Advertising creatives and CCOs Ben Middleton and Stu Outhwaite-Noel first met at Bucks New University around 20 years ago and they’ve been creative partners ever since.

Their first joint venture was at London-based ad agency Mother. After securing full-time positions, the pair worked all hours creating work that aimed to break the rules. In 2005, two years into agency life, one project in particular caught the attention of CR and led to the duo being featured in the Creative Futures scheme.

The project was a campaign for the Observer Music Monthly Magazine. “It was called From Abba to Zappa and featured a Dick Bruna-inspired alphabet of musicians and bands from across the ages,” Middleton and Outhwaite-Noel tell us. “Russian girl duo Tatu aside, we think it still stands up. It’s probably one of the best things we’ve made, and the past 15 years have been spent trying to stay at that standard.”