1999 was an interesting year. People got their news from newspapers, home movies came from a shop called Blockbuster and business search came from a big old book called the Yellow Pages, so you could say it was a different era altogether. The advent of the Millennium was being heralded by a dome that nobody liked, a bug that nobody got, and a Robbie Williams song that nobody could get out of their heads… but change was on the way. We had just witnessed the release of Apple’s sexy new iMac and a few brave brands were starting to explore and embrace the noisy and unpredictable world of dial up internet, in slightly noisy and unpredictable ways.
It was on a trip to New York that Underscore’s Founder Neil Stanhope saw the potential of this brave new world for a different level of brand connection, and so Underscore was formed as a three way agreement between Neil as the Brand Strategist, a talented Bauhaus-trained Designer, and her boyfriend who was a very early internet obsessive and Digital Designer. Supported by a lot of goodwill from clients keen to buy into our ‘audience first’ philosophy, we got very busy, very quickly; and the rest is history as and we now celebrate 20 great years of ideas and innovation in the interest of pushing brands beyond their natural boundaries. We’ve had accolades, awards and a million shared moments with a million great people, and that’s been the best bit as we look back briefly, before looking ahead as we always do.
So thanks to you guys for sharing your ambitions, your talent and your awesome personalities that have made the Underscore journey so great so far. Cheers!