Making these pro-bono films for a gorilla conservation charity really was an intrinsically collaborative effort.

While the core idea and several scripts were already established before I joined in, I was able to contribute art direction, graphic design and typography, copywriting, and some broader strategic wisdom from my years in ad agencies. It was illuminating to see the pitfalls of a 'flat' structure where there is absolutely no money involved - lots of talented people working together but nobody ultimately calling the shots: an odd blend of democracy and compromise.

On top of that though I was really pleased to contribute a fourth script. Run fits with the main campaign but works in a more tactical way, with the aim of recruiting people for the Gorilla Organization's annual fundraising fun run.

The Toby and Hilary films approach the gorilla conservation message from a different angle than the usual earnest pleading charity ads. With documentaries such as Virunga out there to educate on the plight of gorillas, and a never-ending stream of worthy causes coming at the public every day, we hope a humourous and offbeat approach will help create cut-through, plus engage a different sort of audience.

With some cunning networking from producer Tim Earl, we even got cutdown silent versions of the ads onto big screens in Westfield Stratford too.