Martin Stirling

After a string of playful and provocative viral hits, Martin Stirling has been hailed as “one of the internet’s most watched directors”. A maverick storyteller his work is often subversive, visually inventive and emotionally compelling. His film for Save The Children, Most Shocking Second a Day Video exploded online with over 25 million views in the first 5 days and won a Cannes Gold Lion. He followed this with the LEGO: Everything Is Not Awesome attack ad, criticizing LEGO’s partnership with Shell. The video made history and global news after LEGO ended it’s 50 year relationship with the oil company. Stirling is an alumni member and associate artist of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and has written and directed plays on London’s West End. His work as an artist has been exhibited in MoMA, Detroit, Los Angeles and London. He has also written a series of short books for children which are currently unpublished.

MOST SHOCKING SECOND A DAY VIDEO
A young girl’s life gets turned upside-down in this tragic second a day video. Commissioned by Save The Children and released on the third anniversary of the conflict in Syria, it amassed over 25 million views in the first 5 days.

LEGO: EVERYTHING IS NOT AWESOME
An anti-advert attacking LEGO’s partnership with Shell led to over 9 million views and global news coverage. The video made history when LEGO announced that it would dump it’s 50 year marketing partner Shell months after the film’s release.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
Acting as Creative Director, Stirling conceived and led this project for legal charity Reprieve – who represent illegally detained people in Guantanamo Bay. Working with Oscar winner Asif Kapadia and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), we highlighted the inhumanity of the standard operating procedures in Guantanamo