The R/GA Australia Creative Partnership Worth Crossing Oceans For
Alex Morris, an Englishman, and Aaron McCann, an Irishman, first met virtually but soon became inseparable. Aaron, who had already packed up and moved his life across the world from the UK to Australia, was surprised when Alex turned up at his doorstep only a few weeks after meeting him.
Together the pair, whose relationship blossomed on Zoom and turned into a partnership worth crossing oceans for, have launched some of R/GA’s best campaigns.
“Things moved pretty quickly. After two Zoom calls while Alex was still in the UK, he turned up at my doorstep with his entire life in a rucksack and he slept on my sofa for a few weeks. Thankfully we hit it off, or it would have been awkward,” said Aaron.
Alex remembered thinking, ‘I’m not sure what he’s saying, but this guy seems nice.’ Once I got my head round the Northern Irish twang, I realised he was actually quite funny too.”
“We’re mates in and out of the office,” they said. Their common experience of leaving their homes to settle in an ‘upside down country,’ as they describe it, has strengthened their bond in a way no creative project could ever.
“Even though we've only been partners for under a year, we’ve been through loads; from a shoot in Japan, to tackling some pretty meaty briefs, to some pretty big life changes and advice. We understand each other on multiple levels and always have each other’s backs,” they said.
Quite similar in many ways, in particular their humour and values means that they are able to bounce ideas off each other, “no matter how bonkers,” as Aaron described. He believes this inherent trust in each other leads to work that feels fresh.
“We leave our egos at the door when it comes to the work, and aren’t afraid to interrogate each other’s ideas from all angles. We’re pretty good at following our crazy thought starters wherever they may lead, even if it’s a dead end,” Alex noted.
According to Aaron, they both know when the other's idea isn’t quite right - but if there is a passion behind it, they both give it every chance to live through before moving on completely.
Their most memorable project that they’ve worked on together was one for a Japanese mobile game, The Battle Cats, titled ‘God Calling.’ For the many fans that would get stuck on the harder levels, they connected them to a deity, ‘Cat God,’ who would help.
“From religious flyposting, to a live chat service and a pop-up phone booth (which had kids running around the city in search of it) it was a joy to work with our R/GA Tokyo office on,” Aaron recalled.
Alex described Aaron as ‘ideas-focused.’ Aaron has the ability to reign Alex in, if need be. “If we find ourselves straying too far from the core of what we’re trying to say, he’ll always get us back on track. Which is a real superpower.” he said.
Meanwhile, Aaron would put Alex in the influencer category, a man who loves an instagram story. According to Aaron, Alex is always looking for the best angles to capture ‘slick footage’ of the places he visits, if it also means losing him in Japan a few times along the way.
“He’s got a great eye for it, and it’s been massively beneficial in the work we do. Oh, and he was also great at navigating the Tokyo train line. I’d still be lost, otherwise!” Aaron said.
Together the pair find their creative inspiration from real people, whether that’s stand up comedy or Instagram meme pages, or stopping to talk to someone about their real life experiences or scrolling through Reddit for a niche project. They find their inspiration from each other and the rest of the world around them.
Working for R/GA Australia has been described as ‘an absolute privilege’ by the pair. The diversity of the work, ability to work across offices in all parts of the world, and most importantly, the connection created between each other has made their journey within R/GA something incredibly special.
