BILL DUNN
STOP
INTERRUPTING
The best creative work doesn’t interrupt people’s lives. It earns a place in them.
That’s the principle that’s guided my work since I started my career in magazine publishing, where I learned to find authentic human stories and understand what makes people choose to spend their time with them. Advertising taught me how to turn those stories into ideas and content that build brands.
Today, I create desire by making work people genuinely want to engage with – developing the thinking, writing the words and leading the work from idea to execution.
Bill Dunn
Creative Content
SCRIPTWRITING & CREATIVE
LOVE MATCH
CLIENT: Mercedes-Benz
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
Rather than write a TVC and cut it down for social, Love Match was planned to be modular so that each of the dates and the final resolution could be used as a short 10-second hit on Facebook, or a digital banner, as a 30” TV spot, or enjoyed on YouTube as a 60” “director’s cut”.
Love Match is branded social comedy for the digital world. I've written for the BAFTA-award winning sketch show Smack the Pony, and director Ben Taylor has directed the critically acclaimed Catastrophe starring Sharon Horgan, Sex Education and The Avengers.
BRAND STRATEGY & COPYWRITING
LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
CLIENT: London Review of Books
AGENCY: Atlas
This represents more than a campaign – it's the embodiment of 12 months of collaborative work with a receptive, engaged client on its subscription model, brand and Tone of Voice.
As a magazine that isn't really about book reviews, and spans whatever its polymath editors deem to be interesting, the main problem LRB had was saying what it was about. We solved that not by saying but by showing – which also gave people something to read while waiting for their train.
OUTSIDE
CREATIVE, INTERVIEWING
CLIENT: Land Rover
AGENCY: Redwood
Why tell an audience about Land Rover's capability when you can show them? I found Larry Burke, pioneer editor-in-chief of Outside magazine. After five years exploring remote regions of Africa, South America, the Middle East, Russia, and many more, he came back to America and realised there was no magazine that covered the adventurous lifestyle that had come to define him.He created an entirely new type of media brand, which would go on to change the outdoor industry forever. I interviewed him about his life and philosophy while we drove a Land Rover across his land near Santa Fe.
KING’S CROSS
COPYWRITING
CLIENT: The King's Cross Group
AGENCY: Elvis
The brief was to create a "poetic" series of OOH ads that reflected the relaxed rambling way you experience the King's Cross site. Luckily we got these out before the summer heatwave.
BRAND STRATEGY & COPYWRITING
CANNES LIONS
CLIENT: Cannes Lions
AGENCY: Freelance project
As Cannes Lions grew from a single week to a 24/7 content stream, they needed a distinctive Tone of Voice that would set them apart. I conducted interviews with key personnel to discover the real ethos behind the organisation and did a thorough analysis of the brand. From this, I wrote clear principles that would underpin all communication – ones that anyone could follow from new hirings to seasoned staff. I also led by example, writing the first set of communications. Because when it comes to Tone of Voice, people learn from inspiring writing, not a series of grammatical rules in a PowerPoint document.
BRAND STRATEGY & CREATIVE
THE OUT
CLIENT: The Out
AGENCY: House 337
The Out – Jaguar Land Rover’s luxury hire car division – wanted to inspire people to get out of London and explore the British Isles. I created “The Lost Art of Losing Yourself” and created a series of video and written content that explored meeting creators and makers like Gareth Ward, the iconoclastic chef owner of Ynyshir in Wales and North Norfolk artist Fred Ingrams. Due to our content, The Out literally sold out of available cars for several months. See more at The Out's journal page.
CREATIVE CONCEPT
THE DESCENT
CLIENT: Volvo
AGENCY: Redwood
When there's no story, you create one. We took ultra runner Anton Krupicka, mountain biker Tom Oehler, paragliding pilot Jean-Baptise Chandelier and the new Volvo V60 Cross Country to the Pyrenees. The idea was a weekend away with a group of friends who all find different ways of getting down the mountain.
Volvo still got their driving footage for dealership use, but they also got an engaging long-form video that appealed to the target audience and showed the car's abilities. Directed by Martin Swift.
BRAND STRATEGY & COPYWRITING
SWEDISH TONE OF VOICE
CLIENT: Volvo
AGENCY: Redwood
I used my editorial skills to develop a new way for Volvo to express their brand in words. They wanted to be seen as a luxury brand but I framed it around Sweden's ethos as a country – how human-centric design changes people's lives for the better. I called it The Swedish Pioneer, as that fitted in with Volvo's history of safety firsts. This was going to be a big change for many in Volvo's worldwide network. So working closely with Volvo at their headquarters in Gothenburg, I led seminars around the world with their staff, agencies and dealers to roll it out and ensure consistency.
CREATIVE
BEING HUMAN
CLIENT: BBC
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
BBC Earth wanted to promote "Being Human", a series about the incredible potential of the human body and mind. I found Sophia, an advanced humanoid robot from Hanson Robotics. My film was intentionally a little Pinocchio-like – after watching the BBC Earth series, Sophia realises she can never quite share in the magic of being human. It created the most debate the BBC has ever had on its social platforms when we posted short teasers with the question, "Will robots ever be human?" Directed by Chris Thomas.
BRAND STRATEGY & COPYWRITING
HORSE POWER
AGENCY: Freelance
Since 2001 I have been the English language copywriter of record for a well-known Italian car manufacturer. My services include client communications, press releases, and all customer-facing communication.
LIVE TRANSMISSION
CREATIVE DIRECTION
CLIENT: Mercedes-Benz
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
The skills of an editor and journalist combined with social media's restricted yet infinite palette helped me transform Mercedes-Benz's social offering. Sometimes, that involved meticulously planning innovative ways to add engagement to Mercedes' involvement at big events like London Fashion Week, Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Silverstone Grand Prix, using Facebook Live as a broadcasting device.
Sometimes it involved thinking – and editing – on your feet, like a reporter. Editing bite-size clips on an iPhone at an event. Choosing one picture from the 50 a photographer has just WhatsApped you. How can I best tell this story? What does it need next… an interview, a boomerang, a rewind, a video or a still image? They're the same questions I used to ask as an editor and writer; it's just now the results are so much more immediate.
FAREWELL, ANTANDEC
CREATIVE DIRECTION
CLIENT: Santander
AGENCY: House 337
Santander was wrapping up its "Bank of Antandec" campaign after six years and they wanted to mark the occasion. Rather than doing a simple "best of" mashup, I created a story in which Nicholas, one of the series' regular stars, doesn't actually realise he's been working for a fictional bank – until the reality finally dawns on him. This allowed us to feature some of the key Santander people who'd commissioned the original adverts in a natural way.
BLOOD NORMAL
BRAND STRATEGY & EDITORIAL
CLIENT: Libresse/Bodyform
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
I'm proud of this international campaign for SCA/Libresse because it was a real team effort. It's a great example of content and advertising working together holistically. AMV BBDO's creative team Caio and Diego made a TVC/cinema film called "Blood" – showing how a little bit of blood doesn't hold women back in sport, so why should period blood hold them back in real life?
But this campaign also needed to be practical and useful, so I teamed with Frame Gyms, Leon restaurants and Georgie Bruinvels, a University College London PhD student who specialises in the menstrual cycle. Together, we devised a series of dance workouts, recipes and a whole website devoted to helping women exercise and feel better during their periods. The project won a Gold Lion at Cannes, a D&AD award and Gold of Golds at the Creative Circle.
HEY STUDENT
CREATIVE DIRECTION & INTERVIEWING
CLIENT: Sainsbury's Bank
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
Sainsbury's Bank wanted a series of content aimed at new students for fresher's week (when a lot of bank accounts are opened). They wanted to show how they understand students and their needs. I worked with a casting agency to find a good group of parents and students and got them to talk about the realities of student life on camera. This involved interviewing technique – knowing when to be quiet and let the conversation flow, and when to move things on with another question. During the interviews, both parents and their offspring found things out that they didn't know about each other. The grill story was a bit of a revelation. Directed by Zac Assemakis.
HOUSE OF PERONI
CREATIVE DIRECTION
CLIENT: Peroni
AGENCY: Droga 5
The Droga5 team found eight emerging fashion designers who had the right stuff to go even further. We took them on to the next step by providing them with studio space in East London, mentorship from the likes of Alexander Fury and Pandora Sykes and the occasional free beer. It culminated in each producing a capsule collection which they showed at London Fashion Week 2019. Our challenge – aside from managing a very complicated project – was to create a video which told the whole story in 30 seconds.
BRAND STRATEGY & EDITORIAL
BROOKLANDS
CLIENT: Brooklands Watch Company
AGENCY: House 337
Working with the agency House 337 we were presented with a challenge. Aerospace engineer Simon Jeffs wanted to launch a new British luxury watch brand, inspired by the historic Brooklands racing circuit in Surrey. The first model was designed by Sir Terence Conran – but in the noisy marketplace of luxury watches, how could we make Brooklands stand out? I developed BWC’s branding and Tone of Voice to tell the story of its motorsport roots authentically and credibly. Working with brand ambassadors such as World Landspeed record holder Andy Green OBE, we blended social-first content, editorial strategy, live display signage and performance advertising – all of which helped BWC to secure funding, grow its brand and drive sales.
“The best content isn’t made to reach the most people, it’s made to reach the right people.”
BRAND STRATEGY, CREATIVE DIRECTION, COPYWRITING
THE i NEWSPAPER
CLIENT: The i Newspaper
AGENCY: Thinking + Doing
The i is the only national newspaper that has never supported a political party. During the 2024 UK elections, its integrity and impartial journalism had never been needed more. Unfortunately – aside from its 4m readers – many people have very little knowledge of what the paper is. There was confusion about whether it’s a cut-down version of The Independent, or maybe just a version of The Metro that you have to pay for. Working with the subscription advisory company Atlas, it was our job to put the record straight with a national campaign.
We developed a series of lines that did two jobs. First, they set out to promote awareness, describing simply and clearly what The i is. Second, they focused on people’s nagging doubts about the news sources they rely on, and how they all have some form of political bias. This had particular resonance during the election.
We created punchy digital, social and OOH creative that captured The i’s essence and framed it around the election: “Are you being informed or influenced?” The bold design and the use of the red i made the brand feel bigger and more famous, generating added intrigue and interest. Time was of the essence before the election, and we delivered the whole process from start to finish in under 3 weeks.
BRAND STRATEGY & EDITORIAL
LUXURY REPORT
CLIENT: Redwood
AGENCY: Thinking + Doing
The agency Redwood approached us to create a report on the current state of the luxury industry for their client Mercedes-Benz to inform their creative approach going forward. They wanted a wide-reaching document that explored not just cars, but the entire luxury arena. We adopted a journalistic approach, using our contacts to provide key insights that shaped our report. These included Dazed Media’s Luke Robins, Anoushka Menzies (Bacchus Agency) and Nick Finch, director at Christie’s. The 50-page report was titled Value x Values, and comprehensively defined the inclusive and exclusive business of luxury today.
CREATIVE DIRECTION & INTERVIEWING
PAUL SMITH
CLIENT: Land Rover
AGENCY: Redwood
Land Rover is more luxury and design-driven and less utilitarian these days. But there's still a lot of love for the iconic Defender, the vehicle that started it all. So when long-time Land Rover lover Sir Paul Smith decided to put his colourful design mark on one of the last Defenders off the production line, I created a film to celebrate it.
I've worked with Paul many times over the years, and I wanted this to feel like he was driving through London chatting comfortably with an old friend – even though I was actually crouched uncomfortably in the boot shouting questions over the back seat with the sound man next to me.
Like everything I do, the content is underpinned with a story. Paul wanted to be a racing cyclist until a bad crash meant his life changed direction and led him towards the creative field. Directed by Zac Assemakis.
BRAND STRATEGY & COPYWRITING
THE WEEK US ELECTION
CLIENT: The Week
AGENCY: Thinking + Doing
The Week magazine wanted to grow its US audience, conveying its unique blend of perspective and curated journalism. The US Elections were the ideal playing field. However our line for the UK magazine “see both sides” needed to be adapted for an American audience, as most of them had already made their minds up.
Our strategic solution was to reframe the debate, presenting perspective as something that is your fundamental right. This, by inference, turns it into something eminently desirable, making The Week’s USP all the more powerful.
This was the perfect springboard for creating a set of striking graphics and statements for digital, print and social that forged an emotional connection with even the most partisan of US readers.
BRAND STRATEGY & COPYWRITING
UNDERSTANDING = OPTIMISM
CLIENT: The Week Junior
AGENCY: Thinking + Doing
The magazine came to us for a New Year campaign. Traditionally, these had revolved around resolutions, fresh starts, and the joys of literacy. But we wanted to go deeper than that, proposing a new upbeat message that underscored what The Week Junior actually does for children – creating optimism through understanding. Against a backdrop of COVID-19 and conflict, our message was that when you understand something, you’re not scared of it any more.
“Understanding your world. Feels great, doesn’t it?” was an integrated campaign for digital, social and page ads that featured happy children bouncing. The power of the campaign came from the levity and brightness of the images while conveying to concerned parents that this was a product that could have a real positive impact on children’s lives.
CLIENT: Volvo
AGENCY: Redwood
I commissioned myself to do this story for LIV (Volvo's customer magazine). Volvo wanted to show the capability of the Volvo XC70. I did this by creating a story which would involve a lot of sand driving through a desert – we took the XC70 to Oman in search of one of the most valuable substances in the world – frankincense. On the way, I learned a few words of Arabic and the art of sand driving (which is basically never to brake or stop). The photographs were taken by Andrew Shaylor, one of the best travel documentary photographers working today, and the pages were designed by Tony Peters.
OMAN
