• SELECTED WORK
  • ABOUT
  • AWARDS
  • PRESS
Sam Shepherd
  • SELECTED WORK
  • ABOUT
  • AWARDS
  • PRESS

THE LOST CLASS

2 x D&AD Black Pencil Winner

Titanium Cannes Lion

EMMY Nomination

Idea of the Year - OneShow, ACD, Clios, WARC, The Drum

11 x Grand Prix

52 x Gold

Firearms are the leading cause of death for kids in America. This year, 3,044 members of the high school class of 2021 didn’t graduate because they were killed by a gun.

So we held a graduation ceremony for this Lost Class and invited David Keene, former NRA President, and John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, to deliver the commencement speech.

While they thought they were attending a dress rehearsal for a real graduation, they were actually speaking to the students who would never get the chance to cross the stage because of the work of these pro-gun activists.

A LIFE IN SOUND

AdAge Music Campaign of the Year

RATBOOT

More views that the Super Bowl.

During the Super Bowl.

For zero dollars.

SIRIUSXM

THE METAL SWEATER

SIRIUSXM

Made with wool from the angriest sheep, knitted with needles made from bone, distressed in a mosh pit and accessorised with the heaviest metals. Getting metal fans closer to the music they love - all year round. Weighing in at 7 kilograms.

Obsession knows no holiday.

WESTWORLD: THE MAZE

CANNES - GRAND PRIX

CANNES - GOLD

ONESHOW - GRAND PRIX

ANDYS - GOLD

We partnered with HBO to debut the network’s first full-scale voice skill with “Westworld: The Maze,” an immersive gaming skill allowing Westworld fans to go on their own quest for consciousness.

This project swept at every major award show, including winning a coveted Grand Prix at Cannes.

HOWARD U

The launch of The Hip-Hop Minor for America’s most prestigious HBCU.

VIMEO

A new identity that challenges design norms through resolution.

THE WORLD'S LONGEST YARD SALE

CANNES - TITANIUM LION

ONESHOW - GOLD

While other spray paint companies talked about rust protection, we launched a campaign showing how you can save money by giving forgotten items a facelift with Krylon spray paint.
This project swept at every major award show, including winning a coveted Titanium Lions at Cannes.

SIRIUSXM

Brand Redesign by Haider Muhdi

4 YEAR OLD'S BUCKET LIST

CANNES - GOLD LION - FILM

To make the point that one in five children die from unsafe drinking water before the age of five, we took a four year old Massai warrior child across Kenya, allowing him to complete his bucket list while we filmed it. 
The project won a Cannes Gold film lion the year it came out, helped us raise money for the charity, and also contributed to tons of volunteer requests in Africa.

THE DRINKABLE BOOK

CANNES - GOLD

TIME MAGAZINE - Best Inventions of 2015

“An estimated 663 million people globally do not have access to clean drinking water, in part because filtration is complicated and expensive. The Drinkable Book is neither: thanks to a special ­treatment, its pages double as water filters, killing over 99% of harmful bacteria." -Time Magazine

GAME OF THRONES

GRAND PRIX - CLIO AWARDS

HASHTAG KILLER

ONESHOW - GOLD

ART DIRECTORS CLUB - GOLD

We turned the popular #FirstWorldProblem meme on its head and used it to create one of the most awarded campaigns of the year. And one of our most successful campaigns in terms of donations to WATERisLIFE.

 

NAKED TRAILS

Confusing laws and prudish cultural biases against nudity make it difficult to navigate which trails are safe for naked hiking.

Luckily, on National Nude Day, Bear Naked Granola is on a mission to blaze America’s first (un)official nude-friendly trail system.

Teaming up with Outside Magazine & GAIA GPS with a first-of-it’s kind partnership, we’re setting out to painstakingly map the country, one naked-friendly-trail at a time.

www.bearnakedtrails.com

DAZN

Tracy Morgan + Tom Kuntz + Explosions

THE OFFLINE PLAYLIST

ANDYs - GOLD

A first-of-its-kind concert that united New Orleans artists on a Spotify playlist with the fans listening to it, live in the city’s most sacred musical space, Preservation Hall. Together, they represent more than 100 million Spotify streams and six Grammy nominations. The Offline Playlist was photographed by Danny Clinch. Commercials and a full length feature film will debut in the new year.

ABSOLUT LOVE BOTTLE

D&AD - Yellow Pencil

In partnership with Absolut, we worked with illustrator Armando Veve to create an eye-catching silhouette of the iconic Absolut bottle that celebrates the brand’s commitment to inclusivity.

POWERADE

CANNES - BRONZE LION

KROGER CHEFBOT

Fast Company - World Changing Ideas

40% of food waste happens at home because we run out of ideas. So we created the first-ever AI-powered home cooking assistant on Twitter to help solve that.

ABSOLUT VODKA

ONESHOW - GOLD

To celebrate the launch of Absolut Grapefruit with no added sugar, we worked with Emmy-winning actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson (a.k.a. Mitchell from “Modern Family”) to prove how refreshing transparency can be with a series of humorous spots that remove the sugarcoated filters from relatable social scenarios.

TRULY HARD SELTZER

ADC - Bronze - Packaging Illustration

Ongoing flavor collaborations that come to life wherever culture does. Truly Originals #1-17 include Alex Trochut, Bang Sangho, Sophy Hollington, Shawna X, Mike Willcox, Rich Tu, Alva Skog, Justyna Stasik, Sean Freeman, La Boca, James Dawe, Max Loeffler, Nikoo Bafti, Armando Veve, Merijn Haas, Jurriaan Haas, Gemma O’Brien, 88-Keys and Double 0.

GAMER THERAPY

For many playing video games with others has been a source of relief and a distraction from the pandemic and the year 2020 in general.

On World Mental Health Day, we launched Gamer Therapy: A platform that pairs gamers with licensed therapists (who are also gamers) to host real therapy sessions while gaming. People can visit the website to sign up for free in-game therapy sessions or support the cause by donating to help make mental health care more accessible. Initial sessions will be held in matches of Rogue Company, a brand new free-to-play third-person shooter.

We brought the idea to life with Skillshot (a community e-sports company), RAD (a mental health non-profit), and Hi-Rez Studios (publishers of Rogue Company).

Learn more at GamerTherapy.live

VOLKSWAGEN

Part of a global DDB Brief, this script was selected as one of 200+ agency submissions. Shot with Harold Einstein, we were able to create a spot that still creeps people out years later. 
The project won for film at Cannes.

ABSOLUT STRAWS

On Earth Day, Absolut became Planet Earth's Favorite Vodka, recommitting itself to sustainability efforts big and small, including going straw-free company-wide.

For the announcement, we created this six-foot-tall piece made of more than 60,000 found plastic straws.

SKINNY POP

Harold Einstein X Puking Squirrels

NEW ORLEANS TOURISM

NEW ORLEANS

The 200-year-old tradition that kicks off Mardi Gras Day

For the past 200 years, Mardi Gras in New Orleans has started the same way: At 5 a.m., The North Side Skull and Bone Gang leaves the Backstreet Cultural Museum and goes door to door, house to house, waking up the neighborhood and spreading a message of peace. As part of our ongoing “Leave with a Story” campaign, we partnered with documentary filmmaker Victoria Rivera to showcase the Gang’s journey – one of many timeless New Orleans traditions.

OREO

The first-ever left-handed pack of OREO cookies

To celebrate International Left-Hander’s Day (August 13th), we partnered with OREO to launch a limited-edition package specifically designed for the 10% of the population who want to open their OREO cookies the “left” way.

CHEEZ-IT

People do weird things for Cheez-Its. They name their pets after them, get them tattooed on their chests, and even sleep with boxes of the cheesy snack. We created a new tagline and launch film that celebrates the world’s aburd love for Cheez-Its and the lengths people will go to get their hands on them.

NEW ORLEANS

Working with legendary photographers to showcase New Orleans' 300 year old character

The “Leave With a Story” campaign used street photography taken in the city of New Orleans between 1949 and 1994. Each photograph, shot by a legendary photographer, is an un-staged glimpse into the story of New Orleans characters and a celebration of the profound and lesser known stories that contribute to New Orleans’ renowned history.

BRAVO

An experiential activation at SXSW lets attendees get in on the con

Heading into Season 2 of Bravo’s scripted series ‘Imposters’ we created an experience at the SXSW Interactive Festival that let attendees pull of a con of their own on Instagram. Three elaborate sets were installed in downtown Austin where guests could have pics taken as they appeared to be living the high life in a luxury yacht, private jet or lavish ice hotel. A second photo zoomed out to reveal the con.”

BMW

KRYLON SPRAY PAINT

 

ONE SHOW - Bronze - Film - Single

ONE SHOW - Bronze - Film - Campaign

PURDY

ART HEIST FOR GOOD

ANDYS Gold

Bronze Cannes Lion

When we were filming our Four Year Old Bucket List project, we noticed JR's massive art installation on the rooftops of Kibera's slums. After that, it only took us two years to convince our agency lawyers that this was a project we needed to make. 

VENMO MICRO HACK

Cannes Silver Lion

Cannes Bronze Lion

Venmo doesn't allow advertising on its platform, but it does allow 2,000 count character descriptions for each payment. We exploited this by turning one-cent payments into 1,000 hyper-targeted ads. 

THE LOST CLASS

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A LIFE IN SOUND

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RATBOOT

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SIRIUSXM

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THE METAL SWEATER

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WESTWORLD: THE MAZE

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HOWARD U

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VIMEO

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THE WORLD'S LONGEST YARD SALE

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SIRIUSXM

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4 YEAR OLD'S BUCKET LIST

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THE DRINKABLE BOOK

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GAME OF THRONES

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HASHTAG KILLER

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NAKED TRAILS

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DAZN

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THE OFFLINE PLAYLIST

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ABSOLUT LOVE BOTTLE

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POWERADE

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KROGER CHEFBOT

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ABSOLUT VODKA

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TRULY HARD SELTZER

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GAMER THERAPY

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VOLKSWAGEN

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ABSOLUT STRAWS

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SKINNY POP

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NEW ORLEANS TOURISM

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NEW ORLEANS

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OREO

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CHEEZ-IT

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NEW ORLEANS

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BRAVO

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BMW

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KRYLON SPRAY PAINT

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PURDY

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ART HEIST FOR GOOD

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VENMO MICRO HACK

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