GUITAR HERO
For a while now, Guitar Hero has reenacted the Tom Cruise scene from Risky Business to promote their titles. We were asked to follow suit for Guitar Hero Metallica. So. We did.
Additionally, we were asked to do another Risky Business spot featuring four famous NCAA coaches. The spot was scheduled to run during March Madness. But, it also needed to feature Metallica. Talk about a mind bender.
SEAN KIMMERLING TESTICULAR CANCER FOUNDATION
This is by far the most immature thing I have ever done. BUT, it was for a good cause so that makes it okay, right? The Sean Kimmerling Testicular Cancer Foundation wanted to spread awareness about Testicular Cancer and to motivate men to self exam. Or, at the very least, to create an interest in learning more about this very common and deadly disease. The budget did not allow for a traditional broadcast buy, so we created a series of online videos about the "sensitive" subject in hopes of generating some momentum.
DOMINO'S
In August of 2007, I took on creative leadership duties for the Domino's Pizza account. Here is a smattering of work that I've produced since then.
*Note: I was actually the VO talent for Pasta Dude in this spot. By accident. Clearly.
A bunch of YouTube remixes have since surfaced. This one is my fave.
In addition to broadcast, we developed some web apps to make ordering from Domino's more fun and easier than ever before. The BFD Builder was a simple tool that let people build their very own pizza, name it, then officially register it on Dominos.com. To launch the app, we held a contest - five hundred bucks to whoever built the most popular pizza. I registered the SteveHappens, nothing but onions and cheese. I didn't win.
The blog world was a fan.
In the early research stages, we learned that Domino's had a very detailed data collecting system called Pulse. Basically, as a pizza makes its way through the prep, bake, box and delivery stages, buttons are pressed to log the individual times into the system. Pulse was developed to foster hustle in the organization. We thought it would be great to give this technology a consumer face and let people watch their pizza every step of the way. And thus, the Pizza Tracker was born.
This random guy on the internet likes Pizza Tracker.
See what people are TWEETING ABOUT PIZZA TRACKER right now.
Domino's decided to get into the sandwich business. And what better way to announce that than by giving a free sandwich away to everyone named Jared. What? It's harmless and innocent. Jared was just a random name pulled out of a hat. There was no significance at all. Swear. Obviously, the stunt caused a little ruckus.
AWARDS: The above work picked up some awards. Gold Pencil. Gold Lion. Bronze Integrated Lion. Clio. And some other stuff I think.
VOLKSWAGEN
Volkswagen needed a spot to showcase their product involvement in the new Bourne Ultimatum movie. This seemed like a great way to bring the two stories together.
Volkswagen Marketplace asked for a spot to promote their VW Sign and Drive Sales Event. Immediately I was confused as to why we would suggest that folks sign while driving. My confusion led to this.
RESOLVE CARPET CLEANER
This is an idea I recently hatched for Resolve High-Traffic Carpet Foam. Basically, large industrial-strength stickers would be produced and then placed over a single stripe in a crosswalk. These stickers would be cleaned a couple times each day to ensure they stay nice and bright.
UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
People with diabetes can drastically reduce the risk of major and irreversible health complications by having their A1C level checked regularly. This is the message the Utah Department of Health wanted to get out to the diabetic community in the area. I created a spot that required the talent to learn his lines in reverse so that when we played the film backwards (to simulate going back in time) we could still understand his message.
In addition to the spot running on television, the raw footage as well as the final spot were both posted on the department website where they drew thousands of views. Incidentally, reverse English sounds a lot like a alcohol-influenced Russian. Who knew?
Here are some press links:
Adfreak.com
AdJab.com.com
AdArena
NOVELL
Computer tech giant, Novell, needed a direct mail piece to invite tech writers and analysts to attend their annual BrainShare conference. Knowing how busy these people are, I decided to provide a complimentary stand-in. More specifically, an inflatable stand-in. Apparently that’s just what they needed as the mailing drew a 92% return. But perhaps more impressive was the fact that I found a male blow-up doll that wasn’t anatomically correct. His chest hair, however, was spot on.
DUREX CONDOMS
ThePantsWhisperer.com is a micro site for Durex Condoms that I helped create. Simply put, it’s an interactive therapy session hosted by world-renown Penis Therapist, Caressa Cox. Yes, the concept is silly, immature, and my mother would most likely not approve, but at least I petitioned the idea of never having Dr. Cox physically say the word penis. Instead, I'd have her say things like, Manaconda, Porksword, Meatwhistle, and Adam Halfpint. Wait, still immature isn’t it?
For your own penis therapy session, go HERE.
STEVE BABCOCK PUBLICITY STUNT
Back in 2006 I wanted to see if I could do anything to stir up blogland. So I decided to put an auction up on ebay for my right brain. Ebay pulled the auction after just three days, unfortunately, as I believe they thought I was literally selling my physical right brain. The following are a few of the links that surfaced before ebay ruined my fun.
TrendHunter
Gush Magazine
Luxury Launches
China Daily
Adfreak
China Economic Net
Digg.com
US Auction Info
AuctionForums.com
Ebayyer.com
There were 78 bids at the time ebay pulled the auction. And only two of them were from my wife. I swear.
UTAH OFFICE OF TOURISM
Just like every other state’s tourism office, the Utah Office of Tourism wanted to attract more visitors. Utah boasts an amazingly unique variety of landscapes and outdoor recreational hotspots. It also has a misguided reputation of being uptight, self righteous and stale. I wanted to see if we could counter these misconceptions with our marketing. I proposed a simple rule: Whatever we did, it had to be a little unconventional, surprising and amusing.
Would a print campaign be surprising? No, but a giant Delicate Arch made entirely out of Legos would be. Would a direct mailing be amusing? No, but a traveling 9-hole mini golf course (each hole representing a different Utah landscape) would be. Would a TV spot be unconventional? No, but traveling group of life-sized recreational action figures would be. Paper dolls? Sure. GPS treasure hunts? Yep. Web games? Why not?
NOTE: Unfortunately, this approach never saw the light of day so I ended up doing some print ads, a TV spot and some direct mail. I did the best I could.
TOTALLY AWESOME COMPUTERS
Who would name their company, Totally Awesome Computers? The same guy who calls himself “Super” Dell Schanze, that’s who. Super Dell was the overly animated and ridilin-refused owner and spokesperson of Totally Awesome Computers. For years, he made his own commercials by simply setting up a camera in one of his stores and acting stupid in front of it. Perhaps charming at first, eventually people began to loathe him, and therefore his product. He needed help. His business was failing. He needed to change his marketing tactics to start moving computers.
Instead of simply launching a new campaign sans Super Dell, I decided to have a little fun with it. Since the public hated him so much, why not give them what they wanted? Why not have something bad happen to him? So, during what appeared to be a normal commercial, he was violently abducted. This launched a full-scale missing person campaign (complete with print, mail, t-shirts and outdoor). Meanwhile, a site was set up with video updates from the abductors and a community forum to fuel discussion and theories. Incidentally, store traffic drastically increased during his absence. Hmm.
"ABDUCTED"
"BIZ AS USUAL"
"VACUUM"
"WEB MOVIE"
DPR COMMUNICATIONS
DPR Communications, a Latino marketing firm owned and operated by two Latin women, needed a self-promo campaign to set them apart from all the other Caucasian-owned Latino marketing firms in town. The solution was rightful and simple - “We understand the Latino market because, well, we’re Latino.”
UTAH ADVERTISING FEDERATION
The Utah Advertising Federation needed promotion materials for their ADDY Awards. The theme for the year was, “Get Your Dignity Back.” The invitation was extended to all those who, for one night, wanted to feel a sense of self worth via creative awards, amidst a background of lame reality. You know what they say about guys with small feet.
Additionally, the following spots were produced and distributed via e-mail.
"SLEEPWALKER"
ANNIVERSARY INN
The Anniversary Inn provides romantic getaways in their many theme and luxury suites. They needed a radio campaign to increase room reservations, so I produced the following spots.
RADIO SPOT ONE
RADIO SPOT TWO
UTAH YOUTH RUGBY
The Utah Youth Rugby Association needed a campaign to increase awareness and boost enrollment. After scouting a few games, I quickly realized that youth rugby was no ordinary lil’ tyke sport. These kids get down and dirty.
HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL
To be honest, while this band was rockin', my career in advertising was nothing more than a job to pay the bills. It wasn't until the Summer of '05 when Clive Davis flew us out to do a private audition that my perspective changed. He crushed my dreams of being a lucrative musician by telling us that, "while the music is great, the age of the band is an issue." Yes, that's right. He thought we were too old. That coming from an 83-year-old dude. Bless his black and blue heart.
Long story short, that really took the wind out of our sails and ever since then we have been rockin' it hobby style. Why am I including this in my advertising book? I guess I feel it's all about creative form, regardless. And to me, nothing has been more creative and worthwhile than making music. The good news, however, is that I have never been more focused on my ad career than I am now. At least until Clive calls back.
To check out the jams, follow these links:
HudsonRiverSchool.com
Myspace.com/HudsonRiverSchool
CASTLE CREEK WINERY
Castle Creek Winery wanted to promote their unique ranch table wine, Outlaw Red. They wanted it to feel rougher around the edges than traditional wines. I gave it the tagline, "Wine from the Wrong Side of the Law." Instead of using their marketing budget to run ads, we produced a series of coasters and had them distributed to all the major bars and brewpubs in the area. Turned out to be a great way to remind people to order a bottle during dinner.
POWER IN YOU
Power In You is a peer-to-peer mentoring program spearheaded by Utah’s First Lady, Mary Kaye Huntsman. The program is designed to eliminate the misunderstanding and intolerance that often exists between diversity in middle schools. They have programs to help everything from teen pregnancy to physical disabilities to racial issues. She needed to get the word out about her program and generate community involvement. In her words, “I just want people to know about this.” After talking with several middle school kids it became quite apparent just how rough those halls can be for someone living with a challenge.
I wanted to conduct an experiment to see if I could make the entire community feel that sense of discomfort and unease, and then perhaps they’d be more inclined to get involved and do something about it. Over 100 “labels” were posted all over Salt Lake City. Instantly, the curiosity and discomfort began to grow. The billboard company reported more phone calls than any other posting. Four weeks later, we arranged a press conference with Mary Kaye Huntsman where she publicly removed a giant label and encouraged everyone to do the same and to get involved. By that time, the mystery campaign had been featured on virtually every Utah news outlet, as well as USA Today.
In addition, a series of back-to-back, 15-second teaser spots were aired. Once the billboard labels were removed, a reveal spot aired.
TEASER ONE
TEASER TWO
TEASER THREE
TEASER FOUR
FINAL REVEAL
CASKETS AND MORE
First of all, yes, this is a real company that sells discount funeral supplies. Second of all, no, this didn’t run. Third of all, all sales are final.
MCQUEEN CRANE SERVICE
Just as the name might suggest, McQueen Crane Service rents and sells cranes. They wanted to run ads that showed as many thumbnails of their cranes as possible. Or in other words, ads that looked exactly like every other ad in the industry pubs. Instead, I suggested they take a different approach. I developed the simple company tagline of, “Reach Higher” to position them as the most dedicated and customer-centric supplier of cranes.
US SKI TEAM
The US Ski Team needed a campaign to position them in a similar ballpark as the NBA, NFL, MLB, etc. I decided to play off the patriotism of the organization by repurposing the lyric, “Home of the Brave” for the campaign tagline. I then featured a different MVP in each ad, much like you would see in any of the aforementioned sports organizations. The campaign was featured in Advertising Age. My mom was super stoked.
ADVANCED RESTORATION SYSTEMS
ARS is a small home cleaning and restoration company in Logan, Utah. Essentially, they are the people who come to the rescue when your home suffers damage from flood, fire, and other unsightly elements. I gave them the company mantra of, "If it's bad for a house, we'll make it pay."
In addition to the TV spot, I proposed a sponsorship with the local university athletics department that included things like half time tomfoolery. For example, at a USU football game, hundreds of audience members would be given ARS-branded water balloons and would be invited to hurl them at about 25 people down on the field wearing the “Water Damage” “Fire” and “Mold” jumpsuits.
View production shots and commentary HERE.
CALLE SOCCER
Calle is a street soccer company based in Provo, Utah. They sell custom products designed specifically for soccer on the street. For example, the Primero (soccer ball) has just the right amount of bounce to keep it on the street and still allow for crazy foot tricks. They wanted a campaign to help them tell their "Anytime. Anywhere." story. The solution came by way of a magazine insert. It was a simple sticker sheet of calle soccer balls that instructed the reader to peel them off and place them throughout the magazine wherever they saw fit.
SALT LAKE RUNNING COMPANY
Salt Lake Running Company needed a TV spot. They had about $50. This is what I gave them.
NOTDOGS
I include the following for sentimental value only. A few years ago, I was a starving student going through the film program at the University of Utah. A local advertising agency announced an advertising scholarship contest. All I had to do was submit a portfolio of my work. The problem was I didn't have any as I was going through the film program not the advertising program.
To make a long story short, I spec'd up a bunch of ads and submitted them. I won. The agency then offered me a job as a copywriter (even though I thought my book was an art director's submission). At the chance of having a "real" job, I accepted the offer and never told anybody. This campaign for Notdogs was the first one I ever created. (I know, I know, the art direction blows.)
