Cleve's work is an author, designer, media pioneer, recording artist, entrepreneur and ad man.
His first job was at one of the top advertising agencies on the planet – Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington; and Australia’s agency of the decade, BMF. Cleve’s created global campaigns for the likes of Coca-Cola and Ford, and built many successful brand platforms for clients in Australia and New Zealand, while collecting numerous international advertising awards along the way, including golds at Cannes, New York Festivals, Effies, Caples, Mobius with other trophies at Webby’s, DandAD, AWARD, Pent, Best and more.
At 24 he wrote a manifesto to ‘slit the glug’ of modern media and formed an art group called Spungo to create new ways to reach audiences. Pioneering new forms of media, Spungo ran a roving radio station, an alternative mail system, and became notorious for their daring public happenings – creating flash-mobs, pop-up shops and integrated campaigns before the terms had entered the marketing lexicon.
From 2012-2016, Cleve was Executive Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson in New Zealand. In 2016 Cleve released the album 'Primal-Digital', famously in the back of a taxi, in Auckland.
Cleve is also the creator of Beop, the band from another dimension. Beop’s creative footprint ranges from a novel, to award winning songs, fashion, and new musical technologies.