ABOUT
Hi. This is a bio about me, Dean Paradise.
Before working in advertising, much like David Ogilvy, I worked as a door-to-door salesman in Scotland and England. But that’s a story for another time. And before I worked in advertising, my mother did too - winning our family’s first Clio.
I’m a proud Irish Jewish quarter-ginger (it's in the beard) green card holding South African who currently works as an ECD at Gut Miami.
Prior to joining GUT, I helped FCB become the #1 design agency at D&AD, as well as turning them into a creative powerhouse within the industry. And before FCB, I worked at Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town helping them become the #1 agency in South Africa for 2 years in a row.
My campaigns twice ranked in the top 100 WARC report. In 2020, I was ranked as the 8th best Creative Director at the One Club and top 20 creative directors at Cannes. In 2021, one of my campaigns, “The Gun Violence History Book,” was ranked #5 most successful campaigns promoting good on the Good Report. I’ve won over 100 international awards, including 32 Cannes Lions, 11 D&AD pencils including the elusive black pencil, and 27 One Show awards, to name but a few
A few highlights of work include creating a book that can stop a bullet, checking in a trash bag as luggage at America’s toughest airports, debating with clients about how much butt crack is too much butt crack for a plumber, perfecting the ultimate sad robot for the Super Bowl with the people who created Transformers, raising money for water by changing the logo of the world’s biggest stock site, providing a virtual holiday in Cape Town through your Facebook profile, finally declaring peace within the historic Chicken Wars, turning a bagel into a tax-free loophole, and designing a new form of gender expression through a license plate.
But it’s not only the work I care about. I’ve built long-lasting client relationships that enable me to sell bold and courageous work. And as an experienced creative leader, I have a passion for nurturing talent, so they can become the best creative versions of themselves. Truthfully, what it comes down to is that I’m just a silly ad nerd who loves his job and is looking to have fun making great work with great people.
I hope you enjoyed the Work of Paradise, and if you're interested in my mind, and hearing more about my mother’s Clio, I’m also happy to chat.
EXPERIENCE
Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town
Creative Group Head / Copywriter
2009 - 2016
FCB Chicago
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter
2016 - 2017
Creative Director
2017 - 2018
VP, Creative Director
2018 - 2021
GUT Miami
Creative Director
2021- 2022
Executive Creative Director
2022 - present
CLIENT LIST
Kraft Heinz, AB Inbev, Popeyes, Lyft, Volkswagen Group, Kraft, Cape Town Tourism, Abu Dhabi Tourism, Heinz, Intel, Coca Cola, Mondelez, Vodacom (Vodafone), SAB Miller, News24, WWF, DSTV, GoPro, Amex, Allan Gray, Chilly Cow (Wells Enterprises), Michelob Ultra, FCA, Cox, Glad, Liquid Plumr, Pine-Sol, Getty Images, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.
JURIES
AICP Next Awards, London International, New York Festival, One Show Denver
PITCHES WON
Amarok Global (Volkswagen's pick-up) for South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Chile and Mexico). Clorox, Chilly Cow (Wells Enterprises), Sixt, Stella Artois Global, Weight Watchers, Spanx, to name but a few.
INFO
Current Location:
Miami, FL
Contact:
copyparadise@gmail.com