Unsanctioned 9/11 World Wildlife Ad

Unsanctioned 9/11 World Wildlife Ad
09/2/09

Check out this ad for the WWF, think Gorillas not Macho Man Randy Savage.It has sparked a lot of controversy, and understandably so.

It is well art directed and interestingly concepted. I wish the writing was better. Something which ties to the idea that, “you thought 9/11 was bad …”. I don’t feel that using “The Tsunami” as an example, especially art directed the way it is, works. I guess they mean the Tsunami that ravaged Indonesia a few years ago, but I think that it gets lost in translation.

However, what are our thoughts on using September 11, 2001 for marketing purposes? Cause marketing? Is it time?

I think its ok. It’s unfortunate this ad has a few too many flaws to be effective. But, I feel with the right tact, the emotional luggage that 9/11 pulls along with it can be an effective tool to help push social issues, or at least give them a benchmark for comparison. An example would be comparing the 1,000s that died on Sept 11 to the 100s of 1000s that have been massacred in Darfur. Something like that.

Just make sure it all makes sense, and works really well. Even a slightly poor idea or execution will not be effective.

I should mention again, as I did in the title, that this ad was and is not sanctioned by the WWF, and if you do find this ad über offensive and want to lash out, please aim your anger somewhere else. Trust me as a designer, it is sooooo easy to get companies actual logos and rip off their style. In this case it was done by a DDB Brazil creative team, and according to this article from AdFreak, that team is, “No longer with the agency.”

Let me know what you think? Find me on Facebook or Twitter.

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: