The G/Jems' 24 carat creativity

The G/Jems, aka Gémina Gil Flores [above left] and Jemma Burgess [above right], are a creative duo at McCann London who share many things - a name, a creative vision, a love of office yoga – but not a way of thinking. 

That disparity stems not only from their different cultures and backgrounds - Flores is an art director, French national and former graphic designer who’s worked in Canada and the UK; Burgess is a British copywriter and drama school graduate – but from the physical wiring of their brains.

It’s these neuro-differences which drive their “practically perfect” pairing, producing purpose-driven work that unapologetically reframes the narrative.

While Flores is neurotypical, Burgess has dyslexia and ADHD. And it’s these neuro-differences which drive their “practically perfect” pairing, producing purpose-driven work that unapologetically reframes the narrative – be that women’s football (Sky Sport Keep Up), the disabled gaming community (Xbox Adaptive Joystick) or ovarian cancer (Twitter #FollowedByCancer). 

Above: Gémina Gil Flores' and Jemma Burgess' [aka The G/Jems] work for Xbox.

They’ve also garnered a fair few awards, spanning D&AD New Blood to Creative Circle’s Most Promising Creative Team Finalists, and taken the G/Jems brand to the next level by launching their own range of baseball caps (available to purchase on Etsy). Although Burgess, in time-honoured ADHD style, has already lost hers…

Currently making waves at McCann, where they were recently part of the winning pitch for Peroni’s global account, the G/Jems have a brand backstory to match any of their clients’. Meeting at London’s School of Communication Arts as wet-behind-the-ears students (uncut gems, if you will) they were “forced” into a partnership by a visionary teacher - purely, remembers Burgess, “because we share the same name, and it would be really good branding.”

They were “forced” into a partnership by a visionary teacher - purely, remembers Burgess, “because we share the same name, and it would be really good branding.”

Although “it wasn’t the most obvious match”, says Flores, her first impressions were good. Likewise, says Burgess: “Gem was very fierce, she knew what she wanted… and like all of the Frenchies in the year, she came from a graphic design background, so was really good at art directing.” The partnership got off to a flying start with placements at Quiet Storm and TBWA, and when the latter turned into a permanent job offer, their brand was born: first as the Absolute Gems, then, coinciding with their move to McCann, its current (trademarked) iteration, the G/Jems. “The branding has evolved with us, but it goes to show our teacher was absolutely right,” says Burgess.

Above: If the cap fits... The G/Gems have their own line of baseball caps, available to buy on Etsy. 

That visionary teacher also correctly allocated their creative roles. Having been diagnosed as dyslexic (itself a form of neurodiversity) at school, Burgess initially baulked at being the copywriter in the duo, despite discovering a love of words at drama school. Flores admits that she, too, was nervous about the optics of a dyslexic copywriter to potential employers. Now, she sees Burgess’ dyslexia as “just like writing a song as you hear it. It doesn’t impact Jem’s ability to write. Plus, it shows her resilience, as she has had to work so much harder to get here.”

“Getting that diagnosis was such a clusterfuck of emotions, but it was also euphoric to come out of it and know what was going on with my mind.”

Around three years ago, as neurodiversity awareness gained traction on social media, Burgess started suspecting ADHD in addition to her dyslexia. “I watched a few videos of people opening up about their experiences and thought, gosh, that really sounds like me,” she remembers. “Getting that diagnosis was such a clusterfuck of emotions, but it was also euphoric to come out of it and know what was going on with my mind.”

The diagnosis has also given her clarity on why some aspects of the job attract and energise her, and others potentially drain and deplete. “It’s a great industry to be in as someone who’s neurodiverse, because there’s so much opportunity for creativity, play, optimism and passion – fuelling that creative fire,” she says. “The struggle is, it’s still a business, so you can often find yourself in corporate spaces which lack a lot of the dopamine [people with ADHD] need.” Burnout – and how quickly neurodivergent people get to that point - is another challenge that neurotypical folk find it hard to understand or empathise with.

Above: An early success for Gil Flores and Burgess was their social media work for Twitter's [now X] #FollowedbyCancer campaign.

One particular ADHD trait that has helped build the G/Jems’ reputation for purpose-driven work is a strong sensitivity to social injustice. “It’s the sort [of sensitivity] you feel deep in your bones - hard to explain, but you do get very passionate about it,” explains Burgess. 

Early success stories like #FollowedbyCancer, a pro bono campaign that cleverly highlighted the often-ignored symptoms of ovarian cancer for Twitter’s #PoweredByTweets awards, have paved the way for more ambitious campaigns, such as their recent film for Xbox’s new adaptive joystick, which sought to refresh perspectives around inclusivity by celebrating the diverse ways gamers with disabilities not only play, but thrive. This was no pity party; rather, an unapologetically positive acknowledgment that disability is no bar to being bloody good at gaming.

One particular ADHD trait that has helped build the G/Jems’ reputation for purpose-driven work is a strong sensitivity to social injustice. 

In a similar vein, Keep Up, for Sky Sports, took another established narrative around women’s football – the comparisons that are made with men’s football, and being ‘just as good as the boys, if not better’ – and turned it into an anthemic celebration of the game’s own unique culture, featuring influencers from the music and sport worlds, and brilliantly soundtracked by a remix of Stormzy’s iconic track, Shut Up. 

“Comparison was not an interesting point of view on that topic,” explains Flores. “Instead, we just wanted to be bold and proud of [women’s] skills. The idea was: keep up with us, because we’re going on this journey, so you either come with us, or you miss out on something big."

Above: The G/Gem's work for Sky Sports, promoting women's football. 

This ethos also seeps into work that is less obviously purposeful, such as McVitie’s Britain’s Got Talent idents, where the pair had to fight hard to achieve diverse casting that authentically reflected UK society. But, as Flores points out, “We never advertise ourselves [as purpose-driven] or specifically request those types of briefs, it’s happened quite naturally. Because of our cultural and neuro differences, we naturally have a point of view that is a bit different on those sorts of topics.”   

Making this sort of work wouldn’t be possible without a shared vision, ambition and direction but, character-wise, the pair are a study in contrasts. Flores is very much a details person; “I’m an annoying perfectionist, making sure things are done on time and that we make it to meetings”. Whereas Burgess is all about the big picture “and how we can get there through an injection of fun.” 

Making this sort of work wouldn’t be possible without a shared vision, ambition and direction but, character-wise, the pair are a study in contrasts.

While those differences caused some friction in the early days, with accusations of micromanagement on one’s part and flakiness on the other’s, they’ve since found a balance. The key (unsurprisingly, given the industry they’re in) has been communication.

“Gem will check in on me regularly to make sure I’m doing what I need to be doing, which can be annoying for someone with ADHD, but is really good to keep me focused and on track,” explains Burgess. “We’re very good at communicating when we need to do things. We are super-open, and we don’t struggle with difficult conversations,” agrees Flores.

Above: The G/Gems worked on sponsorship idents for McVitie's sponsorship of Britain's Got Talent.