Creative Review: “When it came to creating the music video for Can’t Go Back, Sampha enlisted the help of SMUGGLER director Saad Moosajee. The brief was rooted in “magical realism”, with spirits, impressions, time, and portals all featuring prominently in the director’s initial inspirations. “While I began by thinking of this with examples in the…

Adweek: “In the music-video-styled film, directed by Andre Muir and produced by Google Brand Studio, Palmer channels house music legend Crystal Waters by singing a rendition of the latter’s 1994 hit, “100% Pure Love,” with lyrics changed to ‘100% Black-Owned.’”

W Magazine: “We tried to anchor the fashion into an actual situation where a woman would be wearing that look. The yellow dress that Stane wears at the holiday party is clearly not something this character would choose to wear—you can tell that it has been chosen for her. That dress speaks to the mentality…

Ad Age: “Product as gateway to chronic problems—not the most traditional path, but a fun one if you get the humorous tone right. And this latest Volkswagen spot from Johannes Leonardo and Smuggler director Bjorn Rühmann has just the right level of hyperbole and playfulness to work wonderfully. In it, we meet a woman who,…

Shots: “Created by Lucky Generals, and directed by Björn Rühmann through SMUGGLER, this uplifting musical treat is a joyful concoction of tongue-in-cheek choreography, playful character design and questionable rhymes (mammalian lactation, anyone?), emphasising the inclusive nature of the brand and the difference it makes when your beverage is created with family care and attention.”

Ad Age: “Montefiore Einstein’s 2023 holiday ad, from agency Alto and director Tom Hooper, deftly frames medical advancement as a portal to childhood wonder—through the story of a boy with cerebral palsy whose use of eye tracking technology unlocks a world of imagination.”

Little Black Book: “The aspirational ad came to be after Ogilvy’s North America president and chief creative officer, Chris Beresford-Hill, found Tony B’s Instagram account. In love with the character and authenticity of the realtor, he quickly got SMUGGLER director Randy Krallman (also a fan of Tony’s Instagram) on board and the result was a…

SHOWstudio: “Taking heed of what a hot topic AI has become, directing duo rubberband. – represented by SMUGGLER – have based the entire premise of their latest film ChatFOS around the technology. Armed with a title that’s as self explanatory as the film’s concept, the short takes aim at the extremes that exist on both…

Ad Age: “The thought was, ‘Can we use our day jobs to actually improve his core business?’ We both loved the notion of using Ogilvy and Smuggler’s resources to do for Tony what we do for giant companies. Rather than try to emulate his social media—you can’t improve on perfection—the idea was to have the…

Creative Review: “The ad by Guy Shelmerdine brings back memories of Flat Eric, the classic Levi’s mascot, as the ad’s puppet heroes are shown trying out Marmite to a remix of Giraffage’s electro track, Workout. It all quickly takes a suggestive turn as the song encourages the duo to ‘push that’, ‘grab that’, ‘stroke that’…