A place where research meets insights, strategy meets ideas and logic meets magic.
We don’t just come up with crazy ideas.
We come up with crazy ideas to get crazy results.
Everything we do is grounded in logic.
We look at your long-term goals and your short-term objectives.
Then we investigate, interrogate and initiate for long-term outcomes.
Smart Arts Creative was founded by Australian creative director, Rod Vallis, who’s worked across the world as a national, regional and global creative director helping some of the world’s biggest brands grow even bigger.
Along the way, he’s been lucky enough to work with like-minded strategists, artists and coders, who share the same goal - helping business to do more business.
They now collaborate using their big-brand experience to help brands of all sizes at all stages.
Smart Arts Creative is based near Byron Bay, Australia’s most easterly point. (Our logo, while a reflection of our name is also a nod to our location, where the sun first kisses the Australian mainland good morning.)
“I’m writing to tell you how much I hate advertising. In particular, how much I hate advertising copywriting. However, having read your long-copy campaign for Range Rover, I now hate advertising copywriting a little less.”
- Robert Hughes
Acclaimed Australian Author & Art Critic
Creative campaigns that convince people to change their brands and their behaviour.
Rod’s work has broken sales records and won awards around the world, including creative and effectiveness awards for a road safety campaign that contributed to the lowest road toll in his home state of New South Wales for 39 years.
“Rod’s consistently fresh creative approach, combined with his genuine empathy and knowledge of a client’s needs, make him one of the best creative directors I’ve worked with anywhere in the world.”
- Antoine Heftler
CEO Canablava, Paris
Former Client Services Director, Ogilvy Worldwide
Work that works across categories, channels and continents.
At home in Australia, Rod’s work has helped create sales records and response records for IBM, Tooheys, Pizza Hut, Optus, Lotto, the NSW Government and more.
As regional creative director for IBM he’s helped create records, win awards and grow IBM’s brand value across Asia Pacific, including Australia, Korea, India, China and Japan.
As a global creative director he helped found and grow Lenovo and IBM Smart Business across the world.
“He rides in on his white horse, writes something amazing, then rides off again. He’s a very safe pair of hands.”
- Lee Renfree
Former Creative Services Director, DDB Melbourne
Delivering global campaigns with local accents.
An IBM TV commercial Rod wrote for China was voted best foreign brand commercial by Chinese business people, the target market. IBM went on to win Most Popular Foreign Brand of the Year in China.
“As founding worldwide creative director, Rod was instrumental in helping us build the international arm of Ogilvy in India for all global creative work on Lenovo and IBM Smart Business. In three years he grew the team from 30 people to 150 plus, creating campaigns for over 50 countries. He also built our digital creative unit, which become the largest in the global network. He was a true partner, a great guy to work with and everyone loved him dearly.”
- Poran Malani
Director of Operations, S4 Capital
Former President, Ogilvy India Worldwide
A TV campaign that won awards, hearts and minds.
Denzel Washington liked one of Rod’s TV commercial scripts so much he appeared in the ad for free. The target audience, Australian women, liked it so much they voted it ‘Most Intelligent Commercial of the Year’.
“We love everything he does! Whether we need video scripts, headlines or copy, he’s the first copywriter we turn to! Rod Vallis is an absolute gem, it is a privilege to recommend him.”
- Zoe Smith
Creative Services and Marketing Lead at Ansarada
A great ad for a phone company, not so much for its switchboard.
When a blockbuster TV commercial Rod wrote to launch a new phone company went to air, the company received 185,000 phone calls in the first hour. In the second hour the switchboard received so many calls it ‘blew up’.
“I’ve known Rod for 20 years. Watch him. He talks real f*ckin’ slow, but he thinks real f*ckin’ quick.”
- John Singleton AO
Australian Advertising Entrepreneur
A good response in any language.
A response of 3% is said to be good for a direct marketing campaign, and Rod’s the first to admit he doesn’t speak Korean, but the work he created for IBM Korea must have really spoken to Korean businesspeople because it got a response rate of 43%.
“He’s the copywriter’s copywriter. Don’t f*ck around. Just hire him.”
- Scott Mollan
Freelance Creative Director
Former Creative Director at Ogilvy, JWT and Saatchi & Saatchi
Results worth raising a glass for.
Lion Nathan marketers voted three beer commercials Rod wrote for Tooheys New into their top ten ads of the decade based on creativity and effectiveness.
Your company will be in great company.
These are some of the brands Rod has helped along the way.
