Nicholas Hulley is the Chief Creative Officer at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.
He was promoted to this position in 2022, along with Nadja Lossgott, and they now serve as the company’s joint CCOs.
Hulley has had a long and successful career in the creative industry.
Almost a Journalist!
His grandfather, a mining engineer from South Africa, was the first creative thinker in Nicholas Hulley’s life.
He recalls,
“Nothing we ever did was mundane. A simple walk in the park would turn into a story about archeologists searching for a rare fossil.”
The elder’s sense of adventure and make-believe instilled in the youngster a love of imaginative thinking.
Hulley developed a passion for writing and went on to train as a journalist, only to discover that he was “too soft,” finding it difficult to ask difficult questions.
Start of creative Journey
Moving from Cape Town to London, he landed a very uncreative job as a data capturer, but it was walking around a capital city littered with posters for fashion brand French Connection and its now-famous FCUK slogan that inspired him to look into what the advertising business was all about.
Returning home, Hulley’s creative training ground would be TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris in Johannesburg.
During his nine years there, he rose from copywriter to creative director, with his first boss, Sandy DeWitt, playing an important role in his advancement.
“She was all about the craft, and she was both demanding and nurturing. She had the ability to instill ambition without fear and had a unique way of chewing you out.”
Under DeWitt and agency boss John Hunt, the ethos of the creative shop at that time was that while you can’t always outspend someone, you can always outthink them – an optimistic attitude that left a lasting mark on Hulley.
It was during this time that he also met Nadja Lossgott, who became his long-time creative collaborator and partner – another woman who has fundamentally shaped his approach to client work.
“We were on the same wavelength, we clicked and we’ve never stopped working together. It was a happy brilliant accident.”
Notable campaigns
Nicholas Hulley has worked on several notable campaigns throughout his career at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. Here are some of his notable works and campaigns:
Bloodnormal and Wombstories for Bodyform/Libresse, which have been recognized globally for breaking down decades of toxic shame.
Campaigns for brands such as Guinness, Snickers, and Mars.