Pro Hello: Opaluke
Opal Turner and Luke Lasenby, known as Opaluke, are a multi-disciplinary, insight-led, strategically-driven creative team. They believe in brands that add value to the world by more than just their products or services, and believe brands should use their power, presence and voice to positively influence culture. Together, they have learnt how to build brands big and small, from fledgling startups to global icons, working across a broad range of projects and clients.
Opaluke's background is varied, but held together by their universal approach through human, behavioural and cultural insights. They'll create anything to make brand possibility happen, whether it's social for engaging sports fans worldwide, or an identity for a store with a difference -- even a social project dedicated to AI-designed luxury products for disabled folk. That's their magic, familiar enough to know the box, different enough to break it. If you need a little of that, give them a shout, they're available from early April!
Today, Opal and Luke share their story so far.
LBB> What do you do, and where are you based?
Opal & Luke> We’re a life-time couple and full-time creative weirdos living, working and cat fostering in North London.
LBB> What recent campaigns might we know you from, and what was your input on these campaigns?
Opal & Luke> Our biggest and shiniest piece of work in 2024 was working across Coca-Cola’s Olympic campaign. In an extension of their brand platform. With "It’s magic when the world comes together", it was only natural that Coca-Cola wanted to show up at one of culture's most magical events, The Olympic Games. The campaign for Paris 2024 celebrated the power of sport to unite across cultures, using the hug as a visual signifier of coming together. Of course, the work started long before we joined, but the global paid social content was still a question mark.
We pitched a middle ground between the big idea, social context and relevant language. ‘TFW’ acted as a throughline to connect the dots. Plus, influencer content to be ideated, real-time social content to be planned and advertising for the Coca-Cola sponsored food market to be made. Throw in some last-minute additions to the OOH, and boom; you’ve got yourself an award-winning campaign.
LBB> How did you first get into the industry, and how did you realise what you wanted to do?
Opal & Luke> We didn’t do the whole intern together at x3 group agencies before joining as juniors and working our way up; our careers are much more squiggly. Opal started as an intern with the OG BHH team at The Garage Soho, an early-stage investor and brand builder, and found that the industry had space for all her skills and interests. Luke’s story really begins when looking at creative uni courses getting distracted by the letter A -- and Advertising Design it was!
Luke watched 'Art & Copy' and was instantly hooked. Following a stint in a startup incubator programme, interning at WMH Design and applying for loads of junior roles, he started as
a runner at legendary VFX and post-house The Mill (the closest he could get to an ad agency), and ended up in design, brand and doing enough good-looking decks that he made his way across a few different departments alongside a few cliche side hustles.
LBB> Tell us about your journey so far.
Opal & Luke> Our journey has been far from a straight road, but we’ll save the gossip for someone who will buy us a drink. If you get Opal started she will tell you her full life story, so for those of you with better things to do, TLDR:
We covered a fair bit from all over the creative industry both separately and together -- from behind the scenes at Park Royal Studios, to helping launch a foundation from Dame Gillian Lynne and her husband. But, with one key project with great feedback from Sir John, we decided we must be a decent (creative) team and put our relationship on the line to prove it. That was four years ago now, and we’re feeling pretty smug about our choices.
LBB> What projects / campaigns that you’ve been involved in have been the most personally satisfying to work on, and why?
Opal & Luke> Cliché, but it’s true, it’s our pro-bono and proactive work; it’s self-explanatory with causes close to our hearts. Changing the justice system and forcing a pilot programme with Open Justice for All. Yapping and creating resources for women and non-binary folk of the industry with SheSays. Utilising tech, spotlighting marginalised creators and telling stories that need to be heard with THE UNSEEN.
LBB> What’s been your proudest achievement?
Opal & Luke> Working and living with each other -- and liking each other more as a result.
LBB> What do people (clients, agencies etc) come to you for specifically for?
Opal & Luke> In short, broad experience underpinned by brand-focused thinking. Then, being nice to work with (we bring biscuits) and our social first fun!
LBB> What are your strongest opinions relating to your specific field?
Opal & Luke> Don’t even think about getting Opal started on anything inclusion, neurodivergence or ableism, and disability representation in creative, unless you’ve gotten comfy. Luke is the quiet one, but if you ask him about the cats we foster or his collection of graffiti tags, he will whip out the best pics.
LBB> What sort of projects really get you excited at the moment?
Opal & Luke> As disturbing as the world of social has gotten lately, rhymes with Better but is Worse - the optimists in us see the opportunities for using next-gen platforms and creating next-level case study projects.
LBB> Who are your creative heroes, and why?
Opal & Luke> Product designer, Philippe Starck, for reimagining the functional into art. Opal’s old bosses, John Hegs and Nick Kendall, for some unforgettable advice and for making black denim mainstream. Other than that, we will watch anything Shonda Rhymes has even breathed on, double tap every video that Subway Takes makes, read every word Ant Jackson writes, try daily to be as intelligent as Zoe Scaman and forever wishing we could be as reactive as Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie or Wayne Brady from 'Who’s Line Is It Anyway?'.
LBB> Outside of the day job, what fuels your creativity?
Opal & Luke> Primarily, Opal’s homemade baked goods and Luke’s brain cannot stop having those odd tangents and weird ideas.
