2016: After the tragic death of his first newborn son Theodore, creative director Alex Sabour decided to leave the agency he was employed at to pursue other ambitions. The need to have a company to still work on to do freelance projects led to the birth of the Gorilla Media, and in mid-December the company was registered.
2017: A few months later, Alex approached a small 2-man production company called "CustomFellas", consisting of film director Sasan Askari and producer Lelo Shalby to collaborate on what would become one of the biggest Danish viral videos of all time: "#IAmDanish". The meteoric success of "#IamDanish" led to a string of award winning social good campaigns including "Face Your Brother", "Face Your Sister" and the controversial series "#BlandDig" with Danish media outlet Ekstra Bladet. A partnership was formed and the 2 companies merged.
2018: Good fortune was cut short when Alex (now CEO and creative director) lost his second son Adam. Despite the challenges Alex and Gorilla were facing, the team still managed to design and execute the largest global anti-revenge porn campaign entitled "#AskFirst" for Danish Women's Society, as well as continue to win more awards. The company even secured a small angel investment and opened a physical office.
2019: The company continued to grow and production ramped up. During this period the team started working with various Danish political parties during the national elections and was credited with taking down the far right party movement "Hard Line" (Dk- Stram Kurs) hindering them to get the votes they needed to get into parliament by launching the campaign "Brother's Keeper" a week before the election.
2020: Lelo Shalby became CEO, but his momentum was cut short as the global Covid-19 crisis forced the entire country into lockdown. The company found itself in a strange position as it fell in a grey zone in regards to corona compensation. This combined with disagreements with the investors, and delays in payments from key accounts forced the company to close their doors. Alex formally left in November and ultimately the partners decided to sell their shares and walk away in December. Not one to go down easy, 2020 still saw the launch of the most successful and ambitious Gorilla Media ApS campaigns to date.
2021: After the formal closing of Gorilla Media ApS, a new Gorilla crawled up from the ashes: Gorilla Agency LLC. This time headed by former parter Sasan Askari and creative director Amalie Bech. Sasan established the company in the United States with a whole new team, new site, new logo, new colors, and a new business model. The team is currently planning the opening of the new Gorilla Agency HQ in Los Angeles as well as a hub in NYC.
To prove that advertising can make the world a better place.
We want to create advertising for our clients that bridge the gap between profit and purpose to help facilitate positive change while still being profitable.
Creativity: we believe that the budget of a campaign should never dictate the quality of the ideas that are pitched. Creativity doesn’t require a budget. Great ideas are always great, and great ideas demand attention from the world - and they will not be ignored.
Integrity: we conduct our business in accordance with the highest standards of professional behaviour and ethics. Our business is built on sustainable relationships, and founded on trust.
Performance: We intend to be an industry leader wherever we compete. We are committed to excellence and quality. Our people are empowered to exercise initiative and are accountable for their results.
Courage: We are bold. Our ideas are bold. We take initiative and entertain the controversial ideas. We are not afraid of and will not be deterred by the fear of negative reactions. We learn from our mistakes and perceive them as opportunities.
