Bernie Watt is a conceptual copywriter and content creator from Brisbane, Australia. He has lived and worked in New York for the last ten years and became an American citizen in 2022. He’s been a musician, a travel writer, a salesman, a dishwasher—and now, a dad to a toddler.
For over ten years Bernie has been working in ad agencies delivering ideas and copy that makes people laugh, cry, or read to avoid eye contact on the subway. Along the way he’s been recognized at award shows including the Cannes Lions, Gerrety Awards, New York Festivals, Spikes and the Webbys. He’s worked at FCB, Y&R, Geometry, Iris Worldwide, Gyro, Oliver and a selection of small indie shops in Australia.
Brand Experience
Alcohol: Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Michelob Ultra, Smirnoff, Miller Genuine Draft, South Pacific Breweries
CPG: Coppertone, Durex, Clearasil, Rid-X, Finish, Enfamil, Neuriva, Airborne, Mega Red, Good Humor/Walls Ice Cream, Breyers Ice Cream, Rimmel London, AirWick, Maty’s
Fashion: Adidas, Reebok
Finance: AMEX, Mackenzie, Manulife Bank and Insurance (Canada), Suncorp Bank and Insurance (Australia)
Health: Florida Blue, GuideWell, Emblem Health, AdvantageCare Physicians, Johnson & Johnson
Hospitality/Travel: Hilton, Marriott International, Sheraton, Renaissance Hotels, Residence Inn, Westin, Swoop Air
Lotteries: OZ Lotto, Golden Casket, Instant Scratch-Its (Australia)
Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, St. Regis, Johnnie Walker Blue
Tech: Samsung, Philips, Sony Pictures
360 degree creative advertising copywriting (print/TV/radio/social/digital/experiential), WordPress, branded content, concept development, brand manifestos, corporate video scripts, blog posts, social and SEO, long copy, video editing
Beyond advertising, Bernie produces travel-related content for wattwherehow.com a website that inspires wanderlust and adventures off the beaten track. With over 20k followers, what is a creative outlet is gaining traction as a valued resource. He has also served as a ghostwriter for an internationally published guide to New York.
Silver Lion – Live Brand Experience or Activation
Bronze Lion – Live Entertainment
Shortlist – Cross-Platform Digital Experience
Shortlist – Innovation in Branded Content
Shortlist – Data-Enhanced Creativity
Shortlist – Ambient Media: small scale
Silver – B2B
Nominee – Microsite
Shortlist
Highly Commended
Shortlist
Finalist
Bronze
Before he discovered advertising, Bernie was a classical musician moonlighting in a punk band and selling recording gear. He toured Australia, sometimes on viola (a morbidly obese violin) or bass guitar and has three CD releases from the days when CDs were a thing. One even has a secret track.
Nikon D750 DSLR (with 28-70, 50mm F1.4, 90mm F2.8, 30mm 1.4 lenses), DJI Pocket2 Gimbal, GoPro Hero 7 Black, Tascam 4 channel field recorder, Rode Videomic Pro, Rode Video Micro, Rode NT3 vocal microphone + stands, Nikon Keymission 360 4K video camera, Adobe Creative Suite.