Scott Nowell, co-founder of creative super shop, The Monkeys, has returned to agency life in the newly created BMF role of creative chair. The role replaces the chief creative officer position that Stephen de Wolf vacated last year to return to Clemenger BBDO. He will work alongside executive creative directors, David Fraser and Tom Hoskins, and chief strategy officer, Christina Aventi.

Nowell co-founded The Monkeys in 2004 with Mark Green and Justin Drape. As chief creative officer, Nowell led the agency’s creative work for Telstra, Qantas, NRMA and MLA. The trio sold the agency to Accenture in 2017 for AU$63 million, and Nowell continued to oversee

globally awarded work such as the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning Play It Safe for the Sydney Opera House and The Government of Tuvalu’s First Digital Nation. The Monkeys became Droga5 in 2024.

BMF has won the Most Effective Agency of the Year at the Australian Effies for the last two years, making ALDI Effective Advertiser of the Year two years in a row also. But it hasn’t been all good news for BMF lately. The Aldi account is currently being pitched and BMF lost Westpac last week after just over one year.

Cover image l-r: Scott Nowell, Christina Aventi & BMF CEO Stephen McArdle