Ben O'Brien.

Creative Director. Writer.
Idea Defender. Client Charmer.
Pitch Winner.

Find out more

About

I love coming up with unexpected ideas. I've created some for amazing brands including McDonald’s, Heineken, Kellogg’s, Red Bull, XBox and Volkswagen.

A few of my ideas have managed to win awards at Cannes, Clio, The One Show, The New York Festivals, AWARD and The Melbourne Art Directors Club.

In the last few years, my focus has been in the social space. I started my own agency with Red Bull as the founding client, so my first experience of a truly social platform was fuelled by both the brand and the liquid. We developed a social-first approach before that concept really existed, creating events that were among the first to blow up in social feeds.

I generally work as a copywriter-based Creative Director, and I've always enjoyed leading, teaching and nurturing upcoming talent.

That's why I've been involved with AWARD School for over 10 years as a tutor, running the school for two years as Head Lecturer. And I've spoken to various university and school groups about the impact unexpected creativity has on business success.


Some Work

Kudos


"Though he might baulk at this, Ben worked really well with the client, having the business maturity to understand the client perspective. But this did not undermine a clear creative vision and perspective which he always brought and fought for. For me, this is a powerful combination that can push to hard working strategic copy or breakthrough creative work if the client is brave enough."


Fraser Taylor - Marketing Director Kellogg's Australia & New Zealand.


"Ben joined the team at a time when the agency was struggling and under pressure. He brought a great blend of creative horsepower and a very user-friendly style of working with clients to create a body of work which, just 18 months later, is being hailed globally around the global client organisation."


Matt Scholes - EVP Global Business Director Leo Burnett, Chicago.


"Ben is the person I would turn to for his creative ability, intelligence and problem-solving abilities. He presents with confidence and thinks well on his feet. He is articulate and professional in all his business dealings and a pleasure to work with. I would recommend him as a creative partner of the highest calibre."


Penny Dixon - Managing Director J. Walter Thompson, Sydney.

CV



Deputy Executive Creative Director - M&C Saatchi Group, Sydney.
October 2021 - Present
At M&C Saatchi I’m leading creative for Woolworths, Australia's most trusted brand and the largest account in the M&C Saatchi network. Within my first 4 months, we have successfully pitched for all of Woolworths' paid social creative, which is giving us exciting opportunities to build the customer experience across an array of social media channels.





Creative Director - Banjo Advertising, Sydney.
September 2016 - October 2021
Clients: Microsoft, Xbox, QT Hotels, Domain, Ben & Jerry's, The Cancer Institute, Alinta Energy, NSW Government (COVID-19, SafeWork NSW, Department of Planning and Environment, Service NSW), Nando's, NSW Clubs, The Real Pet Food Company.





Executive Creative Director - O'Shea & O'Brien, Sydney.
February 2010 - September 2016
Clients: Red Bull, Air Niugini, Sara Lee, Centro Shopping Centres, Creative by Design, Dainty Consolidated Entertainment, Mariner Boating Holidays and pro-bono client Motor Neurone Disease Australia.





Associate Creative Director - JWT, Sydney.
January 2008 - February 2010
Clients: Kellogg’s, Nestle, Tax Today, NSW Health.





Creative Group Head - DDB, Sydney.
January 2006 - December 2007
Clients: McDonald’s, Audi, Wrigley’s, Eveready, Volkswagen, AVJennings, ANZ.





Senior Writer - Leo Burnett, Sydney.
May 2004 - January 2006
Clients: Subaru, McDonald’s, Canon, Heineken, Johnnie Walker, Bundaberg Rum, Colonial First State, Energy Australia, Freedom Furniture, NRMA Motoring and Services.

NSW Health // Down to Test

Festival goers are down for lots of things, but an STI test? We had to convince people to stop partying for long enough to take a test. The solution? Give them the most valuable commodity at a music festival - clean toilets. Check out the case study.
AWARD Winner.
NSW Government // COVID-19 Campaign

For over 18 months I've been working with the NSW Government to communicate with the public about COVID-19. It's been a challenge at every step, but has produced work that has - quantifiably - saved lives. I'm very proud of that.
QT Hotels // Win the Wildest Night in History

This was a fun campaign for our client QT Hotels. It was a competition and activation - we recreated the debauched result of six of history's biggest hotel stays and challenged guests to first guess the perpetrators, and ultimately relive the night.
Sara Lee // Lookalikes

Obviously the one part of your meal that you should never skimp on is dessert. To promote Sara Lee's new 'Incredibly' range of desserts, we skimped on the talent, using some of the world's best celebrity impersonators.
Sara Lee Desserts // Mr. Incredibly

A content campaign specifically targeting women aged 35 - 50. In just the first two weeks, Mr. Incredibly achieved incredible engagement, with over 1 million completed views, clicks, likes, shares and comments.
Cure for Life // Birthday Cards

I wrote this commercial, from personal experience, to draw attention to this heart-wrenching disease, and raise much needed funds.
The One Show Winner.
Ads of the World Gold Winner.
The Global Awards for Healthcare winner.
NSW Police // Watch for cars when wearing headphones

A campaign for the NSW Police, designed to make people aware of the dangers of 'deaf walking'. It won a bunch of awards and was seen by millions online.
Cannes Lion Winner.
Clio Awards Winner.
The One Show Winner.
Xbox // Valentine's Day

The social post that made its way around the world. This began as a little 'thing' made for the local Microsoft client on Valentine's Day, but was picked up by the global Xbox team and ended up being run across the planet, from Norway to Canada.
Kellogg's All Bran // Tall Jan

My first job as CD on Kellogg's at JWT and together with the brilliant Rob Kleckner and Dan Oliva, we made this. The famous Tall Jan.
Xbox // Ultimate Cage Knight

A crazy launch idea for Age of Empires 4 on Xbox Game Pass. This began as a small post idea, but grew into a mammoth world-wide live-stream event, introduced by Thor Bjornsson (Game of Thrones) and hosted by Steven Bradbury.
NSW Gov // Floods

This campaign ran just before some of the largest floods NSW had experienced in decades. Because there hadn't been a serious flood for so long, people were unaware they even lived in a flood zone. We identified outdoor billboard locations in the areas that had previously been flooded and ran bespoke executions for each.
AWARD Finalist.
NSW Education // Maths Trains Brains

A tricky challenge. The jobs of the future are inevitably going to require maths, but students are less and less likely to study it. This campaign is simply designed to get parents to talk to their kids about maths, and hopefully make it just a bit cooler.

Contact





+61 402 393 393