PLEASE, MEANDER THROUGH THE MIND OF ALEX WADELTON

Hello there.

I’ve moved my site to the very catchy new URL of  www.stuffbyalexwadelton.com

One Millimeter art series.

These artworks were designed to make the viewer see beyond the colour of skin. Because underneath, we are all fragile creatures who are members of the same race- the human race.

Deliberately designed to be provocative and to challenge people’s thoughts about race, the series has attracted world-wide attention, and even made the front page of The Mirror UK website. To see more, head to onemillimeter.org. 10% of each sale is donated to the United Nations Foundation.

Creating my own fashion label, itiswhatitis.

There are so many brands selling an impossible dream. So I decided to sell it like it is, and design a range of clothes that are exactly what they appear to be. It's fashion, but not as you know it. 

It was particularly interesting to learn all about setting up a business, from top to toe. I’m quite chuffed with the end result. From logo design to website to posters to social, it was all created  in-house at ZOO Group Melbourne.

Camp Quality Christmas Crack Ups.

Q: Why are Christmas Cracker jokes so unfunny?

A: Because Santa has a clause in his contract.

Awful, eh? That’s why I came up with the idea of the world’s first actually funny Christmas Cracker jokes for kid’s cancer charity Camp Quality. Funny because some of Australia’s best comedians wrote the jokes.

To make it a reality, we ran a pozible campaign, with the aim of raising $100,000 in six weeks. A month in and the target was met, thanks to segments on The Today Show, Sunrise, ABC News, SBS, Viceland, and the entire News Limited network, including the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun. All with a media spend of precisely $0.

The grand total raised was a tick over $140,000 and the hope is that this is a great business case to take to a major retailer so that they are stocked for next Christmas.

Where great minds collide.

Well, this was a big job! Six months in development. Two months in production. And one huge way to position the University of Melbourne as a place where collaboration leads to great advances.

Usually universities talk in a very dry way, but with this film the client wanted to sit in a cinema and go, “Holy crap! That was for Melbourne Uni?!”

Fair to say, I reckon we achieved that goal.

Recognition: Won 6 times at the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards- the global university communications awards.

The Melbourne International Film Festival Emotional Trailer.

How do you promote a film festival featuring films no-one has heard of, in a language other than English, starring people you’ve never heard of? By showing people how they’ll feel! 

The insight was no matter what language you speak we all feel the same basic human emotions- fear, surprise, happiness, joy, sadness, and disgust. So, we literally brought this to life.

This experimental performance piece built on the 1862 study by French neurologist Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne called “The Mechanism of Human Facial Expression”, and premiered at the Forum Theatre to a sold out audience of 600 people. It was fully booked for the entire two weeks of MIFF. 

Recognition:

The Guardian called it the “Number 1 attraction” at the Festival, and helped achieve the biggest sales in the 64 year history of MIFF. 

Awards wise, it won Gold, Silver, and Bronze at Cannes.

At AdFest it picked up a Grand Prix and two Gold, two silver and four bronze, bringing home a total of nine awards across a range of categories. 

It also claimed Gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze at Spikes, the Innovation Prize at WARC, as well as an Effie.

It was the #2 most awarded digital campaign in the world for 2016, and #12 overall, which made it the most awarded Australian campaign for the year.

One Buck One Pluck.

I've done some pretty silly things in my time. Now, finally, I've done something stupid for a good cause! For every dollar people donated to kid's cancer charity Camp Quality, I plucked 1 hair out of my head. That meant for the $7123 I raised I plucked out 7123 hairs. Ow!

The World's Most Precious Metal.

I reckon this is one of the coolest things I've done. Especially because I'm such an AFL nut.

Since 1897, 117 Premiership Cups have been made. It's sacred metal, lusted after by every player in the league. What isn't commonly known is that when every Premiership Cup is forged, approximately 42.2 grams of this precious metal are left behind.

For the first time ever, we took this metal and turned it into a one-of-a-kind piece of history to be sold to the highest bidder, with all proceeds going to charity.

AFL Finals 2013- "It's a long way to the top".

Schweppes "Pub with no Beer".

What would happen if you took the beer taps out of a 100 year old Aussie pub? Part social experiment, part marketing extravaganza, this piece aimed to show Aussies that cocktails are easy to make, and even easier to drink. Cheers to the Old Hepburn Hotel for letting us crazy advertising types use their awesome pub.

Australian Football League 2014 Season Launch- "Everything's possible".

Fiat "Find your flavour" posters.

Everyone loves an early twentieth century art deco style poster, don't they? Given the Italian heritage of Fiat, it just made sense to have a bit of fun with the bright new colour range of Fiat 500s.

The World's First Crowd Sourced 3D Printed QR Code, Live Streamed Via Go Pro To A Smart Phone Or Tablet Device, Drone Delivery Ticket System Project.

Campaign for the inaugural Creative Fuel conference which trended so hard the internet had to be updated to Web 3.0.

Recognition: We changed the game forever. And then we shifted the paradigm. After pushing the envelope. 

Fighter Pilot: Behind the Visor.

Take an unprecedented look through the eyes of a Fighter Pilot, and prove you've got what it takes to become one. It's a true insight into the years of training that are required to earn your wings. It's delivered via almost forty films, involving user interactivity, google maps, and tonnes of detail.

Give it a try yourself at: 

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/campaigns/fighterpilot/

Recognition: 

I’m an Aussie legend! :)

I loved my Nonno. He was the best. So, when the time came to sell his 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer I decided to honour his memory in the only way possible- by writing a ridiculously convoluted story linking his old car to some of most infamous, and famous, figures in history.

The idea was to try and get people to stop and think for a moment about how connected we all are as a race. Oh, and to sell the car. I reckon I succeeded on both fronts.

Here’s the full text for you to read, which was picked up by influential site lost at e minor. Check out their story here.

FOR SALE: A 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer with connections to Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, John F Kennedy, Benito Mussolini, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and many, many more.

My Nonno was the best.

His name was Mario Simeoni, and he was born in Italy and emigrated to Australia in 1956.

During my childhood, my family would visit his humble house in Yarraville, where we would feast upon cured meats, beautiful cheese, delectable pastries and his beautiful, warm personality.

When he passed away, I was gifted his 1997 manual Mitsubishi Lancer which had been lovingly cared for by him for years, seeing as by trade he was a car mechanic. Now, though, the time has come to put this car on the market for the very first time.

A car that has had a very interesting life.

But long before I came to treasure every Sunday at his house, Nonno was conscripted to join the Italian Navy during World War 2. He was a mechanic who decommissioned old ships.

(My nonno Mario Simeoni is the handsome fellow in the middle.)

At that time Italy was run by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini who was hell bent on changing the Italian way of life to be bent to conform to his fascist way of thinking.

Benito Mussolini was a tyrant who lead Italy into an unwinnable war, throwing millions of lives into danger, and casting an entire nation to slaughter, in the process.

He was, of course, an ally of Adolf Hitler- the worst war criminal in history. Responsible for the greatest suffering of any human, he was a maniacal dictator who tore the world apart chasing an insane ideology.

So, when you stop and think about it for a few seconds my Nonno Mario would have shaken hands with someone in the Italian Navy, who shook hands with someone else in the Italian Navy, who shook hands with a leader in the Italian Navy, and so on until, in a roundabout way, they might have shaken Mussolini’s hands, who shook hands with Hitler.

(Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini shaking hands.)

So, through several degrees of separation, it’s fair to say that there is a very visible chain from the 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer, which is for sale right now, to my Nonno to Mussolini to Adolf Hitler.

Hitler, of course, was despised by much of the Western World in the 1930s and 1940s. Winston Churchill famously refused to even meet with Hitler, or any of his representatives.

Upon the collapse of France to the German war machine, he gave a famous speech to the British people proclaiming:

“Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him all Europe may be free, and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands; but if we fail, then the whole world will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: ‘This was their finest hour.’ ”

So, there is no physical link between Hitler and Winston Churchill.

But Winston Churchill’s predecessor as British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, is another story.

Where Churchill defied even talking about the Nazis, Chamberlain tried to use diplomacy to work around Hitler’s dystopian world view, warmly greeting a range of fascists, including both Hitler and Mussolini.

(Adolf Hitler shaking hands with English prime minister Neville Chamberlain.)

(Chamberlain and Mussolini.)

But, strangely, even though they followed each other as Prime Minister, there doesn’t seem to be photographic evidence of Churchill and Chamberlain shaking hands. However, being staunch British monarchists they both spent a lot of time with King George V.

(King George V with Neville Chamberlain outside 10 Downing Street.)

(Winston Churchill pays honour to King George V.)

So, at this point, we have a trail from the 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer which you can buy, to my nonno, to Mussolini, to Hitler, to Neville Chamberlain, to King George V, and to Winston Churchill.

Now, here’s where things start to get interesting.

Hitler’s two greatest opponents were Josef Stalin and Winston Churchill. At the end of the Second World War, the Potsdam Conference was held, in Postdam, Germany, and the three great war time leaders of Churchill, Stalin, and their American counterpart Harry S Truman, met to negotiate terms to finish the War.

(Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Josef Stalin.)

This Conference is one of the most important meetings of world leaders in history… and it also opens up a whole new range of American possibilities to who, through multiple degrees of separation, may have kinda-sorta-in-a-roundabout way touched my Nonno’s 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer, which is currently for sale.

(John F Kennedy and Harry Truman.)

(John F Kennedy shaking hands with Richard Nixon.)

The United States of America, as we all know, is the land of the brave and the free. It is also home to some of the greatest entertainers in history.

Some say the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen is Elvis Presley. Well, at one stage it was rumoured that Elvis worked for the American government as a spy. This rumour springs from the time Elvis met with Richard Nixon in 1970 for no apparent reason.

(Richard Nixon shakes hands with Elvis Presley in the Oval Office)

Elvis, of course was married to Priscilla, and together they had Lisa Marie Presley.

(Elvis and his daughter Lisa Marie Presley)

And who did Lisa Marie Presley marry? None other than King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.

(Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley on stage together)

So you can see that the 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer that you can buy right now, may potentially have come into contact with the two greatest entertainers of all time- Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.

Oh, and Muhammad Ali.

(Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali face off)

So, next time you shake hands with someone, think about all the connections that may spring from your meeting.

Because when you stop and think about each encounter as it happens, you might just see the world in a fresh light. After all, not much separates us from everybody in history.

And, if you’re on the lookout for a 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer that has a mighty fine engine, then make an offer.

Homepage for the Homeless.

A simple way to help some of the 1 in 200 Australians who are homeless in Australia, simply by changing your homepage.

How is this possible?

It’s simple, just click through to any of the participating sites from Homepage for the Homeless, and up to 15% of everything you buy will be donated by the store, to the homeless, at no extra cost to you. It’s that easy.

Major retailers include Apple, Amazon, wotif, The Iconic, Eastbay, and more.

AFL Brand TVC- There's nothing like it.

I love footy. After my family, it's my biggest love. So, getting the chance to make ads for the AFL is like a dream come true. This campaign showcases people from around the world being shown the game for the first time to prove once and for all that our game, Australia’s game, is truly an extraordinary sport, unlike anything else in the world.