A handy collection of just a few of the radio ads I’ve written over the years. Like many creatives who’ve been at it a while, I’m generally not great at archiving my work. But, in 2016 I threw this collection together on Soundcloud. It’s got some pieces I really like and I’m glad I have
This was a cool brief that let me use my background as a rapper and musician, and my love of rhyme, to make something fun for DSTV, for whom I did a lot of work in the early/mid 2010s. These aired in, I think, 2014 or so. iRock was a music festival in South Africa,
In a land knowns as Florida, Far, far away,There lived beasts of pleasure,Who chilled out the whole day.No one could begrudge them,Their natural way,“For manatees are manatees”,The old folk did say. They’d lie in the sun,And get righteously blazed,From sunup to sunset,For days and for days.Then when the sun,Had receded its rays,They’d go under water,And
A Youtube preroll ad campaign (and a supporting TV ad), which I conceptualised, wrote and directed for Sportingbet, picked up an award for “Innovative Use of Media” at the 2017 Bookmarks. The campaign, executed in 2016 during my tenure as Executive Creative Strategist at HoneyKome, picked up a Bronze Award at the 2017 Bookmarks. The
This month, Sportingbet South Africa released a series of TV commercials to be flighted across the Supersport channels. I’m very proud to have conceptualised and written the ads, the campaign line and the strategy for HoneyKome, the agency for whom I work(ed) as Executive Creative Strategist (at the time of writing). The campaign has been in
I’m really glad to have recently rediscovered some of this work on an old hard drive, even though I would love to have more of it on file. It was an account I worked on for three years, between 2011 and 2014, during my time at OwenKessel (later merged with LeoBurnett). In 2011, Amstel Lager
Primary bodily functionAir, warmth, water, sleep.In that order.Before pride, dignity, love, laughter, sex, music, friendship, family, blood, food, eyesight, speech, humour, anything, everything. Your heart becomes a murmur,Forever flickering like a spent fluorescent bulb,A broken insect on its back, kicking at nothing,Wishing its legs would just let it rest. You know enough to know that
Where am I?And how did I get there?How can a place like that even exist?Let alone be slipped and fallen into unawares? I have met darkness.Its hands are cold.Its grip is firm.And it whispers at you in a voice that sounds mockingly like your own. Terror.Abject, heart-stopping fear.Like the pressure of all the oceans on
Love. It’s a real motherfucker, ain’t it? Like any drug, You wake up wondering if it was worth the pain. But, if you could get another shot of real love, You’d be at the garage right now, Nervously waiting for a gentleman with a strange accent, Wouldn’t you? I’d be in the car parked next
Young man, go about your travels.Seek out the giants you feared as a boy.But know that certain tales of their terror,Should not be taken lightly.Do not mistake sensibility for cowardice. Young man, seek out adventure.Do the things that you should not.But do them with your eyes wide open,And one of them ever fixed upon your
The sun is coming.And it will scream inside your head.Everyone will see.Everyone will feel your sickness.A streetlight ever outside your window,Moths, bashing at the bulbs inside your eyes.Screaming inward. Caving inward. Voices that are not your own.Coup d’etat of the mind.Nowhere to go.No legs. No road. No map. You can’t lie down when you’re already
A project that I conceptualised and creative-directed for Converse, whilst working at HoneyKome in 2015. Converse SA wanted an interesting way to showcase their ad-spend for the year, and the variety of ATL and BTL channels they’d used. Our idea was to show the transformation of a pair of new shoes, into a pair with
“It’s MY profile”, you say? “I’ll say what I want”, you say? No, it’s not. And no, you won’t. Because you’re in public. So have some bloody manners. By Gord Laws. Imagine you arrive at a giant house party. It’s full of all your friends and even more of your acquaintances. Literally hundreds (if not
Meet “Braaian Webber”; a “schweet South African boytjie” of a braai, longing for the spark to be put back into his life. I had the pleasure of providing the voice of Braaian (who happens to sound a great deal like my youtube comedy character, Hard Eddy). It was a really fun voice-over, which allowed a bit
To wish the Springbok Sevens Team good luck as they embarked on the final few legs of the 2014/2015 HSBC World Sevens Series, SARU tasked HoneyKome with creating a good-luck message for the team. At the time, the Cricket World Cup was underway, and the build-up for the Rugby World Cup was beginning to generate
I was recently invited by UK-based freelance hub, Regus Connect, to write a guest article for their industry-related blog. They’d seen my recent “How To Rule at Freelancing: 34 Hard-earned Tips” feature on this site, and found it really helpful to their users. I was thrilled to lend a hand (or, keyboard, as the case
I’m spreading Butro onto a corn cracker in rushed, trembling panic. It’s a finely poised balancing act. I have to achieve a relatively even coverage as quickly as humanly possible, but not so quickly that I break the fragile, compressed disc. If that happens, it will break my stride, preventing me from getting the cracker
To hell with clickbait. This, right here, is an old-school, comprehensive, in-depth feature article, based on a whole bunch of hard-earned experience. SEO be damned. This is actually intended to benefit mankind. Going solo in the Creative Industries (advertising, editorial, TV production, web design, video editing, whatever) is a dream for many of us “creatives*”. Freedom from office hours, status
This proud announcement is actually five months overdue. But, in my defence, we have been busy. Which is a good thing. Despite the belated announcement on this, my own personal platform, I feel it’s certainly worth celebrating… Hailstorm is up and running. We’re officially open for business! At the end of 2014, my good friend, long-time
Unlike garbage clickbait with headlines just like this one, I’ve actually started doing something that is legitimately enjoyable, helps me to lose weight, and actually increases my intelligence. It’s extremely straight-forward and very easy to do, so I thought I’d share and see if I can help a few people out… Listening to Audiobooks has changed my
I recently finished (audio) “reading” Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Dorris Kearns Goodwin. Narrated by Richard Thomas. I originally bought this in paperback as a gift for Donovan Bryan, who used to teach us a lot of Lincoln’s philosophy when he was my ECD and I worked in his studio at
Do you? Why think more? The nothing chuckle… In a world where… Because not everyone writes good copy. Out of the box “edgy” “out of the box” “Viral”
Hi, I’m Gord. In 2009/10, I lost 67kg (147lb). These ten articles are my favourites from a period in my life (2011 mostly) when, having just lost all that weight, I was learning and experiencing a great deal every day. Writing was (and still is) my outlet for understanding, learning and trying to help others.
When budget is limited and you need to make a TV ad for a beloved national team, there’s only one thing for it… Do everything! With the awesome team at Love Digital, I conceptualised, pitched, scripted, voiced, and then starred in this Supersport TV ad for the Sevens Tournament in Nelson Mandela Bay, which took place
A large collection of my voice-overs from the last few years in the Industry can be found here on Soundcloud. Mostly, these are from radio ads (extracting the audio from TV ads and corporate AVs can be tricky). Amidst these samples, you will find clips I’ve done for KFC, Subaru, Appletiser, Isuzu and The Springboks,
A poem I wrote back in 2012 about an heroic steed who fought for love and his beliefs against oppressive cultural norms. And, racist zebras and stuff. I never got around to posting it on my old site, Mojodojo, and I dig it. So here it is. Hope you like it… Tony The Pony From
I’m very chuffed to report that the “Understand Your Country” three-TV-ad campaign that I wrote for Business Day during 2013 has been awarded a Silver Loerie at the 2014 Awards this weekend. The project was an (intensive) labour of love and I’m very fond of the ads. And, of the teams at Owen Kessel and Velocity Films that
When I lost more than 65kg in 14 months during 2009/10, the process was as intense emotionally as it was physically. When you’re talking about losing more than what many people weigh, you’re talking big changes. Men’s Health wanted the story from the perspective of what a (then) 28-year life is like in one body, and how
It’s strange how a person’s approach to materialism changes over the years. Well, mine at any rate. The things we want, the things we have, and other people’s things that we envy. Let me explain what I mean… I’ll start by saying that I’m no kibbutz-bothering hippy. I like nice things and I like being
I’m really attached to these old drawings I did during my final high-school year at Eden College Craighall in 1999. They were part of my Matric Art Portfolio. There were three in the Metallica series and one of a random face I found interesting. One of them I gifted to my dear friend Greg “Gump” Russell. What
