4 Ways this Masher used imagination to move people into action
FEBRUARY 2023
Award-winning creative director Alex Wadelton is a literal creative force. His books with Russel Howcroft—The Right-Brain Workout—have sold almost 20,000 copies in Australia. He’s appeared on The Project five times, and raised over $2million for charities in his spare time.
Known for his boundary-pushing concepts in advertising, and PR-able ideas, here are four times Alex’s ideas got people to act.
1. Getting the attention of Australia’s largest supermarket
When Alex’s kids brought home free Lion King “Ooshies” from Australian supermarket Woolworths, he held them in his hand and wondered – where are these things going to end up? So, he decided to do something about it, shooting the figurines in their natural habitat, not the beautiful plains of the Serengeti, but in landfill.
Tens of thousands of shares, stacks of articles all over the world, a bunch of TV, radio and podcast interviews and a 15,000 signature petition later, Coles pulled the promotion and replaced it with a sustainably focused one.
2. A trailor you don’t see, you feel
Australia’s most awarded campaign in 2016. Alex worked with Melbourne International Film Festival to provide moviegoers an opportunity to feel the film before they saw it, with The Emotional Simulator. Hooked up with facial electrodes, participants acted out the emotional high and lows of a film through simulated facial features.
Recordings of the participants were released online as Emotional Trailers, guiding viewers through the emotional arc of a movie in one minute or less. Harnessing the universal language of emotion led to the biggest ticket sales in MIFF’s 65 year history.
3. Solidifying a pivotal moment in race relations in Australia
Concerned that AFL player and Nyoongar man Nicky Winmar’s powerful message of Aboriginal pride in the face of racial hatred would be lost to time, Alex teamed up with friend and fellow creative director Aaron Tyler to campaign for the historical stance to be set in stone. Well, bronze.
What started as a crowdfunding campaign ended with a statue immortalising the iconic 1993 photo of Nicky on Nyoongar country – to inspire and educate generations to come.
4. Raising 40K for homelessness during lockdown with the Melbourne Shuffle Marathon
The people of Melbourne spent more than 4 months in lockdown during the winter of 2020. But as tough as it was, Alex recognised that tens of thousands of Melbournians experiencing homelessness didn’t even have a home to be locked down in.
Over 9 hours and 13 minutes, Alex danced the Melbourne Shuffle for 42kms (a marathon effort) and raised just over $40k in donations for The Lighthouse Foundation.
