GAVIN CHIMES

It took the Matilda Bay brewers 27 batches to create a beer that met their master brewer’s standards. They called it the Original Ale. To promote this perfect brew, we released the almost perfect rejects. Rejected Ales, the best beers you were never meant to taste.

Animals help us sell things. They appear in 20% of all ads. But while they’re thriving in advertising, they’re suffering in the real world. The Lion’s Share is an initiative that ensures animals receive the support they deserve.

I’m honoured to have worked with founders Finch to help develop this truly impactful project.

Life’s a lot for young people. Heartbreak. Anxiety. Moving out. Coming out. Sex. The f***ing climate crisis. Men. Then you get your period.

To introduce Modibodi periodwear to Gen Z, we created ‘I’m Dying Inside’ - a modern period TikTok drama. 5 episodes, 4 housemates, all getting their periods at the same time.  A taboo-breaking celebration of life today for young menstruators.

The most powerful evidence in history is visual. The right image not only exposes injustice but pressures policy-makers to put a stop to it. For over 10 years, refugees have been illegally and inhumanely detained by the Australian Government in offshore detention centres. There is no visual evidence. Camera equipment, journalists and reporters are banned. Only by making this injustice visible, can we provoke change.

Coverage by CNN
Coverage by The Guardian

Examine the evidence at exhibitai.com.au

Air-Ink is the first ink made from air pollution.

What began as a pilot in Hong Kong quickly grew into a global project, reaching New York, Berlin, Bangalore and the UK, where it’s on permanent display at the London Design Museum.

The technology is currently being considered by the UN and governments around the world.

Mattress start up 10:PM lacked the budget to run billboards like their competitors, so we created them…from their competitors’ abandoned products.

With 100x zoom, the new Samsung Galaxy has the best camera in smartphone history. To launch it, we did something massive…by doing something tiny. 

For caravanners, slow is a way of life. About getting back to basics, back to nature and reconnecting with what’s important. What better thing for NRMA Insurance to protect? Not just caravans but the very way of life that surrounds them.

Every year, natural disasters put Australian homes and first responders at risk. While NRMA Insurance helps rebuild afterwards, we found a way for them to help before.

Over 500 million people visit the cinema every year. Yet for those who are blind or have low vision, the experience is an afterthought. They rely on audio descriptions, screen readers or a companion to explain what's on the screen.

To launch Mastercard’s Touch Card – a bank card designed for the blind and low vision community – we flipped the script to create an inclusive cinema experience that was truly priceless.

TOUCH is a feature-length motion picture without pictures. Brought to life solely through Dolby 7.1 sound, without images or audio descriptions. Made so all audiences can enjoy the magic of cinema together, no matter their level of vision.

When it comes to lager, Aussies are a loyal bunch. They don’t just drink their favourite beers, they wear branded merch, get tattoos of logos, even build shrines in their sheds. To encourage trial of Matilda Bay’s new Hazy Lager, we decided not to compete with people’s favourite beers, but instead help them love their favourites even more.

Established in 1975, triple j isn’t just a radio station. It’s the thudding 150 BPM heart of Aussie youth culture. It blasts on phones, laptops, in cars and on stages. Our design system was made to reflect this energy. Always changing, always relevant. Able to keep up with the changing tastes of gen-z, gen-alpha or gen-whatever-the-hell-comes-next.

With streaming subscription prices increasing and cost of living at an all-time high, millions of people are being forced to choose which streaming service to cancel. Netflix or Prime? Disney+ or Apple TV?

As a completely free streaming service, with world-class drama, comedy, sport, news, kids shows and more, ABC iview is one streamer Aussies never need to cancel.

Belong is Australia’s first carbon neutral mobile and internet provider. As the name suggests, it’s a brand that’s all about inclusivity and togetherness. ‘It Feels Good to Belong’ is a joyful celebration of that. An integrated platform that goes beyond the rational, into the world of emotion, whimsy and internet-fuelled wonder. After all, belonging feels good, so why be serious?

Increasingly, young people aren’t appreciating well-crafted beer. They mix it with soft drink, garnish it or drink it out of beer bongs. Lord Nelson Brewery couldn’t let their flagship beer, Three Sheets Pale Ale, go unappreciated any more. So, we raised its drinking age to 35+.

Using the visual language of classification stickers, 35+ labels were placed on products in pubs and bottle shops, and promoted in OOH, press and PR.

All designed for the beer to get noticed at the point of purchase; appealing to the mature palates of older drinkers, while making younger ones want the beer even more.

To drive purchase of Belong’s Second Life Phones, we needed to show that the tech was so good, consumers wouldn't notice a difference. So we did the most logical thing we could think of and strapped a man to a chair and filmed his forehead with a surgical camera.

Is there anything cuter than puppies and kittens? If your answer to that is yes, you're wrong. To launch Petbarn’s Puppy & Kitten Club, we created the most adorable ad we could, achieving a 5.0 System One rating, putting it in the top 1% of all ads on their database. More here.

In Tasmania, everyone knows what Keno is. It’s like bingo with a different name. As much a part of pub culture as cold beer and rump steak. Yet the game’s familiarity was making it easy to look past.

To re-instate its icon status, we launched a 3-minute film based around the 3 minutes it takes between every game. And we ran it in 3-minute ad breaks on peak TV – like the the footy finals and the 6pm news. Celebrating its glorious players and making Keno unignorable once again.

Everest is a long way to climb for a human with legs. It’s even longer for a human thumb without them. Yet every month, our thumbs scroll that very distance. This fact was the perfect launch point for us to create a campaign to educate people about what that means for the environment. And show that with Belong’s carbon neutral mobile and internet, you can feel good about scrolling

Telco Belong saw the iPhone 13 announcement as a chance to earn buzz and get SIMs into phones. So we solved a problem everyone experiences when they set up a new one. Phone limbo. The period of disconnection that happens while all your data transfers between devices.

Enter the Book of Limbo. An offline online wormhole, designed to entertain those stranded between phones. And help Belong steal the conversation during the iPhone 13 launch.

ahm Health Insurance needed a new brand platform to appeal to young adults.

Rather than show how great life can be with insurance (like the rest of the category), we did the opposite and explored how absurd, funny and complex life really is.

The internet gets a bad rap sometimes. Truth is, it's a wonderful, wormholey place. From streaming hours of random content to joining forums about things that taste like blue, it’s where everyone belongs, no matter what you're into. As a carbon neutral telco that's all about inclusivity, Belong felt compelled to sing about it with a 2-minute radio spot that ran in peak hour slots.

OPSM, Australia's leading eye care specialists, needed to show they offer more than just eye checks; they offer the largest range of designer glasses too.

We suggested they stop acting like optometrists and start acting as a fashion brand. With the help of American philosopher Dr. Cornel West, we redefined what they really stood for: style.

In just 6 weeks, this idea went from a scribble on a piece paper to a store in New York. Sheer madness. Seeing people line up around the block just to get inside made every bit of schvitz worth it.

To celebrate Tiger Beer’s origins, we captured the heat, passion and energy of Asia by paying homage to the universal symbol of its streets – the wok.

From great white sharks to hazardous waste, these posters collated the perils of the deep to show that Dry Dock is the safest beer for landlubbers.

What happens when you cross a dog with a cat with a bird with a lobster with a monkey with a snake with a rabbit? You get Skat the Mutt. A kid’s book I wrote about belonging.

Co-authored with my veterinarian sister Dr Lisa Chimes.
Published with Scholastic Australia. Illustrated by Louis Shea.
Available at leading book retailers.

I’m currently creative director at DOG by Dr Lisa. A luxury dog care company that I co-developed with my brilliant veterinarian sister. Products include wipes, washes, colognes, ponchos, brushes and more. Visit dogbydrlisa.com