SICKDOGWOLFMAN taps James Wills as creative director

SICKDOGWOLFMAN has appointed award-winning creative director James Wills, following a strong 12 months for the Melbourne independent agency.

The appointment comes after the agency added new clients across comms and design, and marks its second senior leadership hire in recent months.

Wills joins with 20 years of experience and has won at Cannes, D&AD, One Show, LIA, Spikes, Clio and AWARD.

Wills most recently led the Defence Force Recruitment account at VML, winning a Gold Effie in 2025.

He is also a member of RMIT University’s Advertising Industry Advisory Council, an AdSchool lecturer, and helped re-imagine the MADC after COVID as co-vice president.

Jess Wheeler on the appointment

Jess Wheeler, creative director at SICKDOGWOLFMAN, said he had previously worked with Wills at VML.

“I spent some time working with James at VML, and it was the first time I’ve ever walked into a building and felt simultaneously self-conscious about the size of my beard, heaviness of my Spotify playlist, and quality of my work.

“It’s terrifying to now consider that as a state of permanence, but I’m nonetheless excited.

“We spent three hours arguing over which piece of hunting vernacular to use to announce James.

“It ended in a stalemate, so we just went with all of them.”

James Wills on joining SICKDOGWOLFMAN

Wills said he had long admired the agency’s work.

“They live and breathe the complex art of simplicity. The work has personality and a point of view, and it’s helping their clients get noticed," Wills said.

“I can’t wait to contribute to their momentum and add some doom-metal bangers to the agency algorithm.”

Building on 2025 momentum

SICKDOGWOLFMAN’s run follows a 2025 in which the agency launched its own brand, SLATHER SPF, which won a Clio for its first piece of work.

Wills’ appointment follows the October hire of Laura Agricola-Moss as strategy director.

Top image: James Wills

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