Matt Allen

Walkers position as Britain's most loved crisp has come under threat recently from cheaper rival and own brand alternatives. So we needed to remind consumers that there really is no substitute for Walkers.

Using Walkers Champions League sponsorship as our springboard, we created the "No Walkers, No game" campaign. Featuring footballing legends and global superstars David Beckham and Thierry Henry.

Central to the campaign was an unforgettable stunt: genuine football fans recruited via social media (for what they thought would be a Champions League documentary) getting a surprise call from a hungry Henry searching for his favourite snack.

The lucky family who had Walkers then received an even bigger surprise - an invitation to watch the game with Thierry and David Beckham! The campaign span multi channels and out-of-home sites nationwide, and in addition to the usual TV, VOD, digital and social, also included a giant 3D takeover of the famous Piccadilly Lights screens. And if that wasn't enough crispy golden goodness, we also created a unique activation event which gave fans the chance to appear on the same giant screens sitting alongside David and Thierry.

When you launch a car for an eccentric British billionaire renowned for both his temper and his dislike of advertising you have to do it really well. Or really differently. Or ideally, both.

Enter The Hard Way Home.

It was a simple idea - instead of picking up their new Grenadier from some swanky showroom, could the owners of the first three vehicles off the production line be persuaded to collect their cars from somewhere slightly more remote... the top of the Atlas Mountains for instance.

Turns out they could.

We e-mailed the idea to Ineos's advance order customers and were inundated with thousands of replies from customers desperate to take part. We then asked each applicant to submit a short video explaining why they were perfect for the challenge. After much discussion six applicants were invited to join us at an assessment day in Hertfordshire (to check both their driving skills and stomach were up to the adventure). Short films of each were made and posted to social media to allow the public to choose who they wanted to to see take The Hard Way Home. Finally with our three finalists chosen, we headed to the Atlas mountains for the handover.

But nothing about The Hard Way Home was straight forward. As the convoy arrived in Morocco the country experienced its worst weather in over half a century. Years worth of rain fell in minutes. Flash floods raced through the waddis (Valleys to you and I) and roads became almost un-passable or were closed altogether. And as we ascended, and the temperatures plummeted snowy white-outs made the mountains lethal. Would our three make it?

Spoiler alert: of course they did, they were in Grenadiers.

Even bigger spoiler alert: The journey was so hazardous our film crew weren't able to capture all the really sexy, dangerous stuff on film. Soz.

Launch and shorter online films for the Square card payment system; the latest venture from Twitter entrepreneur Jack Dorsey. Square allows businesses of any size to take card payments - free from expensive monthly fees or high transaction charges. The businesses featured in these ads are all genuine Square merchants.

A print campaign designed to dramatise the waterproof, shockproof, drop-proof and freeze-proof credentials of the Olympus Tough.

Though perhaps the hardest thing was trying to make a 30 word headline, 200+ words of copy, a photograph, a pack shot, a web address, a logo and an endline look uncluttered.

Now that was tough.

Cold water shock. It's a funny old thing. It doesn't matter if you're the best swimmer in the world, trying to swim whilst your body is adjusting to a sudden drop in temperature could be fatal. This campaign consisting of Film, VOD, OOH and DOH has one clear message - Don't swim, float. 

An online film and a selection of some of the many posters (beautifully illustrated and directed by the cult French illustrator McBess) I created to encourage TFL passengers to have a little more courtesy towards their fellow travellers.

The campaign also featured 48$ Cross-tracks, DOH, Cross-track projections, Social and Experiential.

After launch the campaign quickly took on a life of it's own, as a whole host of copycat ads featuring, let's say somewhat 'livelier' language, suddenly began appearing all over social media.

They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Experiential events, content and social activity designed to encourage TFL passengers to have a little more courtesy to their fellow passengers.

The #travelbetterlondon campaign combined the talents of 9 of the London poetry scene's top poets, 9 of the networks busiest stations and the famous TFL message boards to create a positive experience for all of the 2 million+ passengers that passed through the stations.

Throughout the week the poems and filmed live performances were uploaded to our Tumblr. The activity received over 6.25 million Twtter impressions and saw  #travelbetterlondon trending for over 3 days.

A couple of films and few posters I wrote for the long running 'Bit of an Animal' campaign.

The first film aired after a two-year off-screen absence for the brand.

The second supported the launch of their new Firestick variety.

A selection of print and TV ads from the huge number I've written over the years for this unloved supermarket.

Still one of my favourite campaigns.

An online and cinema film to encourage young car drivers to reduce their speed and drive more responsibly

Two elements from a larger integrated campaign comprising of press, poster, digital and ambient

The projections were cast on various UK prisons including the two examples here which are Pentonville and Belmarsh.

A couple of brand films (from the umpteen I wrote) in the long running and much loved 'Dotty' campaign.

When Liverpool FC reached the Champions League Final, Reebok - the club's long running team sponsor - wanted to produce some activity to celebrate the achievement.

Our website Scouseforanight.com encouraged fans across the country to put aside club rivalries and get behind the team from Merseyside.

From print-off song sheets to Jimmy Tarbuck joke pages, Scouseforanight contained everything a would-be-scouser needed for getting into the spirit of things.

My first morning at M&C Saatchi went something like this:

"Before we brief you on the Morrisons pitch, could you take a quick look at this?"

It was a brief that had been in the department for well over a week and which no one had cracked.

'Oh and we need to present to the client tomorrow morning"

Well we did, and they loved it.

So much so in fact, that for the first time in their 15-year long relationship with M&C they didn't put it into research.

I was supposed to stay a month.  I left after almost 2 years.

Print advertising to support the launch of Magners Specials - a range of mixed fruit ciders.

At the twelfth hour we had to write 'Rhubarb' as an alternative to 'Suggestion boxes' as the client only felt comfortable running the latter in Ireland.

Before he jetted off to Hollywood to shoot films with Robert De Niro and the like, Kirk Jones shot this charming ad for Tesco for me.

And yes, those lads really are playing the track themselves.

Ad campaign to support the UK launch of Rogers estates e-coffee dramatising the company's passion for coffee and it's unique green credentials.

A television campaign to support the launch of Twinings 'Everyday' and Rooibos tea brands.

Every two years, JLL, the world-leading corporate real-estate company, release a highly-anticipated investors report detailing how transparent each country is set against a series of measures. To bring the 2018 report to life, we worked with the illustrator Pâté, to create a suite of print and digital assets which dramatised some of the key findings.

Publicans who take Stella on draught have to agree to adhere to a 12 point quality program. This trade campaign sought to remind publicans of that commitment by suggesting that nothing be more important than ensuring the perfect pint.

Brand films to highlight the quality and freshness of Tesco's everyday produce.

Steve Henry put a brief out asking for provocative ideas to bring mental health in the workplace to the nation’s attention. So we got in touch, and together with Steve, created the ‘I’m not ok’ campaign. The campaign - which ran in national press - highlights some of the stress-related issues employees face in the workplace and aimed to encourage anyone suffering similar anxieties to speak up about their own problems.

A simple 48$ poster for the well known condiment brand

A press campaign to support the relaunch of the Olympus Pen-EP1, a hugely popular and iconic model, which first appeared in the 1960's.

A selection from a series of posters for the Barclays cycle hire scheme.

These posters formed part of a larger integrated campaign which also included online, radio, press and DOH. 

The DOH allowed us to take advantage of tactical opportunities such heat waves, Pride and the London Marathon.