Top junior team Neville Sheldon launches
Young Melbourne-based creative team Stephen Sheldon and Helen Neville have flicked the switch on their new persona, Neville Sheldon.
Driven to stand out from the crowd, the duo has launched their new identity and website with a cheeky adaptation of Campaign Brief’s ‘Top Rankings’.
The canny self-advertisement showcases the duo’s flair for the unconventional – but, as Neville points out, their style is backed by a sturdy understanding of how advertising works.
“The people we want to reach read Campaign Brief, so we think it makes perfect sense to advertise to the advertisers.”
Despite the self-appointed ‘Top Team’ title, the last thing the pair are focused on is their collective ego. As confessed ‘work addicts’ with a solid background of agency experience, they believe it’s their ability to dig in and get the job done that has seen them work together on a number of successful campaigns for brands such as Target, Crust and Market City.
Neville Sheldon also brings diverse experience from outside the Ad-land bubble. With backgrounds in fine art and film, respectively, the pair has developed a unique approach to tackling ideas.
“We have a kind of mantra,” says Sheldon. “If we have to be sold to, then let’s make it interesting. This is at the core of everything we do.”
49 Comments
Well done Hellcat… buckets of talent.
Their initiative puts them at the top of the pile.
Good intitiative with the PR but such a big claim requires a very very solid book to back it up…
Maybe work on getting more than one average piece of real work in your book before PRing yourself on the blog.
Way to go, Mrs A.
Cool idea for noise-cancelling headphones. Maybe try a song not by a rapper slash headphone mogul for a competing product.
Maybe PRing themselves on the blog is a way to get more than one piece of real work in their book…
…when your PR photo is more polished than the folio you just put in front of the entire industry.
“has seen them work together on a number of successful campaigns for brands such as Target, Crust and Market City.”
then why is their portfolio all spec scamps?
Commenters like the above are talking about it, so it’s working.
I’ve seen many articles here yield a bit fat zero on comments. Kudos guys and best of luck. We’ve all been there.
Hey dudes, You seem like nice chaps and I’m not having a go but the best advice someone can give you right now is to concentrate 100% on your ideas. Not on PR releases, not on a snappy team name, not on a funky website. I see so many young teams getting seduced by stuff like that, while ignoring what really matters – your work. There are two types of people in this ad game. 1. The Talkers and 2. The Do-ers. Please be the last kind.
Ahh! A monocle and top hat in your logo, originality must be at the very core of your being.
I applaud the initiative to get yourself out there, it’s something I never have done and never could be bothered to do.
But there are teams with shit-hot books, some even full of spec, who don’t do this. And they’re on my radar first.
Don’t go and book yourselves for interviews about your groundbreaking success, just work hard, be nice and be fucking good. Work on your book then luck will then find a way to you.
Usually via a decent recruiter or a linkedin request.
Wow always people trying to bring others down, guessing sigh…. juniors you are an absolute ace???!!!! & CD ?? Be positive or zip the lip!
How are you “driven to stand out from the crowd?” The mock-ups are awful and the ideas and processes are non-existent. Your folio demonstrates a distinct lack of creativity and direction. Can’t see any passion anywhere at all.
You don’t get more naive than that.
You’ll discover very quickly what it means to run your own shop.
hahahaha. the photo shoot is the icing on the cake.
Nice way to introduce yourselves to Adlandia. Just spend a bit more time on the book and have another swing at it.
@CD, @Sigh…
Nice pic, nice initiative but I have to agree re book being solid before PRing.
Big claim to fill.
Guys if you’re serious about getting work begin by answering your emails.
I see adland has laid out the red carpet for you both already.
Sadly, get used to it.
Can’t blame young ambitious creatives for wanting to get their careers kick started and being of their generation probably believe the channels of self promotion and PR etc are where it is at.
But regardless of getting noticed you are only as good as your work, and until that speaks for itself, probably best to not overdo the talking about it.
If you turn yourselves into the “idea”, the idea needs to be pretty amazing.
Guys it’s not easy to self promotion at any stage in your career but let me give you some insight into why you’re being attacked on here…
You have definitely passed test number one – you got noticed. Good work. Tick.
But there’s another side to this advertising/ P.R. thing you’re obviously not so hot on.
Let me reframe this:
Imagine you’re a third year uni student. It’s the first day of the year.
A new, first year student comes in on day one, without any really good work, walks in and yells “Hey everyone I’m this year’s student of the year” and they plaster a photo of themselves on the wall and talk all about how great they are.
It would tend to indicate they have no EQ. They seem arrogant. They lack charm. They don’t get how to feel the room.
Now these are not good qualities in an ad-creative because the best ones understand human psychology. They get tone. They get that you can’t over sell a product.
Then there’s just the basic human value of being humble. Letting the work do the talking. Much more likeable.
Now, my suspicion is that you’re actually NOT arrogant people at all. That you are ambitious and probably hard working and nice. It’s just you obviously don’t quite get how to write (self promotional) ads perfectly yet. But chances are your (obvious) ambition and enthusiasm will keep you in the game long enough to ‘get noticed’ whilst also getting the other ‘tone’ bit right.
You see everyone, there is such a thing a positive criticism.
If only everyone was like you @goodstart.
The day will come when you look back at all the (what you thought were cool) ideas you had as a junior and cringe/throw up in your mouth/groan.
That day will mark your arrival as a mature and sharp creative.
Trust me, that day will come.
The difference is that in my day, my dumbass ideas never lived forever on the internet.
what a surprise, 2 juniors try to do something for themselves – not hurting anyone – and people cant resists lampooning them for it.
good luck guys
Agree. Kids don’t give up, you’ll get there. It’s all part of learning.
What were you thinking?
To the Junior’s; psych one-one will tell you people only attack one another (normally) when they’re consumed by fear. Fear of the new, different, successful, better, taller, smarter, people who had a red hot crack……
My advice, suck all the narcissistic commentary (as above) into an archive & then pull it out when you tick over your first million $$ – how will it sound then. Best of luck to you both, our business needs more adventurers like you
But it’s actually all about what’s on it!
Case in point.
revolver.ws
I was intrigued, and after a quick google I see this isn’t your first foray into writing a press release about yourself on CB (http://www.campaignbrief.com/2012/10/award-school-graduate-helen-ne.html). Maybe time to change strategies? Work on quietly and humbly getting yourself into an agency, putting your head down and working hard. The press and glory will come later. Good luck!
QUESTION FOR NEVILLE SHELDON:
What do you think is your strongest piece of work?
I hate ego, I don’t like to show off
from hard work,commitment ,originality and exposure comes success. It’s only the last thing thats yet to materialise
The ad (saw it on the side of Campaign Brief) is fucking clever.
That’s one good thing in your book.
Now go and do 20 more like that.
And don’t do it to be successful, do it to piss the cat-pee smelling haters on here right off.
Can not believe what nasty people there are in this world,
There is such a thing as constructive criticism , maybe you were stomped
on when you were newbies – is this your idea of tough love? or just
can’t help being cynical & destructive in your comments towards other
people. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! The haters make us strive to
prove them so very wrong! Ignore the negatives focus on only the positives.
Look at it this way. You just put a huge motivator on yourselves to work your arses off this weekend and prove the naysayers wrong. I reckon you could crank out 5 good ideas if you push yourself and pull some all-nighters. Will make all the difference to your book. Do it.
The Top Junior Team ranking placement is pretty sweet guys.
Know your audience-first rule of advertising.
Given CB’s eyeballs are mainly green and mean, you really can’t say the critical comments aren’t unexpected.
Lot of suggestions of “haters” and the like on here, but for the most part I see fairly measured, well meaning constructive advice (not even criticism really).
I don’t think people are motivated by any desire to be mean or miserable, merely telling as it is (we’ve all been through it).
You put yourselves out there and that in itself shows the type of Creatives you are.
Keep going, keep working, improve your ideas, get some work made.
Good luck!
Don’t give up. Ignore the faceless, grumpy ol’ bastards and keep at it. You know where it’s at. Along with your persistence, passion and great attitude, you’ll keep honing your skills and have the last laugh…
There’s two types of CB commentators here.
Those the see the comments as a direct line of communication to the subject of the article, and those that see it as a group discussion existing outside of the subject, but pertaining to the subject.
I don’t think anyone is mean spirited here, they just see this news/update/post as discussion worthy and in their opinion have a negative take on the situation.
Of course, those that see these comments as a direct line of communication to the subject see these as an attack.
Millenials. Grasping for fame instead of earning it.
You look like talented people. As someone who’s been in the ad game for 10 years, getting out was the best thing I ever did. Less stress and way more money. If I could do my time again, I wouldn’t waste it in such an underpaid and insecure industry.
Let your work talk.
@ P. Dude, for a guy that got out and doesn’t look back, why are hanging around this grubby little ad blog?
I just want to say anything to get you guys over 50 comments on CB, well done.
I remember when Helen was just a little tike, in her denim overalls with pink daffodils.
I’m proud as punch to see her taking over the ad world. Let’s hope she doesn’t get nervous and poop her pants like she did at kindergarten.