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Sound of Metal

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At the age of 17, I caught Meningitis B which left me profoundly deaf in both ears. Subsequently, I was the first person in the UK to be fitted with bilateral cochlear implants; hearing aids that enabled me cope with this disability. Going deaf as a young adult is a unique situation, as most deaf people are either born that way or as a result of old age. I've never met anyone who could relate to me, and there is nothing in popular culture which could help me explain to people how I felt, how I coped, how I hear now, and how it's taken me many years (plus therapy) to really accept my disability. I recently watched Sound of Metal, an award-winning film starring Riz Ahmed, about a dummer called Ruben who loses his hearing and has his music-centric life completely turned upside down. This film touched me on so many levels that I had to share, if not to spread awareness of my "invisible disability", then just to recommend a fantastic film in general. Riz perfectly captures
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An Update from The Other Side....

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Over a year ago I started at ITV; a Creative Strategist role that has allowed me to be the most creative I have ever been and work with the biggest brands in the world on a daily basis. As a central part of the Creative Partnerships team, my role is to take brand partnerships beyond just badging a brand logo on an ITV show. It's about creating integrated campaigns that feel like a genuine partnership between the brand and ITV businesses, ensuring we land objectives and get real, tangible results. Back at LRS, my client-side experience from leading partnerships (Missguided, Antony Joshua, Warner Bros), taught me that the "red thread" is crucial; this is the shared creative platform from both brands in a partnership. In my role at ITV I am responsible for that “red thread”; interrogating briefs, creating a shared purpose & creative "hook”, then ideating & pitching a full campaign idea off the back of it. Tight turnaround times means I have to thin
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Bandersnatch

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Well it's that blissful time between Christmas and New Year where we can finally be unsociable again; taking random naps, tits deep in carbs & sugar, and binging TV from your pit of a living room. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Personally, my binge preference is murder/crime documentaries and horror films because that's the kind of cheerful person I am. However, today I saw Black Mirror just released an interactive episode called 'Bandersnatch' on Netflix; an episode whereby you are given options on what you want to happen next throughout, meaning you can control the outcome you want of the show. O M G As someone who's first experience of gaming in the early 90's was 'Monkey Island' and 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', both similar interactive decision games, this concept had me SHOOK TO MY CORE. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure I write this fresh from spending about 90mins p
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How Birra got big

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Last year, I spent a glorious couple of weeks in Italy with the family; boozing it up from Florence to Sorrento to Amalfi.  It was here I discovered Birra Moretti and, despite not ever really being a big beer fan, you couldn't keep me off it. brunch That holiday was our first family holiday in a long time, and most-importantly it was the first where we were all adults - where we drank together, enjoyed sight seeing together, and generally had a laugh. It's funny how your mind makes associations with experiences; now whenever I even see a Birra Moretti I am back in Capri, chilling with my family, and I feel very content. There are brands in life which you are loyal to because it's habit, whereas this is a brand which I now seek out because it makes me feel good. Anyway, even though summer is dwindling here, I was so pleased to see a Moretti ad on the telly, called "Pull Together". Click to watch This gave me all the feels and took me
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Our first TV ad campaign

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Almost exactly 7 years today, I created this blog in the hope that it would help me get a career in advertising. With no degree or experience in that field, a blog seemed a good starting point; somewhere to share my thoughts, work and progress with potential employers to at least show passionate I was. I remember debating whether or not to bother start a blog - " At 24, I am too late for a career change?" ...... .......... My first post was about one of the many ad grad schemes I applied to and, honestly, the amount of effort and thought I put into them was stellar. But after a while, I started a career client side and I'd basically accepted the closest I'd get to ads were briefing them into agencies. Funnily enough, it was this blog which took me down that different path, yet it's still resulted in what I originally wanted to do. How neat. So, 7 years later, (sorry for the wait guys...), here I am, finally writing a post about my first nationwi
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Brands who accept you for YOU! *eye roll*...

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So I recently saw the Diet Coke ad and my eyes rolled so far into the back of my head that I feared a future of blindness. Click to watch Yet another brand telling me to "do me".... " Do you, boo! " " Live your best life! ", " If you wanna do something, do it! " Oh wow ok thanks I wasn't sure if I could do things like have a diet coke or run a marathon but thanks so much for letting me know I can coca cola. We've got Missguided telling girls to " Make Your Mark " where they let us know we CAN get our cellulite out - at last!!!!! We've got a car brand, telling us to " Go Your Own Way ", letting us know we CAN express ourselves creatively - thank you toyota!!!! Brands are all scrambling around, trying to appeal to the younger generation with a higher purpose. "Hey we aren't just toilet paper, we also believe you should live a life free of oppression!!" The only pr
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