New work for the Kappa Alpha Order: Brasstacks

Kappa Alpha Order is a nationwide collegiate organization that wants to be known for its commitment to chivalric ideals. At Karsh\Hagan, we created the position, "The moral compass for the modern gentleman." And then we set out to prove it by developing a movement to inspire gentlemanly behavior at college.

The hub of the experience was a 54-page book named Brasstacks, which was given to freshmen men on 50 campuses. It aimed to give readers "the tools to enjoy freshman year. Without becoming a jerk." Mobile phone users received text messages that helped them excel in their studies and social life. At Brasstacks101.com, students signed up for encouraging emails and downloaded Brasstacks art and t-shirt designs. Karsh\Hagan also distributed posters, stickers, bookmarks, coupons and other materials.

We took on KA because we were offered the chance to make a difference in the lives of young men, right at a point when they face a dizzying array of temptations. We'd never seen it done before, so we wanted to do it. We also got a chance to improve our mobile marketing, work in the media arts, and tap some great illustrators.

I'm so proud of the work I just want to burst. Thanks to Karsh\Hagan and KA for letting me do it.

Chief Creative Officer: John Meyer
Copywriter: Matt Ingwalson
Art Director: Dennis Wakabayashi
Interactive Director: Peter Yesawich
Interactive Designer: Kerry Healy
Poster and T-shirt Designers: Kerry Healy, Tom Duane and Camille King
Illustrators: Josh Holland and Jeramiah Clark
Studio: Matt Nasi
Account Management: Vanessa Louis and Jen Racioppi

2008 TD50 judging instructions

Some of you are probably wondering why you did or didn't make the Denver 50. For the record, these are the exact instructions given the judges:

The Denver 50 is about finding fresh, relevant ideas that connect brands and people. Please consider each entry based on how well it does that, judging it first on the "big idea" and second on the creative merit of the executions.

Each entry was scored on a scale from zero to 10. We averaged all the judge's scores and the top 50 scoring entries are this year's Denver 50. They will all be in the showbook, which will be debuted at the show on December 2.

Flood in NYC messing with the 2008 TD50

The flooding at JWT/NY has played havoc with TD50 judge Ty Montague's schedule. You didn't really think this thing was going to go off without a hitch, did you? This is advertising, after all.

UPDATE: Montague will be able to be done with judging on Saturday. With a little work this weekend, we should be able to notify winners by Monday or Tuesday. They'll need to get high resolution files to Hero Design Studio by October 1. My undying thanks to Akavit and NetNewsdesk for creating the bulletproof and user-friendly judging site. Send some business their way, Denver.

RATM on the streets

The best thing ever. Hat-tip to the Egotist:



Crosspost on my SquareState page.

Denver Community Museum sets blogosphere ablaze

Consider. This. Project. Officially. Awesome.

Carried out in the form of a pop-up gallery, the DCM will be a temporary arts institution located in downtown Denver, CO. Contents for the museum's monthly, rotating exhibitions will be based entirely on community submissions. Every month a new 'Community Challenge' is issued and the results will be put on display.

Get your submissions in, folks.

TD50 entrants asked to stay cool

Apparently there is some disinformation or rumor or some other form of confusion making the rounds. So let me state this as clearly as I can.

Judging for the Denver 50 has not been completed. Winners have not been notified.

Judging should wrap up around 9/15, with some allowances made for our judges' schedules. We'll need a couple days to double check our results. Winners will be notified somewhere between 9/18 and 9/22. They will be asked to provide high resolution art for our showbook to Hero by 10/1.

There is also a rumor that I compulsively check the judging site at all hours of the day and night. That, I'll confirm.

/ebullience

Karsh\Hagan intern Justin McCammon is interviewed by Why Advertising Sucks and mentions how "stoked" he is to "work on real client work alongside real, live copywriters."

I happen to be one of those real, live copywriters and trust me when I say I'm not that exciting. Go read the interview for more of Justin's insights.