Hey there, I’m James.
🤝
I'm a creative director at VML Melbourne. I come from a background in copywriting (all the way from Perth), and my work has featured in award shows around the world. In my first two years as creative director, VML Melbourne was named the #3 hottest creative agency in Australia by Campaign Brief, the agency won the coveted Defence Force Recruiting account, and we had eight campaigns recognised internationally. In 2023, we were crowned #1 Agency of the Year in Australia and APAC by The Work.
My campaign for Alcohol Think Again was named the most powerful alcohol education ad in the world, I’m a member of RMIT University’s Advertising Industry Advisory Council, and I helped relaunch the MADC (Melbourne Advertising Design and Creativity) during COVID lockdowns as co-Vice President.
I taught AWARD School in 2015 and my student won first place in Victoria. He got a gold pencil. I got a pencil sharpener. Cute.
But it’s not all about ads. I also play drums and trombone in a doom metal band. We began with the lofty goal of trying to irritate as many people as possible by being as loud as possible. It didn’t work. We won West Australian Music Industry Awards for Best Metal Band in 2012 and 2022, I was nominated for best drummer in 2013, and we headlined a sold out show at Dark Mofo in 2023. You can watch us play at the Perth Concert Hall in the video on this page.
My solo music project is FALSE FATE, which combines drone, doom and metal influences with electronic instruments and samples. My goal is to establish a new genre: SYNTH DOOM (yes, it’s all caps). You can listen to it via the “MUSIC” link in the menu at the top of the page.
If you'd like to give me a shout, you can reach me at jamesgregorywills@gmail.com