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Dean Ryan

I have been an Art Director for just under 2 years and pride myself on creating work that has purpose and prompts action. I like to consider the viewers emotion and how they will feel when looking at the work, and carry that characteristic through into all the work I create.

I try my best to push boundaries, where I can try to create something new that has not been seen before. It is important for me that what I create stands out both visually and conceptually. I am a firm believer in, ‘simple is best’, and I try emulate this in my work.

I push the boundaries of even the tiniest briefs and strive to find the creative potential that drives results. The total cost of the Marie Keating coughing billboard campaign was €6,192. The campaign generated €59890.26 AVE (advertising value equivalency) – that’s over 9 times the total amount spent on the campaign itself, without a single penny spent on PR. The billboard was live for 2 weeks, based in Dublin’s Macken Street and generated over 5.6 million media impressions and was covered in numerous industry and consumer articles, which spoke of the importance of advertising when done well and for the right reasons. The statistics show how the Irish public didn’t ignore this small campaign, they embraced it. More importantly, it spurred members of the public to stop ignoring their symptoms and get checked. It is the piece that I am most proud of in my career, as it made positive impact in people’s behaviour to their health.

Inspired by the success of this approach and the chance to create real change, I created other campaigns for Marie Keating which had a much similar impact. The ‘Give a Shit’ campaign for bowel cancer used quirky portraits of 60+ year olds to open up a conversation about bowel cancer screening. The male focused ‘Skin C(h)ancer’ campaign drew attention to the dangers of Irish men’s attitudes to sun burn. I loved working on the Dublin City Council ‘Bin the Butt’ campaign, as it was again fuelled by purpose. I drew attention to how the public didn’t perceive cigarette buts as litter. I have also worked on Lucozade Zero since its launch, where I created TV stings on a shoestring and pushed how visually we brought the campaign to life. Since, it has become the best-selling zero sugar drinks in an overpopulated market.

I am driven, I am passionate and I am proud of the work I create. As my career develops, I hope to create more impactful work that is simple, effective and sparks change. There is potential in every brief if you push it. It pays off creatively – to stand out, to argue, to go against the grain, and that’s just the type of character I am.