Hungry Man Revives 'Dead' Scripts with First Spot from Dead Ad Society

Global production company hungryman has released the first completed spot born out of its creative platform Dead Ad Society, a movement that resurrects the best ad ideas that never got made. Directed by LJ Johnson, the spot is for KUL MOCKS, a non-alcoholic beverage brand, and marks the culmination of the inaugural Dead Ad Society Awards held in New York last fall.

The inaugural winning spot spent over a decade buried before earning its revival. In 2012, freelance ad creatives William Spencer and Mitchell Ratchik wrote a dark comedy script they couldn’t stop laughing at. But when a new CCO arrived, the campaign was shelved.

“It happens all the time,” Mitchell said. “You learn to expect it, unfortunately.” More than a decade passed, until one day William spotted a LinkedIn post about Dead Ad Society and immediately called Mitchell. Of all the ideas they’d lost over the years, they knew exactly which one to submit. A few months later, the duo learned their spot had been shortlisted. They were invited to attend the first-ever Dead Ad Society event, which took place last November in New York City. When the night ended, William and Mitchell’s script was chosen as the winner.

“We called it an anti-award show,” said Caleb Dewart, managing partner of hungryman. “It’s supposed to be wild. The scripts were performed live - a glorified table read. It was messy, imperfect, and that was the point. That’s the heart of it.”

At its core, the Dead Ad Society platform reflects hungryman’s longstanding ethos - make good work and everything else falls into place. The winning spot was directed by hungryman’s LJ Johnson, who immediately connected with the script’s darkly comedic tone and the platform’s underlying message. “What Dead Ad Society does is remind everyone why we got into this industry in the first place,” LJ said.

Even the client was a first-timer. KUL MOCKS, a family-owned, female-founded non-alcoholic beverage brand from Wisconsin, became the featured product - their first-ever large-scale production. For founder Danielle Goss, Dead Ad Society offered an opportunity that would have otherwise been out of reach for an emerging brand. “This whole world is new to me,” Danielle said. “But once I saw the quality of the work from hungryman and LJ, I grounded myself in the concept and said: we’re all in.”

The spot was finished with help from a wide community of sponsors: Work Editorial handled the edit; Arc Creative provided VFX; Sonic Union provided the mix and audio finishing. Synapse and SAG contributed resources to help complete the project.

And while Dead Ad Society may feel unconventional, those involved see it as something the industry needs: a reset on creative risk, and a defence of craft. “I was genuinely honoured that Work was invited to sponsor the event - it couldn’t be more up our street,” said Jane Dilworth, co-founder and president of Work Editorial. “The Dead Ad Society is a powerful reminder of just how much brilliance still exists in the ideas that don’t always get made, and how exciting it is to see them resurface."

For William and Mitchell, it’s been a long journey - but one that reinforces why they fell in love with the business. “Dead Ad Society gave this thing a second life,” William said. “But it also gave us a little hope for the industry, and for the next wave of creatives.”
Now, with the first spot fully produced and released, Dead Ad Society officially moves into its second year. Submissions are now open for Year Two, with the next show slated for September 18th, 2025, at The Mint in Los Angeles, an iconic music venue.