ARON CLEARY

An Untypical Night Calls for an Untypical Bourbon >> Repositioning a bourbon brand to stand out in a crowded category.

We created a differentiating brand strategy, visual world, tagline, tone of voice and creative campaign to successfully reposition 1792 as a sophisticated bourbon vs. your typical woodsy Kentucky bourbon people drink around the campfire. For Asia as well as the U.S. No shrooms were consumed during the making of this campaign.

Director: Ariel Costa

With: Jonatan Maldonado (ECD), Dave Damman (CCO) and Ryan Bailey (AD)

Role: ECD and Copywriter

Here’s to Us. All of Us. >> Refreshing a 90-year-old brand to connect with a younger, more diverse audience.

A content-led initiative designed to refresh this iconic brand’s relevance. With a short documentary film series – and surrounding ecosystem of commercials and social content – we celebrated the power of gathering and honored the people across our country who build community.

Director: Lance Oppenheim

With: Jonatan Maldonado (ECD), Dave Damman (CCO), Jane Owenby (AD) and Jared Owenby (CW)

Role: ECD and Copywriter

Like It Never Even Happened >> Transforming a B2B brand into a consumer brand to create massive growth.

A top 100 US franchise that nobody knew. That was Servpro. But with an all-encompassing integrated campaign and brand refresh, we managed to put this cleanup and restoration business on the public’s radar. The category-breaking approach involved some epic simulation tests to prove Servpro’s expertise - the work had a huge impact on brand awareness, preference, revenue and profit.

Director: Filip Engstrom

With: Jonatan Maldonado (ECD) and Dave Damman (CCO)

Role: ECD and Copywriter

Challenging public perception of a product that people love to hate.

When got milk? launched in the 90s, people loved milk. But we were dealing with a very different reality: radically declining sales, public mistrust of farming, and the rise of alternative milks. We developed a multipronged approach that made the case for real milk with facts, humor and disarming charm.

Director: Becho & Mab

With: Aron Onsurez (ACD), Jeb Quaid (ACD) and Dino Spadavecchia (ECD)

Role: Creative Director

Making diverse voices heard. Literally.

September 2020 was a pivotal moment for the whole of society, but particularly for minorities. Everyone was considering what America meant to them, and what they meant to America. More than ever, all voices deserved to be heard.

For Xfinity's Hispanic Heritage Month campaign, we created a digital American flag made from voices. A living, breathing tribute to the diversity of our nation.

The immersive site featured audio interviews with Hispanic Americans about their personal journeys, and their contributions to America. Radio, PR, digital, social and influencers drove the public to share their own stories and take their place in the flag, voice by voice, thread by thread.

With: Jonatan Maldonado (CD), Taua Baccarin (CD) and Dino Spadavecchia (ECD)

Role: Creative Director and Copywriter

Bones Love Milk >> A sub brand to help milk stop being, well…so boring.

It’s an understatement to say that milk was struggling to compete for teens’ attention against energy drinks and sodas. We needed more than an ad campaign to help with that so we created a sub brand: Bones Love Milk. A brand that was built around the benefits of milk, but that looked and talked in a way that teens could connect with. Inspired by California’s iconic skate culture, we embedded ourselves at the heart of that world.

We established and funded a real skate team, and created their clothing and gear. Taking cues from the lowbrow art that has always gone hand in hand with West Coast skate culture, we worked with artist Thomas Fernandez to create a series of Bone Monsters, each made from an eclectic combination of bones - and fueled by milk. These were used to create a range of materials from social posts, custom skateboards, ads, and event artwork.

We also hosted The Shredquarters, our own mini event during the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA - with live mural painting, skate lessons, custom Vans workshops, and milk drinks created specifically for the event.

Artist: Thomas Fernandez

With: Dino Spadavecchia (ECD), Arthur Amiune (AD)

Role: Creative Director

You Earned It >> Making milk relevant for millennial parents.

Us adults think we have it tough. But it's no picnic being a kid these days. After a long day of having to wake up, brush your teeth, do algebra and eat Brussels Sprouts, sometimes you just have to kick off your size 4 shoes, sit back and enjoy a cold glass of milk.

With a touch of nostalgia, some lighthearted humor and a universal insight about how tough it is to be a kid, we connected with millennial parents and managed to make milk look like the good guy for once.

Director: Brian Billow

With: Aaron Onsurez (ACD), Jeb Quaid (ACD) and Dino Spadavecchia (ECD)

Role: Creative Director

What You Choose to Remember >> Repositioning a traditional camera brand for a digital world.

As digital photography exploded, Olympus’ analog reputation overshadowed its new digital products. We decided to put a stake in the ground to own the category with a strategy that dramatized the human essence of digital photography: being able to edit your memories. No babies or dogs were hurt during the making of these films.

Director: Noam Murro

With: Chris Pugmire (AD), Murray White (ECD) and Aris Theophilakis (CCO)

Role: Copywriter

We See It Too >> Bringing humanity to a functional category.

A deck is a pretty amazing place. It’s where you can watch mind-blowing sunsets, have great conversations with friends, hold last-minute BBQs for the neighbors, and get to be a little closer to nature.

So why is decking advertising so boring and practical?

Trex’s vision is to enhance the lives of people by engineering what’s next in outdoor living. So we created a strategy that allowed the brand to get closer to people: We See It Too. Then we designed a personality, tone and emotional storytelling approach that could help us dramatize the special things that happen on a deck.

Director: Lisa Rubisch

With: Don Bailey (AD) and Dave Damman (CCO)

Role: ECD and Creative Director

Satirizing misinformation to give people the real facts.

In a sea of confusing information, it’s hard for people to find the real facts about milk. This series of posters and print ads referencing snake oil salesmen and circus promoters like P.T. Barnum were designed to capture attention through wit and humor, and invite people to question the criticism circulating about milk in the media.

Illustrator: Johnny Samson

With: Jonatan Maldonado (CD/AD) and Dino Spadavecchia (ECD)

Role: Creative Director and Copywriter

Built for Unstoppable Spirits >> A bank that supports pioneers, dreamers and doers.

We created a brand platform and integrated campaign to help First Horizon bank reflect the ambitious, dedicated and diverse community that it serves. This film about Dee Patel, the general manager of the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, is probably my favorite piece. It tells Dee’s story of immigrating to America as well as the key role of Nashville in the women’s suffrage movement.

Working with real people isn’t always easy but when it’s the right choice for the right brand, it can be very rewarding.

Director: Matthew Underwood

With: Jayden Harmse (AD) and Dave Damman (CCO)

Role: ECD and Copywriter

Translating product functionality into culturally relevant content.

We took the opportunity to turn a small product tutorial brief into an integrated campaign that connected with Comcast’s millennial Asian and South Asian audiences. Partnering with dancers Poonam & Priyanka and B-boy champion Gyroe the Magnificent, we co-created bespoke choreographies that incorporated the Xfinity X1 Voice Control to make a series of digital video and social content to promote the new product.

Director: Michael Gracey

With: Jonatan Maldonado (CD/AD)

Role: Creative Director and Copywriter

Suffering Is Not the Key to Success >> Creating an irreverent challenger brand in the Scotch Whisky category.

Johnnie Walker dominates the Scotch category with its narrative of determination and perseverance. But Dewar’s had something a little different in its DNA that resonated with the zeitgeist. Tommy Dewar, the fun-loving founder, believed you could have success and enjoy yourself along the way.

We turned that into an easygoing philosophy of life called Dewarism, and brought it to life in a variety of irreverent ways that poked fun at the rat race - including a series of viral powerpoint presentations about work-life balance.

With: Christopher Pugmire (CD/AD) and Oriol Villar (CCO)

Role: Creative Director and Copywriter

Precision from Every Position >> An activation that leveraged World Cup excitement.

Tiqui-taca, the Spanish national soccer team’s style of play, is about passing and maintaining possession. So precision is just as important for the defenders as it is for midfielders and strikers. In anticipation of the World Cup, we created a WC-themed version of Space Invaders for defenders Ramos and Albiol to play for real. The responsive screen allowed them to defeat opponents and progress through different levels.

With: Christopher Pugmire (CD and Art Director)

Role: Creative Director and Copywriter

The best left hander in the world isn’t left-handed.

Wimbledon was approaching and Nike wanted to do something with Nadal. But there was no brief. It really was just, “Make a Just Do It campaign with Nadal”. Which is awesome but also kind of terrifying for a young creative.

From hours of research, I stumbled across a nugget of information that nobody seemed to know: Rafael Nadal plays tennis with his left hand but he isn’t naturally left-handed. He trained it so that he would have an advantage on the court. That became our brief.

We got a chance to film him in London in between training sessions. He was shy and sweet. And we made him do lots of weird things with his left hand to show everyone that he really isn’t left-handed.

I’ve created many integrated brand campaigns and the words that drive them - using a variety of tones across a range of media, for all sorts of categories.

I’ve crafted copy for everything from brand taglines, positioning statements, and manifestos to events, wild postings, immersive digital experiences, and beer coasters. I have written quirky dialogue, poetic anthems and, once, a Europop song for a global fashion brand.

I’ve written for many different audiences including children, sneakerheads, female fitness fans, Hispanic biculturals, millennial parents, Gen Z whiskey drinkers and Asian businessmen. I like figuring out how to connect with different audiences almost as much as I like good writing.