just and ad?

It wasn't the first time I had gotten lost in time scrolling through and watching Nike ads. If you know me at all... you know I am a tad bit OBSESSED with NIKE!!! Nike everything.

This time I was viewing all of the "Find Your Greatness" videos when I began to watch the "Jogger." Within seconds I was frozen. Sucked in. Grasping on to every word.

At the end of that minute and three seconds I wiped away the tears that had fallen down my face and smiled.

That kid was me. I didn't start running. On the journey to find my greatness I took many (many) steps and those steps often looked like walking... or shuffling. I found my greatness, not someone else's. It has it's own look and the steps to get there were all their own. And that journey continues every day.

I just hope that somewhere on this journey I have the opportunity to work for/with Nike. This "brand" has been such a positive influence in my life and on my journey that I want to be a part of that for others. At the end of this... "ad," I was clearly touched by how accurately it had captured a piece of me but what I was really thinking was, "That's what I want to do." I want to be a part of changing people's lives. I want to create something that encourages, motivates and inspires others to live their best lives!

The advertising/marketing world is flooded with crap. It can be very discouraging. But, there are some gems and this is what I want to do. This is what I want to be a part of. An ad that is more than an ad.

Pink Ponies: A Case Study

Found this amazing video on Citizen Brand, a blog by Mike Swenson, the Founder & President of Barkley PR/Cause at Barkley. I started following Mike on twitter and then his blog because I am impressed with and inspired by his drive for Cause Marketing and using advertising/marketing to put some "Good" out in the world.

When I saw this video on his blog I had to share it because anyone working in the "Advertising/Marketing/Communications" world understands how difficult it can sometimes be to answer that question we always get, "So, what exactly do you do?" Well, from now on just share this video and it pretty much explains it all.


Pink Ponies: A Case Study

SAY WHAT? Ads you have to see to believe

How the times have changed. You have to see these real ads that had their day in the sun, but now wouldn't make it past the cutting room floor... if that.

Kind of crazy, but very funny to take a look back at these ads. But to be honest with you I think I would prefer these ads running than some of the absolutely vulgar ones that are out there now. A lot of the ads out there are closer to soft-core porn than they are to advertising/marketing, and I think it's disgusting. I was going to ad pictures of some of these ads to prove my point but I think you know what I'm talking about and I don't want to have those images on my site. Click here to read about the new Calvin Klein Jeans commercial "that is so racy it has already been banned from even late-night cable TV here in the States. This being the same company that back in the day over sexualized a young Brooke Shields.

Just some food for thought.

SU2C: Change The Odds PSA

Great design for an even better cause.

I first heard of the Stand Up 2 Cancer benefit from the following Ellen Degeneres on twitter and she had tweeted the video below:



I've always had a heart for others and have tried to be active in the community and give what I can to help. But, I would definitely say that since graduating college and moving back home I have thought a lot more about the impact I want to have on society, what I want my legacy to be. Seeing this PSA was a reminder of the mortality of all of us and at the same time creating a way for us to join together and help one another. I was able to tune in on September 10th and hear more about what SU2C has been able to do with the funds raised so far and donate myself. It feels good to contribute to such a worthy cause. I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't been affected by cancer or knows someone who has.

As a designer I also took notice of the design elements that I think really help draw attention to the cause. Too many times non-profits either look over the importance of a well designed brand or don't feel they can afford it. Whatever the reason these organizations suffer because branding a non-profit is just as important as branding any other business. I think that Stand Up 2 Cancer did a great job and the PSA I saw also did a great job in catching my attention. It really hit home with talking about my generation.

Check out the website at https://www.standup2cancer.org/Default.aspx

Re-Interpretation

A couple weeks ago I was meeting with a friend of mine (who has a growing photography business) to talk about doing some design work for her. She was showing me some stuff that she likes, which helped give me an idea of what she likes, her style sense, and the kinds of things she takes in as visual inspiration. Clearly, this isn't about taking these things and duplicating them exactly but rather filtering them all through and taking them as an inspiration to take off from. She shared with me how a lot of times people will bring with them pictures they have found and say "I want this," and she was curious as to how I deal with that kind of a request. I thought this spurred an interesting conversation on "Originality."

We all want to be the first, the trend setter, the trail blazer, and I think we can be, but I also think that whether directly or indirectly we are inspired by everything around us. Taking things in all the time, even when we may be unaware of it. So, when it comes to people seeking out inspiration for a project I don't think it makes them any less creative. The creativity comes in re-interpretation. So, if someone was to come to me and say I want this exact thing duplicated, my job as a creative problem solver isn't to march of and do it. My job is to "listen" to what they are really saying and ask the "right" questions, to figure out what it is they really want. For example someone brings you an image with a lot of polka-dots and says, "I want this." Instead of giving them exactly that, maybe what their saying is that they want a youthful or playful look or they want to incorporate a lot of color. Dig deeper and find the creativity to re-interpret.

As creatives maybe there are those ideas that come out of thin air, but honestly I think it all stems from something. An inventory of you life (the things you've seen, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted) being pulled from whether conscious or not.

So, here is a commercial for the Samsung 3D LED TV that I absolutely love and continue to watch over and over. When I saw this for the first time I immediately thought of all those 3D chalk drawing I've seen posted on the web over the year. Makes me wonder how direct the reference was supposed to be or really is. When I see these kinds of great commercials I just wish I could have been in all those meetings from inception to completion to hear the train of thought these people had.