The best products don’t win.
The best brands do.
Clarity beats cleverness.
Simplicity beats noise.
An idea beats everything.
People don’t decide the way we pretend they do in decks.
They decide emotionally, quickly, and with far less patience than we’d like.
Creative without insight is decoration.
Insight without creative is homework.
Most brands don’t have a media problem.
They have a meaning problem.
Mediocre creative is expensive.
Great creative is efficient.
Every brand has a voice.
Most just haven’t found it yet.
Creative needs an idea.
It needs to feel vital.
And it needs to earn its place in the world.
About me:
I find the important thing.
Which sounds simple. It isn’t.
I’m a Creative Director, trained as a designer at OCAD.
Over the years, I’ve launched casinos, sold cars and trucks, revived household brands, increased retail traffic, and helped raise a record amount of money for a university. I’ve worked across Alcohol, Gaming, Automotive, and CPG, using everything from TV and print to digital, shopper, social, and packaging. Basically, if it touches a brand, I’ve probably touched it too.
I’m interested in how people really make decisions. Not the tidy version. The real one. The one that explains why some brands win and others get ignored, even when they “did everything right.”
I like to fix things.
Teams. Work. Direction. Focus.
I lead by telling the truth, keeping things simple, and pushing until the idea is good enough. I’ll bring the best out of creative teams—and account teams—whether they like it or not (they usually do).
Most brands don’t need more stuff.
They need a better idea.
That’s the job.
Some of the clients I’ve worked with over the years.
New York Festivals (World Gold Medal) - Casino Rama "People Campaign"
Bessies (Merit) - Casino Rama "Breaker"
Mobius (2nd Place Certificate) - Casino Rama "Breaker"
Clio (Bronze) - Casino Rama "Breaker"
New York Festivals (Bronze) - Casino Rama "Breaker"
Hollywood Radio & Television / IBA (Funniest Commericial in the World Outside the USA ) -Casino Rama "Breaker"
Television Bureau of Canada (Silver, 82% of consumers said they would visit casino based solely on the advertising) - Casino Rama "Breaker"
New York Festivals (Finalist) - Casino Rama "Stare"
Hollywood Radio & Television / IBA (Finalist ) - Casino Rama "Stare"
New York Festivals (Finalist) - Casino Rama "Adder"
Hollywood Radio & Television / IBA (Finalist ) - Casino Rama "Adder"
Mobius - (2nd Place Certificate) - Metro Toronto School Board "Tree"
New York Festivals (Finalist) - Casino Rama "Anything for your excitement" campaign
Mobius (2nd Place Certificate) - Casino Rama "Anything for your Excitement" campaign
Mobius (2nd Place Certificate) - Casino Rama "Slot Break"
TVB Retail Comp (Honourable Mention) - Casino Rama "Proxy"
Hollywood Radio & Television / IBA - Players Island Casino "Bullfighter"
New York Festivals (Finalist, Best Humorous Spot) - Casino Rama "Shower"
Work featured on Creativity Online - Ontario Toyota Dealers "Cooks"
Communication Arts (Consumer Newspaper Ads) - Canadian Newspaper Association / Mountain Meadows Food Processing "Cheeks"
Johnson & Johnson, Global Best ad of the Year - NicoDerm "Irritable"
Bessies (Category Best, Health and Beauty Products) - NicoDerm “Irritable”
Applied Arts (TV single, over 30 seconds) - Johnson & Johnson, NicoDerm "Irritable"
ADCC (Merit) - Cadbury Schweppes "Dramatic Pause"
ADCC (Merit, Advertising Posters, Single) - Johnson & Johnson, Listerine Whitening "Light Switch"
ADCC (Merit, Direct Mail) - Cadbury, Stride Gum "Lifetime Supply"
ADCC (Merit, TV Public Service, Single) - STAND Canada "Drawings"
ADCC (Gold, Advertising print) - Purell, Toilet Subway
ADCC (Silver, Advertising Multi Media) - STAND Canada
ADCC (TV, Public Service, Single) - Stand Canada “Drawings”
Applied Arts (Animation, Single) - STAND Canada "Drawings"
Applied Arts (Public Service, Charity) - STAND Canada “Drawings”
ADCC (Silver, Advertising, Multi-media) - STAND Canada "Stand for the Dead"
ADCC (Silver, Direct Mail) - Silver Screen Extras
Effies (Silver) - Johnson & Johnson, "Not Just Allergies" campaign, Reactine
Applied Arts - Craft-Typography, Scott's ez Seed "Grow Grass Anywhere"
A few statues I’ve collected along the way…
Let’s talk!
Email
dougmaugham@gmail.com
Phone / Text
(416) 315-0635