Mikhail Rakov

Hi! I’m a London-based Creative Director, Creator, Copywriter, and Storyteller with over 10 years of experience crafting brand communications at the intersection of art and drama. I lead projects from initial concept through to final execution. Over the past 12 years, I have directed various cross-functional creative teams and developed dozens of award-winning advertising campaigns, branding, and design projects.

My core responsibilities include:

• Leading creative work on projects for global clients;
• Acting as a team leader and strategic facilitator;
• Developing campaign ideas, creative concepts, and compelling stories;
• Building and optimizing creative workflows and processes;
• Managing cross-functional creative teams (copy & art);
• Inspiring and mentoring young creative talent;
• Collaborating closely with account teams to ensure campaigns meet client objectives, deadlines, and budgets;
• Overseeing campaigns from pre-production to completion, including director’s bidding, storyboarding, casting, location scouting, mise-en-scène, video editing, CG, and sound design;
• Presenting and overseeing the presentation of final concepts to C-level clients.

I have launched high-impact campaigns for MasterCard, T-Systems, UniCredit Bank, DHL, Auchan, Scania, Mitch & Me, Orange, and dozens of other global companies.

My work has been recognized at major international festivals, earning prestigious awards including Cannes Lions (1x Silver, 1x Bronze, 1x Shortlist), Epica Awards (2x Bronze for Copywriting & Storytelling), PHNX, Red Dot Awards, ADCR, KIAF, Red Apple, White Square, SREDA, and over 100 other industry accolades.

Awards

Cannes Lions 2023 — 1xBronze (Radio&Audio), 1xShortlist (Radio&Audio)

Cannes Lions 2017 — 1xSilver (Design&Craft)

Epica Awards, RedDot, Lürzer's Archive, Kiev International Ads Festival, ADCR, White Square, Red Apple, Idea, PHNX, Sreda Desing Festival, (100+ others)

Clients

MasterCard, T-Systems, UniCredit Bank, Burger King, Carl's Jr., Coca Cola, DHL, Auchan, Scania, Orange, Rostelecom, Tecno, Volvo, Avionero, Ocean, Megafon, etc.

What I do

Creative Direction

Copywriting

Art Direction

Screenwriting (Drama)

Brand Strategy

Creative management

Education

2009 − 2013 | Saint Petersburg State University (Bachelor's and Master’s degree in the field of Journalism)

2004 — 2010 | Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Art (Bachelor's and Master’s degree in the field of Arts, Graduated with High Honor)

2019 — 2020 | Mads Advertising School (Concepting)

1999 — 2004 | Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (Bachelor of Architecture)

Work Experience

Judging

Audio & Radio > Public Interest | Following the onset of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Russian journalists, officials, diplomats, and even the President himself have been threatening to use nuclear weapons against Kyiv, Washington, London, Warsaw, Berlin, and other global capitals on a daily basis. In the last year alone, at least 218 such threats were recorded. Against this backdrop, our main objective was to show the public that when the authorities threaten to launch nuclear strikes on other countries, they are ultimately threatening the Russian people themselves.

This historic campaign went on to win the first-ever Cannes Lion for Armenia (2023).

Role: Creative Director / Film Director / Copywriter

Branding & Packaging for Ocean brand | To vividly demonstrate the absolute freshness of the product, we decided to show that the consumer is buying almost live fish. This strategic creative repositioning successfully transformed a niche regional brand into a cult favorite, directly driving a 300% increase in company revenue within two years. Furthermore, this groundbreaking packaging design went on to win a Silver Cannes Lion in Design Craft, making history as the first-ever Silver Cannes Lion for Saint Petersburg.

Digital | Following the enforcement of pandemic quarantines, all theaters across Russia were forced to shut their doors, canceling their upcoming plays and highly anticipated premieres. Instead of calling off their latest production, the "Masterskaya" theater defiantly decided to stage it online, no matter the obstacles. This clever tactical move allowed the campaign to go completely viral, organically reaching nearly 3 million people with absolutely ZERO media budget.

Print & Outdoor | An advertising campaign created for the Moscow International Short Film Festival (Short Shot Fest). Specially for this project, I penned a series of short, unexpected stories in a mini-saga style, formatting them to look like authentic movie screenplays. This work became historically significant for the global Russian-speaking creative community, marking the first time Russian copywriting was honored with a major global award, securing two Bronze trophies at the Epica Awards.

TV Commercial | For the dog care brand Mitch & Me, we first developed a global Big Idea and brand manifesto: if dogs don’t need a reason to love humans—they just do—humans always demand a reason to love. Therefore, our creative manifesto was built around giving people as many reasons as possible to love dogs. As part of this overarching strategy, we created a poignant campaign paying tribute to all the animals that have suffered in the name of science. While we cannot change the past or save those animals, we can remind the world of those to whom humanity owes its greatest achievements.

Role: Film Director / Creative Director / Copywriter

Digital & Guerrilla | When our advertising agency was searching for a Russian-speaking art director capable of crafting world-class packaging, we lacked the budget for traditional, large-scale advertising. To solve this, we launched a clever guerrilla tactical campaign. (made by Jekyll & Hyde agency).

Digital & Guerrilla | A high-impact CGI promotional campaign created for TECNO, a global smartphone and electronics brand, executed as a key component of their comprehensive global rebranding.

OOH | An advertising campaign for UniCredit Bank and Mastercard launched to introduce their premium Work & Travel business card. This campaign was executed as a key component of UniCredit’s comprehensive new global creative digital strategy, designed to showcase how the card seamlessly turns everyday business expenses into valuable travel miles.

Branding & Communication & Packaging for Mitch & Me | For each new edition of its dog shampoos, Mitch & Me features only amateur photos of real consumers sourced directly from its Instagram community. With every new release, the labels showcase fresh faces, completely regardless of the dogs' pedigree or the lack of professional photography. It is a continuous, living brand asset. And so it goes, again and again. And again. And again.

Digital & Print | This Halloween, dog shampoo brand Mitch & Me wanted to highlight the real advantage of owning a formidable, large black adult "bully" breed dog. If you have one, you are incredibly lucky, because absolutely nothing and no one can scare you anymore. Even in a year like 2020.

Advertising Campaign for Mitch & Me | Mitch & Me is a dog care brand that features amateur photos of real consumers from its Instagram community on every product edition. For this limited-generation Valentine’s Day packaging, we highlighted the chaotic side of affection, showcasing dogs "loving" everything they can get their paws on—from your leg and a Pippi Longstocking doll to a car tire. Naturally, all photos are completely unposed and belong to real customers.

Advertising Campaign for Jekyll & Hyde | Did you know that back in the 1970s, people were exposed to about 500 advertisements every day? By 2005, this number had skyrocketed to 5,000, which already felt like complete overkill. Today, according to Forbes, we are bombarded by more than 10,000 ads daily, and that number continues to grow every single day.

Packaging & Naming | The core of this concept relies on strategic naming and a clever play on words. We shortened the product’s name down to the single letter "Й", which phonetically sounds exactly like the word for "caviar" in Russian.

OOH & Press | An advertising campaign created for Avionero, a Swedish online flight search service. The objective of the campaign was to prompt audiences to start planning and booking their upcoming summer vacations. (made by Jekyll & Hyde agency).

Packaging Design for Kids' Sausages | The core concept is instantly recognizable and delightfully intuitive: the sausages themselves look exactly like long balloons that clowns twist into various animals.

Advertising Campaign for Nictech | Nictech Trotyl is a tobacco-free alternative with an extremely high nicotine content. The creative concept stems from a famous Russian proverb: "A single drop of nicotine can kill a horse and blow a hamster to pieces."

April Fools' Day Campaign | 2019 | A tactical brand prank created for April Fools' Day. (made by Jekyll & Hyde agency).