Former Clems Melbourne CCO Ant Keogh takes up CCO role at The Monkeys, Melbourne

| | 29 Comments

Ant Keogh.jpgThe Monkeys has announced that one of the most awarded creative talents in the country, Ant Keogh, has been appointed as chief creative officer of Melbourne.

Keogh joins The Monkeys after departing from his role as chief creative office of Clemenger BBDO Melbourne in July this year where he guided Cannes Gold winning campaigns including TAC ‘Meet Graham’, Snickers ‘Hungerithm’ and Bonds ‘Boys’. First turning heads as a copywriter; his most famous work is the ongoing Carlton Draught ‘Made from Beer’ campaign featuring ‘Big Ad’. Voted as the ‘Number One Beer Ad of the Last 15 Years’ by The One Show, it’s also included in the Sydney Powerhouse Museum’s archives under the ‘Top Ten Greatest Australian Ads’.

Keogh’s career has been filled with impressive industry accolades including his last 10 years at Clemenger Melbourne, where the agency took home this year’s Cannes Agency of the Year and D&AD Agency of The Year awards. Last month listed in AdWeek’s ’10 Global Creative Leaders Reinventing the Advertising Industry’, and for seven years in a row ranked as the top Executive Creative Director in Australia by Campaign Brief, Keogh has headed up the BestAds Australian Executive Creative Director Rankings for the past decade, and is also ranked number seventh in the world.

Called upon for his comprehensive advertising expertise, Keogh has served as a Cannes Lions juror on Print, Film and Television award juries and on the Titanium jury, and in 2012 he was a member of the Cannes Chimera group – a selection of Grand-Prix-winning mentors that served for the Bill Gates Foundation in Seattle.

Says Keogh: “I take pride in creating real work that real people see, and if that work wins awards, well that’s a bonus. It’s why I’ve always admired The Monkeys’ ability to get people out there in the real world talking about their work. Couple this with the firepower of Accenture Interactive and you have a pretty formidable cross-platform team, which I’m very happy to be joining.”

Says Justin Drape, co-founder and group CCO, The Monkeys: “Ant is a phenomenal creative talent who will help us transform brands and businesses in Melbourne and beyond. We offer our clients more than campaigns and Ant’s vision will help create and direct work that lives in the sweet spot between advertising, entertainment and technology. We’re thrilled to have him with us and are now looking forward to focussing on the work and opportunities in front of us.”

Says Mark Green, co-founder and group CEO: “We are so pleased to have Ant join our Victorian leadership team, alongside newly announced Melbourne CEO Paul McMillan and head of strategy Michael Derepas. I’m certain that our growing list of Melbourne clients will welcome the opportunity to have Ant’s vision, track record and creative pedigree available and on hand to help steer them forward. Exciting times ahead.