Media as a strategic weapon.

Here's an example of using media as a strategic weapon that Gareth Kay used during his session at the Adcenter's Advanced Management Training for Creative Directors program. I really like it. Simple and powerful at the same time.

Screw up

I saw this caption for a picture on an Asian American newspaper I picked up in DC.

Kinda awesome screw up.... Guess the editor thought that Whatisname must have been Japanese or something.

Hug me please.

I was really bummed during a recent trip to NYC because I was going to miss Amma . While the odds of breaking through the crowds to get a hug from her were really slim, I read that she does make the extra effort to give everyone a hug and I know that I definitely needed one following a bad interview.

That’s the funny thing about hugs. No matter who offers it, you always end up with a smile. It is a personal moment – one where an individual offers love and concern to another and says, “hey, I care.”

Which brings me to this story I saw on ABC. It involves the free hugs movement.

For those of you who already know about this, I apologize for old news. But isn’t it amazing that complete strangers offer hugs to you on the street. If you can get over hugging a stranger, then imagine what a surprising pick me up it can be after a long day of discussing ROI on a wild posting.

Even better, why don’t brands offer free hugs? Forget about ROI, tracking studies, and what-have-you, and think about a genuine offering of love. “It doesn’t matter that you buy our soap, here’s just a hug we wanted to give you,” says a brand. Imagine that.

It obviously isn’t a literal hug that brands give but more of the little things that you can do for an individual that doesn’t ask for anything in return, A free wash and blow even though you don’t buy our shampoo. A free cookie even if you don’t buy our coffee. A free oil change even though you didn’t buy our car… because it’s not customers who matter, but people. People matter.

So instead of creating great and lavish communication pieces, why don’t we offer hugs? Even if it’s not an entire campaign, it can be so much more relevant, but more importantly meaningful to people... especially if you approach them at that right time.

MIA

Hello there.
It's been a while and I apologize.

During my absence, I ...

wrapped up Yahoo!

bid farewell to my last class of students.

graduated!

said goodbye to my apartment and Richmond.

went to Boston.

then to NYC.

and on to Seattle.

before one more trip to the big apple.

Now I am in Salem VA spending time with my family. My personal favorite activities include listening to my mom's futile attempts at barbequing ribs, spending hours practicing my tennis serve on empty courts, and breathing clean country air. Sorta.

But if anyone is offering a planning job, I would love to talk.

Or if the Food Network is reading this, call me! I will gladly change my career path to be a food taster. Ok, and perform some trend studies for you too.

Quote 1

"Mistakes are the portals to discovery."

James Joyce

Tang dance

I was informed by a classmate that a viral video we created for Tang a year ago is now back on Youtube so here it is.

It doesn't make sense... well not too much BUT If anything, it's worth at least a chuckle. Ok half chuckle.

I am the dude holding the "boom mic."

BBH & Vaseline

Earlier this semester I worked on Heinz Ketchup. I struggled. It was hard to develop a new, exciting, compelling, and interesting direction for it. CPGs continue to stump me.

My team and I kept trying to create something that hit a nerve on a deeper level but often we got lost ourselves along the way. No matter what, it's still ketchup that we're talking about here.

In the end though, we did ok.

The point of this long intro is to set up an amazing TV Spot by BBH New York for Vaseline.

The strategy was so simple, clear and concise. The ad featured good and useful information.

But above all, it took information about the skin, which to some might seem mundane, and turned it into a most beautiful piece of storytelling.



I guess my takeaway is that perhaps I should have stuck with the original strategy. While seemingly dry in the beginning, it offered a clear and concise proposition that the creative team could have taken to a beautiful place had I not backed down.

Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.