JCPenney
JCPenney needed a way to promote their GO USA Mittens program and partnership with the US Olympic Team during the Super Bowl. Without a Super Bowl commercial. So instead of using the big screen, we came up with a way to get buzz on the little screen.
THE WIFE
Admittedly, this is an odd piece to include in my portfolio. But I'm gonna roll with it. The client? My wife. The situation? Her birthday. The problem? Due to work, I wasn't able to be with her on her special day. The solution? I created the world's first Facebook Birthday Gift Opener.
BEST BUY
Best Buy asked us to come up with a campaign for their partnership with Universal's first animation motion picture, Despicable Me. Instead, we developed the world's first mobile application designed to be used in the theater to enhance the experience. We called it, Movie Mode. The first installment is known as The Minionator. It translates the gibberish spoken by the loveable little yellow minion characters from the movie.
As an industry first, it definitely picked up some attention. Here's the latest Twitter buzz. But what I've found to be the most amusing are the debates going on about how the application works. Shhh. It's a secret.
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Best Buy sells the majority of their laptops during the back-to-school season. This year, they wanted to sweeten the deal by including six months of free Geek Squad support with every laptop. In other words, buy a laptop, get a Geek.
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Most people aren't aware that one of the country's largest retailers of consumer electronics is also one of the largest recyclers of consumer electronics. With electronics currently slated as the fastest growing waste stream on our planet, Best Buy wanted to create awareness around their program.
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These days, smart phones are more than multitasking communication devices. They're also social status badges. The new sports car if you will. And with Best Buy's amazing mobile department, nobody should have to live with the shame and embarrassment of an inadequate phone. In other words, nobody should have to live with phone shame.
In addition, we created a site that allowed people to send a customized ShameTone (shameful ringtone) to their friends to match their shameful phone. Twitterville lit up with #phoneshame.
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Geek Squad wanted to promote their new remote support service. Basically, they can take over your computer and resolve your issues while you watch. We created a simple banner to illustrate the magic. Put your cursor in the Geek's hand. He'll take care of the rest. SEE BANNER HERE
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Best Buy wanted to promote their new Buy Back Program on the Super Bowl. So we did.
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Best Buy wanted to promote their video game trade-in program. The key advantage is that, unlike other game trade-in stores, you get a gift card good for anything in the store. Which is perfectly great unless you're the one getting traded in.
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.