mick sowry

F R E E L A N C E C R E A T I V E

Experience counts.

The work in this overview covers

a wide variety of disciplines within the

advertising industry, and well outside.

I conceptualise, art direct, write, story-

board, visualise, direct, produce, edit, and run almost

every program used within our industry at a high level.

If you need a freelance addition to your creative group,

or simply to fill the spot left by staff on leave, I can help.

M: 0403 051 005 E: micks@greatocean.com.au

workin adland

“All business strategy is marketing strategy. You start with the consumer and work backwards”. – Martin Sorrell, Chief Excutive WPP

WE LISTEN FOR THE WHISPERSOF THEIR HEARTS

J.WALTER THOMPSON CORPORATE

Darren Woolley, former CD of JWT invited me in to have a crack

at a corporate campaign for the agency. A fresh head.

Darren had developed a strategy based around the strength

of Thompson’s knowledge of the market and the efforts they make

to gain that advantage.

I based the campaign around the thought at left, and built the

subsequent ads around relationships, life, and need to take risks in

order to achieve. The ads seemed to write themselves. Internally

the work was extremely well received, but ended up being canned

as too emotional. The drier end result did retain some elements of

the work I developed.

These layouts are reworked to the current JWT corporate style.

“All business strategy is marketing strategy. You start with the consumer and work backwards”. – Martin Sorrell, Chief Excutive WPP

ONCE, BEFORE YOUR GO, WILL YOU FLY TOO?

J.WALTER THOMPSON CORPORATE

“All business strategy is marketing strategy. You start with the consumer and work backwards”. – Martin Sorrell, Chief Excutive WPP

YOU’RE BORN. YOU DIE. WE DELIGHT IN THE IN-BETWEEN

J.WALTER THOMPSON CORPORATE

“All business strategy is marketing strategy. You start with the consumer and work backwards”. – Martin Sorrell, Chief Excutive WPP

A RELATIONSHIP BEGINSTHE MOMENT

YOU LOOK INTO SOMEONE’S EYES

J.WALTER THOMPSON CORPORATE

BEAR SURFWEAR

A young art director and fellow surfer, Mick Bakos, was working on

a few ideas for Bear. He asked me for a little help and I came up

with some thoughts, among them an Australia surrounded by low

pressure systems, these being the ideal swell generators.

This is a dream weather map if you’re a surfer. Mick sorted the

map out, but we were both credited when it got into AWARD.

V-LINE

Concept posters for a rail tres-

pass safety campaign. The two

ideas at left were conceived as

parodies of movie posters, while

the two following were aimed at

conveying the brutal aftermath

of railway track ‘play’.

Spring is a music video I conceived, directed, edited and graded for Melbourne duo Delsinki, shot at Point Addis on a very cold winters morning. Shot by Ed Sloane.

ETHEREAL

Concept packaging and thematic POS backgrounds for a new skin

care range currently in development. (2018)

BREAK THE LAW

Working with writer Bob Knowles for a law firm working to create

a new business model for less expensive legal fees. A new look at

the way things could be done.

TCMCRV

Twenty years ago last year, after returning from retirement, Tom

Curren won back his World Surfing Championship, .

Uniquely, he did it as an unseeded surfer, going from trials

through to final round in every contest he entered, gathering wins

along the way.

The boards he rode were made by Maurice Cole, and were

a revolutionary new design called the reverse vee.

In pre-production at present, a set of replica boards, a book and

a DVD will be launched to the collector market later this year.

Cobalt Blue is designing and producing the project for Tom and

Maurice, through Maurice Cole Surfboards.

One of the original title winning boards, from which the first replica

has been made.

CRUST PIZZA

As part of a creative pitch for the well known pizza franchise,

I came up with the idea of an iPhone App to accompany the out-

door campaign. A game gave way to a tool. Drag your choice of

ingredients onto a base, email the order and the real deal arrives at

your door...

Simple.

DENNIS FAMILY CORPORATION

- SPRINGHAVEN ESTATE

The Dennis Family are constantly developing

new estates and Springhaven was to be their first

experiment in gated communities.

Fresh Thinking was part of the strategy developed

and as the estate was in construction with photography

impossible, I opted for the magical illustrative

talents of Sydney’s Jim Tsinganos.

The first ad was the delightful Giant Budgie, followed

by Balloon Girl and the Magic Carpet.

URBAN ART DEVELOPMENT FOR

DENNIS FAMILY CORPORATION

- MANOR LAKES

Running through the Manor Lakes project is Lollipop

Creek, a usually dry watercourse that was being given

a basic landscape as part of the development. I made

the suggestion that an urban art initiative be taken up.

For awhile this looked as though it might actually get

made, but a change of middle management,

and to me a lack of foresight by the company stopped

its progression. I worked very closely with sculptor

Mark Stoner, famous for his Geelong blades, or ‘North’,

in developing these ideas.

SAAB

When the new Saab 9-3 convertible was released the agency was

briefed to come up with a new campaign. The client wanted the car

to be seen as irresistible.

Three teams were charged with solving the brief with the

restrictions that the standard Saab layout format be followed, and

that we use the unique green of their new convertible.

I was playing around with combining irresistible and incontro-

vertible when suddenly I had a new word.

The campaign was a huge success and the word combination

idea has spread internationally.

The following campaign was the “Iconvertible”.

DELSINKI ALBUM COVER

While on The Reef Tours my camera was always with me, with most

shots now part of an archive of special memories.

One of those memories lives in Craig Johnson, our ‘sound

guy’ who was so much more. Court Jester, Wandering Minstrel,

the depths in Craig began to show way back when we met doing

Musica Surfica in 2007.

Since the Reef, where he joined us both as part of the crew, and

later, as one of our Rock God’s, his career as an artist has started

to accelerate in the form of his stage persona, Delsinki. A call out

of the blue a few weeks back, chasing cover art for a soon to be

released album, led to two of my shots being key images for the

release. Both are featured here, the cover and the back page. The

small grave remains a mystery, while the two chaps looking a little

lost are in fact Jon Frank and Ed Saltau, collaborators supreme,

waiting for ‘the light’ between takes at Red Bluff, during The Reef.

HONDA

There are days when even the best of intentions go awry.

At the last minute, with an urgent shoot scheduled for the

following morning, Draft FCB needed an art director ...now.

I obliged on what turned out turned out to be a day of the

strongest winds in Victoria’s history, so amidst 160kph winds on top

of a hill in the district where the highest winds were recorded,

we proceeded to eventually get the shot.

The dust storm in the far distance enveloped us moments after

we called a wrap to a very interesting eight hours of leaning into

the ‘breeze’.

RIPCURL

I was approached by Rip Curl to

act as a consulting art director

on a corporate film about

the history of the company.

Subsequently, I was invited

to present to the RC marketing

staff on the strategy develop-

ment, briefing and creative

process in advertising agencies.

RipCurl have an ongoing

campaign called “The Search”.

It is about the search for

meaning, waves, a better life.

In execution it is always a

shot of a guy on a wave and a

Search logo.

The following ads are my

hypotheticals on how they could

extend the campaign.

FORD

Part of a campaign for Ford Explorer. The headline remains the

same at all times and the executions simply require the discovery

of new metaphors for power.

Shot by Gary Moore, computer generated train coupling by

Unreal Pictures, and retouched by Ray Burt.

DAIMARU

Seven page section in Vogue Entertaining advertising some of the

more interesting homewares available at Daimaru, with a tip of the

hat to the food department as well. Wonderfully shot by Tat Ming

Yu, with copy by Jackie Dickenson.

BILL BASS SUNGLASSES

A two stage campaign based around the positioning

“Style Vandals”. Stage one (left) was intended to run in a variety

of executions to generate interest in the glasses without actually

showing any, before launching with an irreverent tilt at

yuppie style.

SURFWORLD MUSEUM - TORQUAY

When the Surfworld Museum opened it was with the clear intention

of attracting people from the non-surfing world.

I was asked to do the launch and positioned all material with the

headline at left and purposefully designed the ad to not

look “surfie”.

It communicates to non-surfers while to surfers it resonates as

well. “Deep inside” is a surfing term relating to positioning in the

wave. Surfworld uses the line to this day.

BAUM CYCLES:

MINI DOC

This first MiniDoc saw Darren Baum of

Baum Cycles become the guinea pig in a

3 minute documentary form intended to

serve as web introductions to passionate

creative people who lead small business-

es. MiniDocs mean to become a window

to the real person, a touch of truth in the

dry landscape of the web.

You can watch it HERE.

Concept, direction and editing by Mick Sowry. Camera: Tony Brennan.

Additional photography courtesy Baum Cycles and Darren’s mum. Thanks Mrs Baum.

AUSTRALIAN HOME CARE

An eight minute corporate film intended

to introduce new support workers to a

company dedicated to helping people

with MS and other disabilities.

The direction I approached as a study

in common humanity.

I also developed animations to

describe how, despite a care worker’s

seeming isolation, there is a deep and

dedicated back up team. A delightful job,

an eye opening look at other lives.

Written by Bob Knowles, produced by

Kate Ingpen with post through CVP.

Client agency was Brandbuild.

My editor was John Francis, animation

by Ashley Hoare.

“...absolutely amazed, engaged and

inspired. This is the best Corporate

Induction DVD I have seen”

Michael Boyce CEO: AHC

THE CONVERSATION

The first in a series of MiniDocs on great

minds that shaped Australia. It was a joy

to get, for a brief couple of hours, into

the head of one so dedicated to the

betterment of the human condition.

Say helllo to Sir Gus HERE.

Concept, direction and editing by Mick Sowry. Camera: Tony Brennan.

Additional photography courtesy Sir Gustav Nossal

MC BOARDS:

TALES FROM

THE CHOOK SHED

One of a series of webisodes on the

design journey of legendary surfing

thinker, Maurice Cole.

A light hearted view of the serious

business of making tiny boards work

in giant waves, and transposing

those discoveries to the boards of the

everyday surfer.

Concept, direction, design, sound design, editing and art direction by Mick Sowry. Camera: Mick Sowry, Jack McCoy, Luke McNee. Additional editing Wes Greene.

Surfers: Maurice Cole, Ross Clarke-Jones, Tony Ray, Nick Carroll and Kelly Slater.

BP: INTO THE SEA

Back when BP was the Quiet Achiever, I

was lucky enough to work on one of the

great Australian campaigns.

I leave this in, as a bit of history from

when budgets were huge. This would be a

couple of million dollars worth of produc-

tion budget it today’s money.

As art director and co-writer with

Adrian Everett, we went to the North

Rankin A rig for two weeks of filming,

with director Mike Baker. It was Boys

Own Adventure. with helicopters, burning

boats, panicking crew and being fried by

giant microwave machines.

A Gold Mobius winner.

MYER: MOTHERS DAY

While at Y&R Mattingly I worked in what

we laughingly called a “threem”. Three

group heads, two amazing women in

Louise Zaetta, Heather Rose, and I. Two

writers and an art director. They kept

me busy. With all of us being parents of

either newborns or kids under twelve, the

prospect of doing Mothers Day had only

one resolution.

Show it like it is.

A heartfelt re-enactment of childbirth,

the spot won The Gold Award

for the Positive Portrayal of Women

in Advertising.

With Louie and Heather on board it

was always, always, going to be that,

awards or not.

The Director was Francois Merlet.

HEADSOX:

Two from a series of Instagram shorts for the leisure wear company Headsox.

Concepts, cinematography, editing and grading by yours truly. Both a lot of fun.

At top, Joe Loves Tilly

Bottom: Musician Red Whyte, surfing to his own soundtrack.

MAZDA

Storyboards for a variety of

Mazda concept scripts I wrote

as part of a submission by

agency Grant Day James.

CARLTON UNITED

Research ‘comic strip’ style

boards for CUB. Each is a stand

alone premise that needed

exploring. Comics not usually

my bag but I can draw so what

the heck.

VOLKSWAGEN

AMAROK

“We just need some ideas”,

came the brief from agency Hub

Inc. So a bunch of headlines and

positionings, scribbled on the fly.

The Uber-Ute, below, ended

up setting the tone. As they say,

let your mind run.

POWERBLEND

An illustration for a Queensland high end horticultural growing

media (potting mixes) company.

The premise being whatever your growing needs, we have a mix

for you. A very straight message but we could bend the picture.

No sense not having a bit of fun with it.

TERRA FIRMA SKIN CARE

THE AGE

A wry beginning to a new campaign for The Age, with

the potential prize for taking out a subscription being a trip to

Mr Darwin’s Galapagos Islands.

THE AGE

Charged with developing several successive campaigns

for subscriptions my writer, Mike Mulcahy, and I naturally provided

multiple solutions. This is one idea that didn’t make it through.

stor ies on scr een

THE REEF

A collaboration between

myself as Writer, Producer

and Director, Richard Tognetti

of the Australian Chamber

Orchestra as Musical Director

and Jon Frank as Director of

Photography, The Reef is a

performance work filmed over

three weeks on the southern

edge of the Ningaloo Reef in

Australia’s hostile north west,

intended as an immersive live

orchestral and film experience.

It had its World Premiere in

Darwin in early July 2012, and

has since toured Australia.

The Reef features 21 individ-

ual orchestral pieces, both new

compositions and works that

include some of the finest music

ever written. The final perfor-

mance for this series filled the

Sydney Opera House Concert

Hall, and drew its sixth straight

standing ovation.

The Reef toured eastern

Australia in February 2013, and

was reduxed in 2015 with three

weeks of additional filming and

four months of post production

preceding a tour of the US and

the UK in 2016.

Hypnosis is a new composition by Richard Tognetti for The Reef, with vocals by Satu Vanska. Shot by Jon Frank. Edit and direction: Mick Sowry

MUSICA SURFICA

Sometimes you just have to do something to shake things up a bit, and in late 2006

I sold my house and attempted to make a film. In the process I approached Richard

Tognetti of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and asked if he’d be interested in

doing the sound design.

This began an unexpected chain of events that ended up with me writing and

directing Musica Surfica, a 46 minute film very different to the project I’d originally

embarked on, exploring a collision of classical music and finless surfing that had,

as its theme, the benefits of risk in learning.

The cast featured some of the world’s best surfers, two of the world’s best

violinists, as well as the Guarneri ‘Carrodus’ del Gesu violin, one of the finest

instruments in existence.

Winner of Best Feature at the New York Surf Film Festival, and the Adventure

Award at The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, Best Picture, Best Soundtrack and

Best Surfer at the International Surf Film Festival - St Jean de Luz, France, it is

available in five languages on DVD with Soundtrack CD.

MUSICA SURFICA

Naturally, with a production budget that limited the over use of

pencil sharpeners, being an art director has its advantages.

In addition to my role as director and writer I was also able to

oblige with title design and graphic design for all packaging (which

has altered a little due to the proliferation of awards) and the faces

to both the DVD and soundtrack CD.

te l l ing stor ies

PERSONAL WORK

THE BANYAK ISLANDS

OFF NORTHERN SUMATRA

As a life long surfer, my travels,

occasional though they may be,

have given me access to some

special places. Documenting

these ’discoveries’ is all part of

the fun.

PERSONAL WORK

PERSONAL WORK

PERSONAL WORK

MY YOUNGER SON TOMAS,

POINT LONSDALE 2007

MEASURE YOUR DAYS

measure your days my sons.

take a moment to breathe

and look to the side

of the advancing moment

before gripping it

with all your young might

and making it yours

to crystallise

in ways we never

dreamed could be,

but always hoped strong

would become

PERSONAL WORK

the lives that danced

before us all afire

with delight and dark

eyed smiles.

measure your days my sons

take a moment to breathe

before you burn blazing

across all our skies

Mick Sowry 2007

PERSONAL WORK

MAURICE COLE 2009

Maurice is an old friend of mine, one of the more unique

characters in the surfing world, a designer/shaper almost with-

out peer, with a complex and sometime destructive personality to

match. Last year he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer,

this shot being taken just before he was about to depart for the

US in the hope of a prospect better than “ a good three years”

It worked

He is now in complete remission.

PERSONAL WORK

THE PORT

OF MELBOURNE

AUTHORITY

During the POM channel deep-

ening project I was part of

the team doing the commu-

nications for the Authority.

Controversial works, they were

an education for me as I had

access to parts of the Port

otherwise out of bounds to the

public. These shots are a small

part of the library I built over

those months.

THE PORT OF MELBOURNE AUTHORITY

THE PORT OF MELBOURNE AUTHORITY

LEVERINGTON

FINANCIAL GROUP

A series of photographs for a

project still in development.

The head and founder of

the business is a Mornington

Peninsula boy, born and bred.

To combat the stereotypes I

have been using the landscape

there to provide analogies

to the complexity and hopes

involved in financial planning.

De-saturated and gentle,

a softer sell in an environment

full of promise without, lately

and sadly, delivery.

LEVERINGTON

FINANCIAL GROUP.

LEVERINGTON

FINANCIAL GROUP

des ign

GREAT OCEAN QUARTERLY

A major undertaking, with two brave partners, which launched in

November 2013, Great Ocean Quarterly comes from a vision I’ve

had for some time of a “New Yorker” of the Ocean. Great writing,

art and ideas with world appeal.

“Great Ocean Quarterly is a journal of life near the sea.

It provokes discussion about serious things and incidental things-

in people, ideas and environments. It unearths fascination in the

past and promise in the future. Its aim is to become a magnet for

people with a yen for a coastal breeze and salty hair.

It is not mean spirited: Great Ocean Quarterly is about the best of

us, and the best we can be. “

Great Ocean Quarterly

Editor Jock Serong

Creative Director and Concept Mick Sowry

Commercial Director Mark Willett

Digital Director Ben Collier

GREAT OCEAN QUARTERLY

Calligraphy for article in GOQ V1:1

FIRE and the Story of Burning Country

A book project by master photographer Peter McConchie, Fire was a

labour of love and passion that resulted in a very beautiful and infor-

mative book on the deep relationship of indigenous Australians with

country and its management by fire.

Designing this book was a real experience as I came to appreciate

what has been lost over the entire country as we moved away from

traditional systems of land usem in a land shaped by its first human

inahbitants over a period of 40,000 years or more.

MCVB

Cover and spreads as part of a

submission to the Melbourne

Convention and Visitors Bureau.

We won the pitch, although,

as ever, what was printed wasn’t

quite the same as originally

conceived.

CHRIS OWEN

My sometime copywriter Mike Mulcahy asked me to join him

in producing a cookbook, at the cheapest of mate’s rates, to

help the bushfire effort post that black day in February 2009.

Chris Owen’s story of his redemption by cooking,

the healing power of community, and eating together led

to this book of recipes, easy and delightful, that will be a

practical ornament to any home kitchen.

The book was designed and produced by me, through my

company Cobalt Ble, the recipes by Chris Owen and the story

by Chris with the help of Mike Mulcahy. All illustrations are

by Dean Gorissen, while the food photography... shot by Wes

Greene of Nalu Productions, in one frantic day.

Art, illustration and production was completed over eight

weeks with first printed copies being delivered one day

before the anniversary of the fires on February 7, 2010.

Noteworthy: Dean’s Kinglake Cookbook illustrations have

recently been accepted into the prestigious New York based

3x3 Illustration Annual. High praise from high places.

BENERTON

Corporate ID concepts for

Brisbane business conultancy

Benerton. Based around ideas

of collaboration and feedback,

the top evenutally became the

chosen direction.

And yes, Brendan (Ben)...

is my brother.

LOGO DESIGN

Some of the logos below are self explanatory. Others more cryptic, but each is a

solution to a problem that has been teased out, a problem with infinite solutions. My

digging revealed these.

Click is an agency representing advertising photographers, Flyingg Pigg an ambi-

tious project beginning right now, and the little red swirl is the logo for Great Ocean

Quarterly, reminiscent of both a wave and a cyclone.

The strange linear things, the eyes looking back... they are of the ‘idea in the middle

of the night’ variety. And the yellow and black of Tad Shallow, part of a body of work

for a brand in development. Straitwater, a logo for a company bottlig rainwater in

Bass Strait, and the lighthouse, for a tech consulting company, PHARE, using the

lighhouse (phare is french for lighthouse) to guide the way.

PET COBRA

Jason Avant is a Californian friend, the author of the lifestyle blog

Pet Cobra and founder of the leading parenting forum for all things

on fatherhood, DadCentric.

He asked me to do a logo for him, in his blog colours of green

and dark blue. (!) I couldn’t resist the use of one of my favourite

colour combinations as an alternative, and a bit of whimsy that

shot over his head.

PetCobra

PetCobra

BELLS BEACH PRESERVATION SOCIETY

There are few places closer to my heart so when asked to do the

logo for this fine group, I jumped at the chance..

STRAITWATER

A recent assignment to come up with some concepts for a bottled

water out of Flinders Island. One of the final three on the right

will be developed into the final design. Much fun was had working

through the ideas.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS:

2015-16: Writer, producer and

director: The Reef Redux

Returning to NW Western Australia

to redux The Reef in preparation

for the 2016-17 world tour of the US

and UK.

2013 The Reef Australian East

Coast Tour: The Reef tours the

eat coat of Australian, including all

capitals, and major regional centres,

inlcuding packed hosues at Hamer

Hall and the Opera House.

2013 The Reef Wins Surf Culture

Award at the 50th Anniversary

Surfing Hall of Fame.

2013: Launch: Great Ocean

Quarterly: After holding onto

a dream for some years I found

two brave business and creative

partners, in Mark Willett and Jock

Serong. Together we built Great

Ocean Quarterly over much of 2013.

It launched in November 2013 2012

Development Producer:

The Making of The Reef: A half

hour documentary for the ABC.

2012: Storyboards for Fatal

Honeymoon, a Parker/Tass HBO film

being shot in on the Great Barrier

Reef for HBO, starring Harvey Keitel

2011-12 - Producer/Writer/

Director, The Reef.

A film and performance collabora-

tion with Richard Tognetti,

cinematographer Jon Frank and

The Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Touring Australia and internation-

ally 2012-14

2011 - Curator - 2011 Clean Ocean

Film Festival - Sorrento

2011: Producer/Director on

InConversation with Sir Gustav Nossal

for academic journalism website The

Conversation

2010-12 Contributor to literary

magazines Kurangabaa, Drift.

2010: Director and art director of

Faces, a corporate film for Australian

Home Care, an organisation

dedicated to caring for those with MS

and acquired brain injuries.

2010: Director. Web series for MC

Boards. Tales from the Chook Shed

documents the progress of eminent

surfboard designer Maurice Cole as

he chases the perfect board.

2010: Freelance Creative Director

for Grant Day James. Mazda and the

Australian International Motor Show.

2010-12: Ongoing creative consul-

tancy with White Tag and Tag for Life,

an environmental program tracking

the life cycle of the Great White shark.

2010: Designed and produced The

Kinglake Cookbook as part of the

bush fire relief effort.

2009: Storyboarding scenes for the

new David Parker/Nadia Tass film,

Matching Jack

2009: Musica Surfica wins Best

Picture, Best Soundtrack and Best

Surfer at the International Surf Film

Festival, St Jean de Luz, France.

2009: Musica Surfica wins the

Adventure Award at the prestigious

San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

2009: Musica Surfica released

as DVD with soundtack CD.

Distribution secured in Europe, the

US and Japan with translations

into Portuguese, Spanish, French,

German and Japanese .

AWARDS: AWARD finalist,

multiple MADC finalist and MADC

Silver, New York International

Advertising Festival finalist, London

International finalist, and a Gold

Mobius for Cinematography for BP.

Gold Award for the Positive

Portrayal of Women in Advertising

(Myer Mothers Day TVC shared with

my writers Heather Rose and Louise

Zaetta. Director: Francois Merlet)

SINCE 2007 MUSICA SURFICA

has won:

2008 The New York Surf Film

Festival Best Picture

2009 The San Francisco Ocean Film

Festival Adventure Award

for Best Film “In, On, or Around

the Ocean”

2009 The International Surf Film

Festival of St Jean de Luz, France

Best Picture

Best Soundtrack: (Richard Tognetti

& the ACO)

2009 The Wavescapes Film Festival

as part of the Durban Film Festival.

Best Picture

2009 Sao Paulo Festival Osklen de

Cinema: Best Picture

2013 The Reef Wins Surf Culture

Award at the 50th Anniversary

Surfing Hall of Fame

All supporting photography in this document is by

Mick Sowry with the exception of the title page

portrait by Rodney Hyett.