Advertising stuff of the year, according to me

National ad blog of 2008: I keep thinking about deleting AdPulp from my feeds. And then I notice that I bookmark it constantly.

Denver ad blog of 2008: The Egotist wins this one in a walk. They're so far ahead of everyone else that the only thing I can do is nitpick at the things I wish were different. (I wish the blog's multiple anonymous authors had different pseudonyms, so I could tell them apart. I wish the comments were threaded instead of flat. I wish there was a troll-rating system.)

National agency site of 2008: The Barbarian Group. So rich. So cool. So smart. So useful. So, so elegant.

Denver agency site of 2008: I don't know. The cool ones are hard to navigate. The elegant ones don't capture my imagination.

Local agency blog of 2008: Pure's Pure Thinking. They post frequent and interesting content. At times, they're they only agency that seems to be trying.

Blog I wish I wrote of 2008: Barbarian Group head of planning and strategy Noah Brier writes a blog much better than my own. It's sort of about advertising, sort of about the Internet, and mostly about whatever he wants.

Cool ad-like idea of 2008: See a cnn.com headline you like? One click and it's a t-shirt (not to mention a walking ad for CNN). This genius brought to you by - you guessed it - the Barbarian Group.

Cool spot of 2008: "Fate" is a statement about life's glory and inevitability. Nike, David Fincher and Wieden + Kennedy put a lump in my throat that I don't think will ever go away.

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

RATM on the streets

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



Crosspost on my SquareState page.

Disruption as a car crash

The other day, I was the only witness to a car crash. Car A veered this way, Car B spun that way. I pulled over and tried to help. The cops got there and asked me what happened.

I drew a blank.

Everything after the crash, I remember with perfect clarity. But I couldn't tell you what car was where at the actual moment of contact.

I'm sure the cops thought I was a jackass. But it wasn't that I wasn't paying attention. I was. My eyes were scanning from the road to my mirrors to my gauges. My ears were open for a knock in my engine or a siren behind me. It wasn't until something disrupted this pattern that I moved my focus from the general to the specific.

Karsh\Hagan is in the TBWA\ network, which means we spend a lot of time talking about "disruption." People typically use language like this:

Disruption is a tool for change and an agent of growth: a working methodology and a life view philosophy.

The word is difficult, uncomfortable but "Disruption" is not destructive. It is creation. Disruption is a means of creating something dynamic to replace something that has become static.

OK. But since my non-witnessing, I've been thinking of disruptive ideas as crashes for the mind. It doesn't matter how good or bad an idea is if it doesn't also disrupt everyday input patterns enough to compel focus.

There are a million ways to accomplish this trick. In some places, great design or an engaging headline may be enough. In others, a new technology or an improved utility might be necessary.

But disruption comes first. Without it, you've got nothing.

Cross-posted on the agency blog.