Have I made it clear enough that I love Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Have I made it clear enough that I love Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
08/31/09

Well, I do.

They have been thought leaders, digital innovators and downright funny people since I was a kid. It wasn’t till I attended a forum with Jeff Goodby and he presented their reel that I realized that they were responsible for almost every ad campaign I have ever been floored by, and that GS&P were probably why I got into the Biz in the first place.

Just take a look for yourself, and you tell me if these ads, nay, experiences have stuck with you.

Anyway, saw these on Ffffound today, thought I’d share.

I love this style of illustration, but the message they convey is pertinent as well.

Advertising gets a bad rap. Like lobbyists and lawyers, we are a hated people, until we’re needed. The reason being there is noone better at creating buzz, informing, educating, selling and maintaining loyalty than us.

The argument is made that we manipulate people and products so that people are persuaded to buy products they don’t need or that aren’t any good. And, I won’t lie, this happens, but is rarely sustainable. It applies to fads (in a broad sense). I might be able to convince a ton of people to do something once (watch a movie, buy a soda, wear a shoe), but if the product didn’t work, I and the company may have lost you for life.

There’s a quote I learned while in Ad School. I can’t remember if it was a Steve Kopcha original or from the David Ogilvy’s of the ad world, but it goes something like, “You can’t advertise a shitty product.” It falls into the fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me category. Especially in this Facebook/Twitter era, where if something sucks everyone knows.

So, in our truest, purest and least invasive form, Advertising helps people’s decision to open their wallet a little or a lot easier. By definition… serving capitalism. We have a place in a capitalist society. And it’s not a small place either.

Fun work

Martin Luther King Tribute
06/1/10

I wanted to attempt this style  in February, and being Black History Month I chose the Rev. as my muse.

His face is made up of the words of his epic Lincoln Memorial “I have a dream…” speech.

Take a look. I am having it framed as I type.

Smoking Goat Branding
04/1/10

I like beer.

Beer high in flavor, alcohol and price. I brew at home, but wouldn’t consider myself very good at this point. I’m working on it.

We have friends in Louisiana who I would consider really good. I designed some branding for their forthcoming brewery down there.

The Smoking Goat will hopefully be amazing, especially if I get some good beer out of the deal.

Have a look. Then drink a beer and have a look again. Continue this process until the logo looks awesome.

New Poster
02/4/10

This is a poster I made for my buddy Dustin.

A classic quote from him as we drove by Effingham, IL’s infamous and huge cross.

I thought it would look good in his new apartment.

Sheltered Perceptions
01/6/10

I recently got the chance to work on a project for the Humane Society. Given the fact that every time I walk into an animal shelter I have to be talked down from taking home every animal in the place, I was happy to help in anyway I could.

With the majority of pet buying in the United States coming from breeders, mall pet shops and unfortunately mills, animal shelters (specifically the Humane Society) are left overflowing with pets that need loving homes. They are running into a perception problem however, and many misconceptions about shelter pets are accepted as fact, and often repeated as such.

To get past this, we decided to take the problem head on, and address the most common misconceptions individually.

Here is where we landed:

Lauren and Dan sit’n in a tree…
01/5/10

My good friend Lauren is getting married in July, and though I am extremely jealous of her fiance Dan (don’t tell my wife), I made their save the date cards.

I use VistaPrint to print these types of things. Though the quality suffers, and the rumor is that they are destroying local community printers nationwide, for the price they can’t be beat. Check them out next time you want to customize your own holiday card or invitation.

Here’s how Lauren’s STDs turned out: