About me

Copywriter / ACD

I trained at Watford with the late, great, Tony Cullingham. I still use Tony’s techniques on every brief. He was a hero.

I try to sum up my ideas up in 7 words or less. Sometimes more but never more than 12.

I’m from Glasgow. It’s given me a lot, including an accent only a privileged few can understand.

I did my first placement at McCann, then moved to Leith where I wrote for every major client and fluked my first awards.

Freelancing taught me to be extra speedy on briefs at Ogilvy, M+C Saatchi and Above+ Beyond to name a few.

I worked at the only agency in Manchester that’s got a frontman. Like in a band. Bez from Happy Mondays. Technically he was more of a dancer than a singer, but still.

I headed back to London one more time before taking the plunge down to Dubai. That’s us all caught up now.

I’ve worked on IRN-BRU, Emirates, Sainsbury’s, Honda, the Scottish Government, Royal Bank of Scotland, Famous Grouse, DHL, Travel Supermarket and VISA. The list keeps going.

A good ad should make you laugh, think, or quietly cry on the inside. Bad ads make me cry out loud.

I’ve always been into anything that gets the brain going. I used to write songs, now I write stories. I used to make techno, now I buy old synths. Films, games, and music still take up a fair chunk of my time and probably always will.

I’ve led pitches, rebranded a bank, and picked up a few awards including a D&AD Pencil, a Campaign Big plus a handful of Drums. Chasing that Lion.

We’ve covered work and hobbies so here are my three great loves in life. Emma, my daughter Violet and Celtic.