboration. I wrote the creator briefs, briefed talent directly, and worked closely with creators to ensure the content felt native, credible, and true to the insight.
RESULTS AND RECOGNITION
120% spike in app downloads
3 million organic views
422,000 engagements and 20,000 saves
B&T Awards — Best Use of Social Media (Finalist)
Campaign Brief — The Work 2024 Hot List
AN UNBOXING IN THE WILD
To overcome scepticism around cloud gaming, NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Optus needed to prove performance, not promise it. Gamers don’t trust advertising, they trust other gamers, especially when the experience is live and unfiltered. So instead of running ads, we dropped GeForce NOW directly into streamers’ lives, delivering custom “Loot Crates” to unexpected outdoor locations and letting creators unbox and play AAA games live, using nothing but Optus 5G. No scripts, no edits, no safety net. The unboxings became the content, and the gameplay became the proof.
‘The Future Of Gaming Unboxed’ case study video:
CONTENT & CUTDOWNS
The live streams became a library of proof:
Twitch integrations with established gaming creators
Social cut-downs for paid and organic media
Short-form films showing instant play, zero setup, anywhere
Each piece reinforced the same message:
If you can unbox it here, you can play it anywhere.
@Milkberry live Twitch integration:
‘The Future Of Gaming Unboxed’ cutdowns for ad media:
MY ROLE
Creative direction across concept, visual identity, and live-stream format.
Shaping the core idea, overseeing design and execution, and working closely with creators to ensure the experience felt authentic to gaming culture, not advertising.
RESULTS AND RECOGNITION
Millions of live and replay views across Twitch and social
Thousands of real-time interactions during streams
A gifted Twitch subscription from a viewer to Optus – an unprompted moment of brand affection
Campaign Brief – The Work 2024 Hot List
SAME GOBBLEDOK. NEW TRICKS.
To launch Smith’s Chips on TikTok, we needed an idea that could feel native to Gen Z without losing the brand’s heritage. Bringing back the Gobbledok did both. For Millennials, he triggered instant nostalgia. For Gen Z, he arrived as one of Australia’s most iconic brand mascots. Rich with character, history, and perfectly suited to a platform where brand mascots were thriving. After a 30-year hiatus, the creative platform centred on the Gobbledok emerging from a pantry and realising that to get to his beloved Smith’s chippies, he’d need to get with the times. Same obsession. New behaviours. Built for TikTok.
The Gobbledok emerges from his pantry:
The Gobbledok discovers online delivery:
The Gobbledok makes a friend:
More here from 8/3 –12/12, 2022
https://www.tiktok.com/@smithschipsaus
MY ROLE
Creative direction across concept, character platform and TikTok channel launch. Leading the development of the core idea, shaping how the Gobbledok was reintroduced for a TikTok-first audience, and guiding execution to balance nostalgia for Millennials with discovery and relevance for Gen Z.
RESULTS
Millions of views across TikTok
Thousands of new followers and real-time interactions as the channel launched
CHALLENGING NETBALL FANS TO OUTDO THE PROS
To promote the Samsung Galaxy A-Series and its standout camera features, we partnered with Netball Australia to turn fans into the heroes. The #GalaxyAGame challenge invited some of the country’s top netball players to capture and share their best moves on Galaxy phones – then challenged fans to do the same, attempting to outdo the pros. What started as a social challenge extended into broadcast and live experiences, celebrating skill, confidence and self-expression while proving the phone’s ability to capture action at its best.
LAUNCH FILM
The challenge launched through a hero film and social-first content from netball pros, then expanded through user-generated content, broadcast integration and live activations.
ON SOCIAL
Social content from professional players kickstarted the challenge.
Fans shared their own best moves using #GalaxyAGame
BROADCAST INTEGRATION
To integrate the challenge into Channel Nine’s broadcast, clips of National Netball League teams best moves were featured in-broadcast, and audiences voted for their favourite on social.
ACTIVATION
Live experiences at Super Netball games let fans compete on the spot using Galaxy A-Series phones
MY ROLE
Creative Director and Copywriter. I led the idea from concept to execution, shaping the creative platform, visual approach and copy across social, film, broadcast integration and live experiences, working closely with an art director to bring the work to life.
RESULTS
+68% sales uplift
5.7 million social impressions
2.57 million video views
3.9k Snapchat filter unlocks
2.7k competition entrants
IN THEIR SHOES
The Smith Family supports more than 600,000 disadvantaged Australian children, many of whom experience school as a place of isolation rather than opportunity. The challenge was that while the issue was understood, it wasn’t always truly felt. In Their Shoes set out to bridge that empathy gap by placing audiences inside a child’s experience. Using powerful storytelling and interactive technology to show what it feels like to be excluded, overlooked, and left behind. By shifting the perspective from awareness to understanding, the campaign encouraged Australians to engage emotionally and take action in support of The Smith Family’s mission.
FILM:
INTERACTIVE OOH:
An interactive outdoor installation placed viewers in moments of isolation, using motion sensing and live imaging. This was set up in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall for a week, where it recorded over 700 unique daily interactions.
MY ROLE
Art Director and Creative Contributor. Working across concept development, storytelling and execution, including the film and interactive outdoor experience.
RESULTS:
$4.1 million raised to support 9,710 children and their families
RECOGNITION
AWARD 2013 — Bronze, Digital Kiosk / POS / On-Site
ADMA 2012 — Bronze, OOH Experiential
ADMA 2012 — Bronze, Creative Use of Technology
Caples Awards 2012 — Finalist
JCDecaux International — Campaign of the Month (2012)
LEGO’S FIRST GOOGLE ASSISTANT AUDIO EXPERIENCE, BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO OLD BLOCKS
Lego wanted to encourage kids to take a break from their screens and see their old Lego bricks in a new way.
Our solution was 'Lego Playwaves'. Using Google Assistant, we developed a voice-activated experience that turned Google Nests into real-time playmates. Kids could explore new worlds through interactive soundscapes, with real-time sound effects that brought their imaginations to life. Playwaves offered two types of gameplay: an interactive mission mode, where kids could build, problem-solve, and complete levels; and a free-play mode, where they could explore different effects and soundscapes on their own.
‘Lego Playwaves’ case study film:
‘Lego Playwaves’ Free-play mode (0:00 - 0:53) Interactive mission mode (0:53 - 13:06)
Recognition:
- 2022 CLIO Awards Shortlist - Audio Product/Service
- 2021 CANNES LIONS Shortlist - RADIO & AUDIO
- 2021 LIA Shortlist - RADIO & AUDIO
BRINGING THE BIGGEST TIKTOK TRENDS TO LIFE FOR GUESTS TO EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
TikTok Australia wanted to show skeptical talent agents, media publishers, and music agents what they were missing out on by not being on the platform. The challenge was to break through their skepticism and demonstrate TikTok’s potential as a creative and business opportunity.
Our solution was TikTok Discover. We transformed Bay 25 at The Carriageworks in Sydney into an immersive TikTok world, where guests could explore the platform's most exciting content opportunities. Media professionals, industry experts, talent managers, and content creators were invited to a 30-minute conference session followed by a 2-hour experience zone like no other. The space featured giant phones, creator stations, a tortilla kitchen, a super-sized cockatoo, DJs, live performances, and more. The Discover Showroom was designed to be a creator’s playground, with content opportunities around every corner.
‘TikTok discover’ event film:
The Portal
Your phone is your personal portal into the world of TikTok. So, for the event, we created a 10-metre-long tunnel made out of neon lights in the shape of phone frames. After the keynote session, guests walked through the tunnel to enter the TikTok world.
#driverslicense experience
To create their own #driverslicense TikTok, guests were invited to sit in a convertible Mustang parked in front of a giant LED screen and sing along to Olivia Rodrigo's teen anthem, which made the trend famous on TikTok.
#tortillatrend experience
Just like the ones made in the trend, guests could stop here to get everything they need to make their own #tortillatrend TikTok.
@ashmagic experience
Shooting most of his content from his bedroom, Ash Magic has amassed over 185.7 million likes and 9.1 million fans on TikTok by performing and revealing the trickery behind his magic. So, for his experience, we decided to create a little trickery of our own by recreating Ash's bedroom, standing upright, as a stage for Ash to perform and take our guests behind the scenes of his magic tricks.
@itsbybrandon experience
Makeup star and LGBTQI advocate Brandon Lee Scott rose to TikTok stardom by bringing beauty magic to life with phenomenal makeup looks, crafted using a range of colourful palettes. For his experience, we created an area that showcased Brandon's process, demonstrating not only how he achieves his amazing glow-up looks, but also how he turns them into engaging, premium-style TikTok videos.
