I have concepted ground breaking ads, won awards and campaigned for more diversity and inclusion in creative departments.
I believe powerful and persuasive communication is all about storytelling.
So here is my story.
Being born with a large birthmark covering the right side of my face made me very shy. I walked with my head down and spent a lot of time reading. Opening a book was like stepping into someone else’s head. The perfect way to escape my reality. Words were a drug and Enid Blyton my gateway.
As I got older I realised my birthmark was actually rather brilliant. It made me different. I didn’t have to dye my hair purple or wear crazy clothes to stand out from the crowd. Of course, I did that anyway - well I was at art school.
After a successful career as a set designer, where I worked with some amazing directors and choreographers, the world of advertising beckoned. I became an ad creative and my love of words was reignited. Concepting and writing ads for a living meant I could tell stories to my heart’s content.
Now I have years of expertise overseeing creative output, from initial strategy through campaign concept, to final execution, across many platforms and disciplines.
I am a mentor and lecturer. I have been a featured ‘Lone Star’ in the Campaign Annual and was a judge on the inaugural Cannes Grey Lions.
With a combination of award-winning work, a passion for well-crafted copy, experience managing teams and mentoring, I like to think it’s not just my face that makes me stand out.
Projects
- SHELTER - RAISE YOUR RUNI always get a kick out of seeing my work in the wild. But I was especially proud of this one. Working in house for Shelter I came up with the name for their new running event. Then I worked on the posters, microsite, T-shirt, advice guides, digital assets, and everything else that went with the run, writing the headlines and all the body copy. In fact I got so excited about the whole thing I even did the run - raising money and running 50K over four weeks.
- Keyhole Interiors - contentMelinda came to me when she was rebranding her interior design company. She needed copy and content for her new website. We discussed her design inspiration and ethos and from there I gave her options for tag lines, copy and other web content. She was very pleased with the result. Here is her testimonial: 'I think Mady and I were a match made in heaven. There aren't many people who can make sense of my thought process and I'm a very particular person, but it took Mady no time to suss me out. Af
- HammersonI was brought in to Publicis to pitch for the Hammerson business. Hammerson own some of the most famous shopping malls in the UK, Ireland and France. But their advertising was inconsistent and uninspiring. I came up with a campaign idea that would encourage people to stop shopping online and instead enjoy a day at the mall #IRL - In Real Life. The campaign works across all media and touch points with a consistent tone of voice and beautiful art direction from Paul Hogarth. We won the pitch and
- It takes ForesightThe brief for Foresight Group was to show how they invest in a smarter future. We found out one of the small businesses they invest in is Open Bionics, a company that manufactures the world’s first clinically approved 3D-printed bionic arm - a 'Hero Arm'. But how to make bionics less sci-fi and more human? As a parent I am very aware of how difficult even the simplest task would be without an arm. And I couldn't imagine not being able to hold and hug my child. So we decided to find a parent wh
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Projects credited in
- HAMMERSON (Shopping Malls Owners)“Shopping used to be a great moment in my life and now it’s become a bit of a relationship with my post room.” 'We Heart In Real Life' - Brand Campaign for Hammerson. In an increasingly digital world we’re missing out on the things that makes us happiest. Real experiences. Shopping online and filling our virtual baskets doesn’t fill us with excitement like it does In Real Life. So we wanted to remind people about the power of #IRL - In Real Life. Because only In Real Life you can Stroke,
Work history
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Creative DirectorCravens
London, United KingdomFull Time
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Wordsmith and Creative LeadWrinkle ltd
London, United KingdomFreelance
I’ve spent the last few years working for independent clients and helping start ups with their marketing strategies and creative concepts. I have also freelanced at various London agencies where my ideas have won pitches and my copy has won over clients.
As well as writing web copy I have written a number of high profile articles for Campaign Magazine, The Marketing Society and various lifestyle and business blogs.
More recently I have been a speaker on diversity and inclusion panels discussing ageism in the industry and I was a keynote speaker and judge for the inaugural Cannes Grey Lions.
I am a mentor and member of BLOOM.
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Skills
- Advertising Creative
- Advertising Copywriter
- Art Direction/copywriting/creative/digital/build/campaigns
- TV Advertising
- Radio Advertising
- Press Advertising
- Digital Advertising
- Beauty Copywriting
- Freehand Sketching
- Digital Copywriting
Education
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Theatre DesignThe Slade School of Fine Art (UCL)
- London, United Kingdom
BA Hons History of Art and Art Conservation Science
- London, United Kingdom