SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Independent creative agency Special has announced its new Group of Creative Directors by promoting Max McKeon, Sian Binder, Lea Egan, Nils Eberhardt, and Simon Gibson.
Jules Schreiber, Partner and CCO at Special, said, “This crew is some of the best and brightest that our industry has to offer, so we are damn proud to be able to offer them the opportunity to not only do great work but to lead and let others at Special learn from their creative leadership.”
Sian and Lea joined Special in 2020, under their creative leadership Special won a competitive pitch for Bonds. They have since produced multiple campaigns for Bonds, including the cheeky “Total Package” campaign, gave tomatoes a surprisingly cool tone of voice with their work for Mutti, and most recently launched a brand campaign for eBay Australia. Both have been recognized multiple times with awards at D&AD, AWARD, and Cannes.
Furthermore, Simon and Nils teamed up at Special over three years ago. Since then, they’ve helped launch “Get Almost Almost Anything” for Uber Eats, kicked off Kathmandu’s We’re Out There platform, did controversial work for Pepsi Max, and helped Virgin Australia bring on wonderful. Prior to partnering up, Simon was working in New York, watching on with envy when Nils was part of the Special team responsible for getting Sharon Strzlecki and Kim Kardashian together as well as Tourism New Zealand’s “Good Morning World.” The pair have also picked up awards at Cannes, One Show, D&AD and AWARD.
Max McKeon has worked at Special for three years – his time spent working on Uber’s “Grey Wiggle” campaign, “Choose Your Own AO,” and “Get Almost Almost Anything” campaigns, as well as Pepsi’s “Tastes Better With…” platform. Prior to Special, Max made the Super Bowl campaign for Tide’s “It’s a Tide Ad,” then DB Export’s “I’m Drinking it for you,” and Pedigree’s “Take a Baby Step into Parenting” – earning a D&AD Black Pencil, Cannes Titanium Lions, and an Emmy nomination.
Tom Martin, Partner and CCO at Special, commented, “We couldn’t be more fortunate not to have to look overseas or even across Australia, but simply stand up and look across our old warehouse to find five amazing creative leaders.”
