Monday, September 06, 2010
Everybody loves a cowboy.
Jun 25, 09:37 AM by HM Copywriter
A passle of us hombres (male and female, of course) are big on the home improvement front. So we enjoyed the product launch for Yellawood Or should we say, “Yellerwood”? Yellawood is premium pressure treated pine and the launch rolled out earlier this year. By the way, Yellawood is not to be confused with Yellowood skateboard decks, which are also cool.
The flash games leave us cold, but the little movies are fun.
—Chia
Long live cheese!
May 27, 09:00 AM by HM Copywriter
I’ve always been a big fan of the rhyme. Although I will deny it till the cows come home and sing “Swanee River” in an arboretum of odd socks, I adore jingles as well.
I mean who can’t still recite the 1970’s classic, “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us?” Come on; that smack is gold!
Denying the rhyme is like denying Shakespeare, Mother Goose, or even the long forgotten Andrew Dice Clay. In fact, there’s no doubt in my mind that everyone on the planet can recite at least a snippet of their collective work. No?
So, be warned all ye ad school heroes. Clio winners. Crispin cronies. The next creative who rolls their eyes, wrinkles up their nostrils, or utters the word “hack” within earshot of moi, best prepare to nibble numerous nouns. The time for retribution has come and it brought mad alliteration.
Read the whole story:
Cindi Walther: HM Copywriter
"It's a Major Award!"
May 14, 02:37 PM by HM Copywriter
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? The same can be, and has been, said for art. More specifically, modern art.
Now for anyone who has ever painted a ceiling, or spent an afternoon in a pre-school, Jackson Pollock may not be at the top of your artistic genius list. In fact, some may be prompted to expunge the canvas with an old rag and dab of mineral spirits rather than hang it above their mantel. Yet, when his works were first displayed in New York in 1947, one European critic announced that, compared with Pollock, “Picasso becomes a quiet conformist – a painter of the past.”
Hmm?
Hey, I’m not above it. You’re reading the copy of a girl who once referred to a living art sculpture as “that big purple plant thingy-dingy.” And commented how wonderful it was that a couple would “sacrifice so much wall space to display their three-year-old’s finger paintings.” Oops.
Now, I can’t be blamed. I was raised in the Wenona Beach trailer park. Art to us was Venus De Milo provocatively perched in strings of dripping oil. Until I was 28, I thought the Louvre was a place the French deposited their ….. well, you know.
So, when TAXI’s Paul Lavoie and director Azazel Jacobs set out to attract “my people” to the MoMa, I was intrigued. It seems Frank was as well.
Cindi Walther: HM Copywriter
Latest member of the "me too" club.
May 13, 11:52 AM by HM Copywriter
From the handful of decent spots in this year’s Super Bowl, we really enjoyed the CareerBuilder spot (remember the guy in his Speedo, clipping his toenails—yeah, we thought so). So we were disappointe when the Wall Street Journal reported that CareerBuilder has pulled the work from Wieden + Kennedy, and is hosting a contest to let the general public create next year’s Superbowl ad. Which is exactly what Doritos did.
There’s been plenty said about the “DYI” ad trend, so we’ll skip that discussion for today and just say, “too bad.” The W+K spot painted a pretty nice picture of “when you really need to find a new job.”
Let's hear it for the little guy! Not you Alex, us.
Mar 24, 03:15 PM by HM Copywriter
Crispin Creative Chief, Alex Bogusky seems to think we have something here.
An excerpt from his post on Adage:
It’s not easy to go out and start a business. Yet somehow, small businesses represent 75% of our gross domestic product. Isn’t that astounding?
It’s especially amazing in light of today’s headlines. We focus so much on the GMs and the Chryslers, we can completely overlook the real engines that drive our country, and the real engine that will pull us out of this recession.
The same is true in the marketing industry. Right now, our country needs these scrappy small-agency entrepreneurs to keep doing their thing, because they will indeed dig us out of this mess faster than the holding companies and big agency networks. No offense. I’m part of a glorious holding company that I love, and I’m confident that larger agencies like ours (I can’t believe we’re large, because I still remember being employee No. 16) will offer great help to their large clients. But what I’m thinking about right now is the other 75%.The smaller agencies that make up part of that 75% and will be doing the marketing to help lead us out of recession deserve a tip of the hat. The reality is they can do things for their clients the big monster shops can’t. With fewer people and less overhead, they offer the nimble and fast approach to problems a lot of nascent brands need.
Starbucks—and the instant coffee disaster
Mar 19, 04:56 PM by HM Copywriter
Dear Reader:
I don’t know why you go to Starbucks, but I know why I do. Good coffee and that heart felt feeling that I’m better than everyone else. Yep, I said it. Send the elephant packing, Cindi’s on a soapbox.
On the up-and-up, I’m not a big S-Bucks fan. I was raised in the hood (Bay City, MI—Holla) and there, Speedway (Super America) was revered as gourmet. Wicker baskets brimming with exotic flavors such as Ireesh Cream and Vanilla Tof-fay lined the counters. Adding just the right touch of class to an otherwise unsofis-toe-cated expereeence.
Still, when I heard that Starbucks had succumbed to the pressures of the economy, I was like … whaaaa? I have some pretty snobby friends. “Pseudo snob” that is. Living in a fantasy world of wealth and quasi superiorism. Let’s face it, they need the Starbuckien illusion to get through.
You see, in the wannabe world there are four fantasy pillars:
Target
Late model BMW’s
Sushi (but not from any place you’ve ever been)
... and Starbucks
That’s it. That’s all they have. And now you want to take it away? If SBs starts bundling value scones with limited time lattes, everyone will come. (gasp!) Like the Star Bellied Sneeches who lived on the beaches, how will we possibly tell who’s better?
Adding insult to injury, CEO Howard Schultz has also approved the experimental testing of “Instant Starbucks” in Seattle? Instant Starbucks? WT? Can you say brand identity crisis? Just because everyone else signed up for truck driving school, that doesn’t mean you have to break out the Carhardts.
You’re different. You’re that brooding boy in the courtyard, smoking cigarettes and reading Kerouac from the back of a vintage motorcycle. (faint) No one knows where you came from, but you make them feel tingly all over. Hey even if you’re a shallow, illiterate poser can we at least keep the goose pimples? Please?
All I’m saying is that this world needs its Starbucks just the way it is. Hard to order, overpriced coffee, slews of wannabe writers plunking away on their Powerbooks with no intention of ordering a second cup, and snotty baristas who purposely spell your name wrong. Without this unwavering illusion the underpaid, over-educated world will surely crumble.
Thank you. Come again.
Cindi Walther : HM Copywriter
The Cohen Brothers Tell It Like It Is
Mar 4, 04:34 PM by HM Copywriter
Bill Talks Politics with the Ad Club of West Michigan
Nov 6, 01:17 PM by HM Copywriter
Reposted to our blog:
Bill McKendry on Politics and Branding
We recently sat down with Bill McKendry of local advertising firm Hanon McKendry to get his views on politics and the advertising industry. Here’s what he had to say:
What political campaigns have you been involved with?
Several state-wide ballot initiatives in Michigan, Massachusetts, and Colorado (most famous are the 1998 Anti Physician-Assisted Suicide initiative and currently I’m working on the Vote NO on Proposal 2 campaign trying to prevent the legalization of human embryo destruction as a way to conduct Stem Cell Research). Also I have worked on campaigns and independent expenditure efforts for Republican Congressional and Senate Candidates in Michigan, Kentucky and Colorado. Finally, I’ve also put together campaigns for some local State Representatives and one campaign for Michigan Appeals Court Judge.
Why do you like/dislike working on political campaigns?
Political campaigns are great because you receive almost instantaneous feedback on how well your work is performing. Daily tracking and polling is done and you get to see first-hand if your message is resonating with voters and if it is causing them to move the way you want them to. Plus, there’s the “election day” and you clearly know if you’ve “won or lost.” No other work has that sense of finality to it.
Obviously the amount and pace of the work can be a big negative (but the energy you create, though not sustainable, can be very exhilarating). But probably the biggest negative is how hard it is to find clients in politics that want to do quality work – typically, political clients want cheap ads with no concept and they just want to “throw mud.”
We have a different standard at Hanon McKendry – we believe good ads are more effective than bad ads and that we want to win, but also be proud of how we win.
What’s typically involved from the ad agency perspective, with a
political campaign?
In the best situations, we’re teamed with a research/polling firm, a media firm that know politics (i.e., that can collect timely intelligence on the opponent’s media buying plans) and a PR firm. The research firm gives us single-focused and proven propositions to craft messages from, the media firm puts that in front of targeted voters and the PR firm turns every new ad into a media event.
Other than that, our role is the same as always – create and produce attention-commanding and compelling ads … on time and within budget.
How have political ad campaigns changed over the years?
TV has become more and more important (print, outdoor and radio are considered “nice-to-have’s”) and driving people to the web for more information is now fundamental to every campaign. Web marketing using social media outlets are also a significant change in this campaign cycle.
Any favorite political blogs?
I’m not a big blog reader (sorry), maybe I’m too old for that? I get my political info the “old-fashioned” way – TV, Radio and Newspaper.
And in a more general sense…How important do you think design and branding is in the political process? How should local/state campaigns approach the issue differently than national campaigns?
Obama, whether you agree or disagree with him, has demonstrated the power of branding/marketing/advertising/packaging – a simple, powerful message that resonates and is told well/often gets through and (not sure of the outcome yet, but I would bet) wins.
This is true whether it’s local or national politics. (It’s also true, I believe, for any business or organization as well.)
Who do you think has the better designed/branded presidential
campaign, and why?
This has nothing to to with which candidate I’ll vote for, but Obama has clearly run the best campaign from a design/branding perspective. Great graphics, simple message, focused, and controlling every voter touch-point (TV, Web, Events, PR, Print, Radio – every medium is singing out of the same Hymn book). It’s clearly the best Presidential campaigns I’ve seen in my lifetime and will go down as one of the best “personality” brand campaigns ever.
Do you talk politics at work? Why or why not?
Because of the issue work we do we break all the workplace rules here at Hanon McKendry, we talk “politics”, “sex” and “religion” almost daily. And while there are many different views/viewpoints, there’s always respect and tolerance extended to each and everyone. But, clearly, people know what they’re getting into when they come to work here and I’m open and honest about my viewpoints. But our compnay policy since our inception is that we would never force anyone here to work on anything (political or otherwise) that they’re uncomfortable with personally or professionally.
How have the presidential campaigns used design as an edge?
You see it all over– campaign banners, yard signs, campaign buttons, podium backdrops, on the web, etc. McCain and Obama have both done nice work, Obama’s “Change” campaign has used design exceptionally well.
As such, the “edge” goes to Obama on this front because his campaign’s graphics are/have remained consistent, focused, clear, fresh and appealing. They are simply employing the basics of great design and that will always give you an edge.
Have any design elements from either campaigns spoken to you?
Obama’s campaign work is so good, he would win my vote for best campaign. As for my vote for President, that’s a little more complicated.
If Sean White is a big fat liar ...
Aug 12, 03:02 PM by HM Copywriter
... HP, McCann Worldgroup, and Goodby are his enablers.
The new HP back to school promotion, “Crash Course” is a fun, entourage-esk view of former gold medalist Shaun White’s life when he is not launching himself off of something cold and or icy. Or, is it?
As an advertiser, I realize that people in Chilis ads aren’t really friends out for a fun-filled night on the town. Or that the man in the beneful commercial really gets up at 5 a.m. to walk his faithful canine, Maxy Boy. Still, when I found out the cast of Jack ” ” had never as much as shared an elevator prior to the pilot, I was floored.
I know I shouldn’t have been. I am smarter than that. It’s just the way they all got along: slapping, slugging and berating each other— I was sucked in, blind sided, spoofed. I wanted to believe, and I did. But not this time. No siree. This time I am hip to the jive, down with the sickness and jiggy with all the dirt that’s up and in my grill.
Shame on you, Shaun. Think of all the You Tubers who look up to you. Not to mention your friends. This must mean they really aren’t that interesting. Hmm.From the article posted on Creativity:
” Along with the props, White’s “friends” were actually hired actors, Cohn says. “A lot of the actors were improv guys. They were really, really good with doing a lot of ad-libbing. By doing this organically, we had stories and plot scenes but we didn’t have any scripts. Shaun was really good working with those guys within that situation. With the films, there really is a theme if you do tie them all together but they do all stand alone in and of themselves.”
Cindi Walther : HM Copywriter
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