Merrin McCormick

?: Fashion designers get their inspiration from anything and everything. But what if we took that inspiration one step further and made a dress that wasn't just inspired by a Bombay Sapphire cocktail, but literally made from it.

!: We partnered with renowned fashion designer Christian Siriano, and experimented to distill a cocktail into the molecular base for a fabric dye. Christian then fashioned the cocktail-dyed fabric into a dress that debuted on the runway of his show at New York Fashion Week.

!: The cocktail-dyed dress caused a stir online and made headlines no cocktail has made before. Due to popular demand, we placed the dress in Christian's online store and it sold out in hours. With a price tag of $9,800, it was certainly the most expensive cocktail ever sold.

Role: SVP, Group Creative Director

Client: Bombay Sapphire

Project: NA Campaign

Agency: BBDO, NY

?: How can we grow awareness for the St-Germain Hugo Spritz and make Aperol Spritz seem basic (and bitter) in comparison?

!: We can partner with (a newly single) Sophie Turner and follow her search for something fresher in the south of France.

Role: SVP, Group Creative Director

Client: St-Germain

Project: Global Campaign

Agency: BBDO, NY

?: SAP's suite of business tools got an update - everything is cloud based and AI-optimized. Their brand needed to update their image to compete with the Silicon Valley startups.

!: We proved SAP was for the savviest of C-Suiters by creating a campaign that reacted to the headlines affecting business in (almost) real time.

!: We created 15 unique spots that ran on Prime from Black Friday to the end of 2024, and 6 second spots that ran on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Role: Concept & Copy (Co-written with Corey Rakowsky)

Client: SAP

Project: US Campaign

Agency: BBDO, NY

?: Pedigree is now sourcing wind energy to power production of dog food in Mexico. It was our mission to let the locals know that wind is actually great for dogs.

!: We created an innovative billboard that pulled real time data from the wind fields to show how much power was being harvested. The windier it was, the more our CGI pup's fur would fly.

Role: SVP, Group Creative Director (alongside Bart Mol, Jim Connolly and Rob Concepcion) Creative Team: Belen Aragon & Namwan Leavell. ECDs: Peter Kain & Marcelo Nogueira.

Client: Pedigree

Project: Mexico OOH

Agency: BBDO, NY

?: How can we raise awareness of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef and encourage international tourists to spend more than one day in the region?

!: We can create ‘The Best Job in the World’ – an Island Caretaker role with universal appeal. We placed simple recruitment ads in major newspapers around the world, directing traffic to a website where visitors could apply for the job and learn more about the islands.

!: We received over 34,000 video applications from 197 countries. More than 8 million website visits and over 55 million page views. The total campaign budget of $US 1.2 million generated approximately $US 368 million in media coverage.

Role: Concept & Copywriting

Client: Tourism Queensland

Brand: Islands of the Great Barrier Reef

Project: Awareness Campaign

Agency: CumminsNitro, Brisbane

?: How can we create a global brand platform that helps normalize the bladder leaks 1 in 3 women experience?

!: We can place bladder leaks in the context of all the other B.S. women deal with. It’s just one more thing that women handle with poise. We executed ‘It Takes Poise’ through TV, Print, Banners, Digital Video, Branded Content and more than 40 unique social executions. In 2021 we pushed the brand platform even further, with a focus on laugh-leaks and the leaks that come with being a new mom.

Role: SVP, Creative Director

Client: Kimberly-Clark

Project: Global re-brand and US 2020 campaign

Agency: FCB, Chicago

?: How can we translate ‘It Takes Poise’ to a new sub-brand that handles ALL the leaks?

!: We can expand a conversation about bladder leaks to incorporate that other unavoidable challenge women face: period weeks.

Role: SVP, Creative Director

Client: Kimberly-Clark

Project: One by Poise product launch

Agency: FCB, Chicago

?: How can we remind Americans to be COVID-safe over the holiday season?

!: We can use holiday lights to spark emotions and illustrate how easily the virus will spread if we don’t wear masks and stay 6 feet apart.

!: We went from creative brief to finished PSA in two weeks.

Role: Concept / VP, Creative Director

Client: BlueCross BlueShield

Project: Holiday COVID PSA

Agency: FCB, Chicago

?: How can we use IBM’s role in the amazing true story of Hidden Figures to demonstrate the brand’s legacy of diversity?

!: We can reveal even more hidden figures within the history of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), and provide the next generation with a diverse set of role models to look up to. 

!: Conversation linking IBM with diversity in STEM increased by 265% during the campaign. (And the campaign was shortlisted at Cannes!)

Role: Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: IBM

Project: Partnership with Hidden Figures 

Agency: Ogilvy, New York

?: How can we engage supply chain managers and introduce them to IBM's tech solutions in an authentic way?

!: We can use volcanos! We looked at the world through a supply chain manager's eyes and explored how unpredictable regional events can impact global supply chains. We told the story of a dramatic geological event that took place in 2010, before the availability of AI and predictive technologies. T Brand Studio created written content. We flew to Iceland to tell the story in video content.

Role: Creative Direction & Concept

Client: IBM

Project: Content partnership with New York Times /T Brand Studio

Agency: Ogilvy, New York

?: How can we get horror fans and TV critics excited about FX’s first foray into the horror genre?

!: We can gradually reveal the mythology of a haunted house, unlocking clues one room at a time. The first season of American Horror Story is set in a home with a sordid history, so we teased horror fans with an interactive tour of the house at youregoingtodieinthere.com. We offered passionate fans a deeper level of engagement, inviting them to register for a chance to receive a unique artifact – a clue that would help piece together six decades of murder, lust, perversion and betrayal.

Fans progressively uploaded these clues to the rooms on the website and visitors to youregoingtodieinthere.com began to speculate about the horrific crimes that had taken place. Just before the premiere we unlocked the final room, the basement, where horror fans could watch a sneak peek of American Horror Story’s first episode.

Role: Associate Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: FX (FOX) 

Brand: American Horror Story Season 1 Premiere

Project: Fan Engagement Campaign

Agency: Campfire, NYC

?: How do you take another agency’s video content and deliver on a client’s request to ‘make it viral’? 

!: We can use YouTube’s embedded links to turn a passive viewing experience into an online treasure hunt.

!: We created 102 hidden links to Snapple-inspired content (videos, games, photo tools & craft projects) and challenged Snapple fans to see how many they could find. We took inspiration from remix culture, popular memes and hot topics in the Snapple fan community. The links were packed full of irreverent, Snapply humor…it was all incredibly meta. 

Role: Associate Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: Dr Pepper Snapple Group

Brand: Snapple

Project: Digital & Social Engagement

Agency: Campfire, NYC

?: How can we make Queenslanders of all ages and backgrounds aware of the state’s contribution during the First World War?

!: Let's breathe life into the letters and telegrams sent home during the war and let the people who served speak for themselves.

Role: Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: Queensland Government & ANZAC* Centenary Committee

Project: WWI Centenary Awareness Campaign

Agency: Engine Group, Brisbane

*Here’s an explanation of ANZAC & Australia’s cultural understanding of the Anzac Spirit – thank you Wikipedia!

?: How can we use social platforms to generate conversation about Being Human and bring to life the theme for Season Two ‘Temptation is a beast’?

!: We can test the New Year’s resolutions of celebrities. As celebs were publicly pledging their New Year’s resolutions (on Twitter, Facebook and personal blogs) we created the ultimate temptations to test their resolve. We sent customized temptation packages along with a personal challenge. Celebs could simply give in to temptation, open the package and show the world they’re ‘only human’ – but if they could resist and leave the package sealed until Being Human’s premiere, they’d enjoy the temptation guilt-free and their favorite charity would receive a generous donation.

Role: Associate Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: Syfy (NBC/Universal) 

Brand: Being Human, Season 2 Premiere

Project: Awareness Campaign – Social

Agency: Campfire, NYC

?: How can we convince women to buy and wear a special occasion brand more often?

!: Let’s reframe every day as a special occasion. The brand idea, ‘Today is the day’, was expressed through a new visual identity, POS collateral, website design and social content.

Role: Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: Maiocchi

Project: Rebrand

Agency: Engine, Brisbane

?: How do we motivate women to talk about Healthy Look Crème Gloss, a temporary dye designed to enhance rather than drastically change a natural hair color?

!: We can position the product as a way for women to embrace their hair color and refine what it means to be a blonde, brunette or redhead. We created the 2012 Hair Color Census, a robust Facebook app that allowed women to have their say about hair color stereotypes, receive a Healthy Look shade recommendation and engage with content that celebrated their lives as a blonde, brunette or redhead. The app was a customized experience for each hair color to deliver only the content that was relevant to them.

Role: Associate Creative Director, Strategy, Concept & Copywriting

Client: L’oreal Paris USA

Brand: Healthy Look Crème Gloss

Project: Promotion – Digital & Social

Agency: Campfire, NYC

?: How can we raise awareness of a twelve-step support group for people struggling with mental illness?

!: We can build credibility on the back of the program’s longevity, while speaking with an approachable voice to people who need help, or want to offer help to someone in need. This pilot campaign (with minimal budget) targeted medical clinics in Sydney to reach doctors, mental health nurses, people struggling with mental health issues and the people who love them.

Role: Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: Grow – Mental Health Charity

Project: Rebrand & Awareness Campaign – Sydney Pilot

Agency: Engine Group, Brisbane

?: How can we inspire more people to re-engage with education?

!: We can question their self-imposed limitations and offer a new path to learning. Our challenge was to create motivating messages that would speak to people who needed a second chance at education. These people don’t have the confidence to set goals for themselves, so the language had to be sensitive to their existing self-doubt.

!: There was a 111% increase in self-generated enrolments during the campaign period.

Role: Creative Director, Concept & Copywriting

Client: Evocca College

Project: Brand Awareness Campaign

Agency: Engine Group, Brisbane

?: How do we make donated outdoor panels generate donations for a homeless charity? 

!: We can use a homeless person’s native media – a handwritten message on a piece of cardboard – to speak for the charity.

Role: Concept & Copywriting

Client: Magic Moments Foundation – Homeless Youth Charity

Project: Outdoor Campaign

Agency: Cummins & Partners, Brisbane

?: How can we make an impact with a standard retail brief for Virgin Blue Airline’s sale fares to Tasmania?

!: We can use the outdoor medium to create a visual gag referencing Australia’s island state. Virgin Blue’s standard outdoor combined a big red background, destination imagery and a bold, playful headline. So we subverted the style-guide and referenced the destination in a different way. This ad is a sentimental favorite because it was my first nationally awarded piece of work. I never want to forget where I came from and this billboard always reminds me.

Role: Concept & Copywriting

Client: Virgin Blue Airline

Product: Sale Fares to Tasmania

Project: Outdoor Retail Campaign

Agency: Cummins & Partners, Brisbane