Ben Gough

I wrote a short film script that was chosen for a competition. Over the next 3 months, with just £1500, I co-produced and directed the film. It was the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Amazingly, Sir Ian McKellen agreed to star in it after liking the 'charming' script. 

D.O.P: Darran Bragg

AGENCY:

Don't Panic

CLIENT:

Oxfam

DIRECTOR:

Tom Green @ Stink

IDEA: 

Large corporations use the resources of third world countries and then avoid paying taxes there. Meaning the most vulnerable people miss out on essential infrastructure as companies choose profits over people. This harrowing film brings the terrible consequences of these inequalities home. Working into the Creative Lead I came up with the concept, wrote the script, presented and sold the idea to the client and involved in the production.

AGENCY:

Uncommon Creative Studio

CLIENT:

ITV

DIRECTOR:

Thirty Two @ Anonymous Content

CREATIVE DIRECTORS:

Benny Everitt, Nils Leonard

IDEA:

With half of young people struggling with anxiety, ITV wanted to encourage parents to check in with their children. So, using the insight that teens and adults often talk different languages, our film shows an awkward everyday interaction between a father and daughter when she comes home from school - inspired by a conversation I had with my own daughter. However, the subtitles tell a different story, which convey what each person is really thinking but are too uncomfortable to say out loud. Illustrating how adults need to keep trying because it takes time to break through and offering an incentive to start a meaningful conversation, which can make a huge difference to teen’s mental health.

CLIENT:

Rotary International

AGENCY:

Don't Panic

IDEA:

At the annual Rotary International convention in Atlanta we wanted to give an immersive experience showcasing the impact Rotary's work on eradicating Polio was achieving. Working with Google I wrote the script for this immersive VR experience, named One Small Act, one of the first examples of narrative storytelling in VR using both mono and stereoscopic techniques. The viewer observes entire scenes in a forward looking 360°arc which tells the story of a young girl growing up in war torn Bosnia. 

CLIENT:

WWF - Earth Hour

AGENCY:

Leo Burnett London

IDEA: KILL THE LIGHTS

It was my concept to inspire Londoners to switch off their lights during Earth Hour. Realising that our office is next to one of Europe’s busiest roads we turned our entire building into a giant, bright, 40x120m, lit-up sign. We used lights that were needed anyway and turned them into something positive in the lead up to Earth Hour. Simply by blocking out the windows with 600 pieces of scrap paper we created letters 2 metres high. Ad space here usually costs £100,000+. We did it for £0. And, on 23rd March 2013, inspired by our sign, Londoner’s all over the Capital killed their lights to take part in what proved to be the most successful Earth Hour ever. And it only took me 4 hours to put all the card up!

CLIENT:

Lürzer's Archive

AGENCY:

Leo Burnett

PRODUCTION COMPANY:

Mark Denton @ Coy!

IDEA: UNTOUCHBLE COVERS

Lürzer's Archive is good, inspirational and costs a bomb. So much so that it is the World's Most Stolen Magazine. I came up with the idea to create fake covers to turn your copy into magazines so boring that you wouldn't want to touch them let alone steal it. I was Copywriter and Art Director of all 6, which were given away to new subscribers, increasing sales by 500% durning the promotion.  

AGENCY:

Leo Burnett

CLIENT:

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Squares

IDEA: PLAQUE OF LIES

Masquerading as both outdoor and POS we took the 'It's all lies - They're not even square!' line to the streets with fake blue plaques on newsagents of historical importance. Awarded at D&AD amongst others. Concept, Design and Writing by was done by me. And that’s the truth!

Every creative team has an online book. So to make me and my creative partner's book a bit more interesting - I made an actual book. And I made it in the style of a 1970s Jackie Annual to boot. I lovingly crafted every word and designed all 80 pages. And a set of badges and a pull-out poster which I shot. It got me and my partner work at some pretty good agencies. It was also awarded for Writing at D&AD.

CLIENT:

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Squares

AGENCY:

Leo Burnett

IDEA: BUS TOUR OF LIES

During the Olympics in London ad space was hard to find. But one place I found that you could advertise was the roads. So taking on the 'It's All Lies- They're Not Even Square' tagline I wrote a 30 minute guided Bus Tour of Lies that delighted and quite frankly confused tourists coming to London for the Games.

Britain is famous for it's rain. So, I became the first person to bottle it and sell it to tourists. A best seller at boutique shop We Built This City on Carnaby Street, I have sold well over 10,000 bottles.

You can get yours at BritishRain.com . Or buy me a coffee and chat with me for a bit and I’ll give you one for FREE!

As I hobby I created celebrities made out of my old Lego. Then people started wanting to buy them off me. Even Lily Allen bought herself off me. I also created a campaign for the IPA 44 Club and made their famous Advertising speakers out of Lego for a 'Build Your Career' campaign. My celeb Lego have been featured in magazines, newspapers, TV, Radio and online. Including a Sgt Pepper's version shot by Jonathan Knowles that made The Sun.  Follow the news made of Lego on my instagram page @Bricksclusive .

I wrote a celebratory anthem to the year called ‘Thank You 2020’. I asked Singing Serpent to arrange it. Then. deciding it would be cool to get cut onto vinyl, asked Joe Giacomet to shoot the record sleeve.

Then one day before the shoot asked if we could actually film an entire music video at the same time, which Joe kindly agreed to. Then I realised records have two sides so wrote a spoken word B-Side set to the music of Silent Night. All in a couple of weeks.

Director: Joe Giacomet

Photography: Joe Giacomet

Music arrangement: Jack Gillette at Singing Serpent