#NotAskingForAnything campaign for Cipla
A campaign that I conceptualised, creative-directed, and wrote for Cipla’s CSI division – The Cipla Foundation – during 2016, whilst working as Executive Creative Strategist at HoneyKome. Cipla is brand that really walk the walk when it comes to dedication to doing good. Their Foundation has several divisions, focusing on primary healthcare, distribution of medicine […]
We accidentally “leaked” an early Boet Fighter proof-of-concept gameplay clip. It went insanely viral!
It wasn’t intended to ever face the public. Heck, it wasn’t even intended as an actual promo clip. But a few hours later, the secret of our game was out, and getting tens of thousands of views… a day! Right at the very start of the (then secret) Boet Fighter project, in August 2018 or […]
Simfy Africa: “Don’t Marry Your Music” brand Positioning, pay-off line, and copy-driven campaign
Before Spotify, before Apple Music, and even before Google Play (RIP), there was Simfy. Same idea, just a few years ahead of its time (circa 2012). Which would be its downfall, ironically. The idea was the same. Streaming music, on demand, with all the major labels on board. The brand had launched in certain European […]
“CT7 News” newsroom parody video for SA Rugby’s Cape Town 7s 2016 Campaign (written by & starring Gord Laws)
This was a lot of fun… with literally zero budget! We had a funny idea, so I wrote it, played all the characters, creative-directed it, and got it done! My long-time clients at SARU had brought me on to oversee the creative campaign for the 2016 Cape Town 7s event. At the time, I was […]
Book Review: “Sapiens”, by Yuval Noah Harari
An essential account of humanity, our origins, and how all that we take for granted came to be the way that it is. Some non-fiction titles should be required reading. Whether that’s as part of some kind of educational curriculum, or simply as an element of a person’s life-journey towards becoming more informed about things […]
Hiring Independent Advertising Specialists: Skip the Hive & Go Straight to the Honey!
Starting this article, I wanted to begin by saying that “specialised, experienced advertising/content consultants are the future”. But, in truth, we’re already the solution, right now. When your business takes on a “traditional” or “big” agency, most of your marketing-spend essentially goes to keeping alive vast, complicated systems that exist purely to put distance, people, […]
Our “Good Luck” Video from the Springboks to the 2016 SA Olympic Team Goes Seriously Viral!
A million views in five days! SA Rugby asked us to create a message from the Springboks to the 2016 SA Olympic Team, wishing them good luck and showing them that the Boks are 100% behind them. In less than a week, the video notched up seven figures’ worth of combined views, across several social […]
Gord Laws Radio Advertising Samples Collection (circa 2016)
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 […]
iRock Radio Ads for DStv
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, […]
A Manatee Called Steve
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 […]
Sportingbet “I Bet You Don’t Skip” Digital Campaign Wins 2017 Bookmark Award
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 […]
Sportingbet “There’s No Better Feeling Than Being Right” TV Ad Campaign
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 […]
Amstel Lager South African Return, Brand Relaunch and Social Media Launch
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 […]
Scheduled
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 […]
Event Horizon
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.
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
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 Cousin of Death
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 […]
“Day in the Life” Ad-spend showcase video for Converse SA
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 […]
Why it’s Not OK to Post Upsetting Garbage on Facebook
“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 […]
Gord Laws: Voice of Gumtree’s “Braaian Webber”
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 […]
“Blitzboks, South Africa’s #GotYourBack” Good-luck Video, for HoneyKome
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 […]
My Guest Article at Regus Connect: “8 Little Things That Keep Clients Loving You”
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 […]
Inside the Obese Mind: Anatomy of a Relapse
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 […]
How to Rule at Creative Freelancing: 34 Hard-earned Tips
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 […]
Hailstorm Radio Advertising Specialists: we are live!
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 […]
This One Easy Thing Makes You Both Thinner and Smarter!
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 […]
Book Review: “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”, by Dorris Kearns Goodwin
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 […]
Handy Expressions for Crap Writers
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”
10 Weight-Loss Articles: The Mojodojo Archives, by Gord Laws
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. […]