Shock Australians out of vaccine hesitancy, urges Grim Reaper mastermind Siimon Reynolds

Tim Burrowes

June 30, 2021 3:38

The man credited with creating Australia’s most powerful public health campaign of all time has urged a “hardcore” message to overcome COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Siimon Reynolds became a household name as the creative behind the 1987 ‘Grim Reaper’ advertising campaign which warned the public of the growing threat of HIV and AIDS. He later went on to co-found Photon Group, which is now Enero (which owns BMF, the agency responsible for the Federal Government’s vaccine campaign). He recently returned to Australia after several years in the US.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.