On this Thanksgiving Eve we’re thankful that our C2 Creative website is
finally live www.C2-cc.com. We still have some work to do as we’ll be adding new
portfolio samples and new people in the coming weeks.
We had grand plans for a rich interactive experience to “engage and
build buzz” but we’ve fallen victim to the Cobblers Shoes Syndrome. Put
simply, we’ve been busy. That leads me to another topic we’re thankful
for. We’ve been working on great creative projects across a variety of
vertical all year. I’d have to say this is the most rewarding time in my
career as we partner with brand managers, agency creative departments
and marketing teams to produce solid creative ideas.
We’re looking forward to 2012 and we’re already drawing up plans to
ditch this website so enjoy it while you can. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Time sheets can be a necessary evil. I just came across a tool for freelancers that makes tracking time very easy. Go to www.yast.com. It's about as easy as it can get.
Sometimes the best way to motivate change with a customer isn't a new brochure flooded with lots of information. Sometimes it's about having fun. Sometimes (I think) we forget that difficult problems can be solved this way because we've convinced ourselves that we have sophisticated methods to deliver solutions. Sometimes it's fun to begin 4 sentences in a row with sometimes.
A solid reel by Razorfish. There's a subtle sense of humility to this piece that's not easy to pull off. The handwritten style brings a sense of fluidity and inventiveness to their approach that connects to the human side of technology. This would be a great intro to a pitch meeting without being over the top. The music strikes the right emotion and allows the message of "there are no limits to what we can do" sneak up on you in a smart way.
A really nice piece of motion graphics work. This technique is sure to be stolen for a retail commercial in the near future. Enjoy the originality while you can.
The insight into social networking that Burger King uncovered is so simple I can't believe it was overlooked for so long. The Whopper Sacrifice asks "what are your Facebook friends really worth?" Pure genius. BK completely flipped the Facebook value proposition on it's head by rewarding users that sacrificed 10 of their "Facebook friends" for a free Whopper through a viral application. More than 230,000 friends were removed by 82,000 users during the very short promotion.
Due to a few technical issues around privacy the promotion was pulled but I give BK (and CP+B) a lot of credit for producing an idea like this.
It's a taste test but who cares about the winner in this contest. The Whopper Virgins idea is the most authentic piece of advertising I've seen in awhile and by far the most interesting idea ever to come out of burger culture.
There's been a lot of negative comments about this campaign ranging from "Those poor people. I bet their stomachs exploded soon after eating those things and woke up the next day craving hamburgers. Thumbs down for CP+B." to "Why don’t they bring along a little smallpox while they’re at it…"
This campaign isn't about taking advantage of third world cultures or some bizarre global expansion strategy. It's not even about taste! It's about 1 thing: Making Burger King relevant again by getting people talking about it. In this they have succeeded based on all of the noise in the media about it.
But for me, the real genius of this is how it introduces the idea of discovery and understanding through authentic cultural exchange. Not only did BK take our culture to other parts of the world, they are allowing us peek into cultures many of us aren't familiar with even though it's just a commercial. American society is so preoccupied with itself that we're oblivious to just about every other culture on the planet. We often believe that everyone is just like us. And why not? We're the greatest aren't we?
For better or worse this piece forces us to look at ourselves and take stock in what kind of culture we've created and/or forced onto other parts of the world. It forces us to think about how other people may view our culture and just how foreign we can appear in a different context. It forced me to think where the hell is that guy going to put that wrapper we just gave him? Will it end up in the ocean? Where have I been putting wrappers all of these years?
These individuals should look curious and confused just like we would be if we were eating seal meat for the first time. I don't think it's designed to exploit them, rather to hold up a different mirror to our own culture. But the underlying point is we need to be aware and open others so that we can have a better understanding of our neighbors whether they live next door or live on another continent. It's everything Obama's been saying!
Part of this "exchange idea" comes through during the Thailand scene when they show the Americans dining on the other cultures food. They even give you a nice close up of the dish that would typically be reserved for the burger "product as hero" sequence of a typical commercial. Everybody is sharing and it's a two way street. I especially like the last interview and the gentleman revealing he "likes seal meat better." It's a great ending and more importantly it's real.
So thumbs up to Crispin Porter + Bogusky for letting us have it our way and bringing some other ways to us.
I've always enjoyed reading through branding agencies materials to see how they sell themselves. It also gives you a view into their belief system. This copy sample from Sandstrom is one of the better examples I've seen of describing what they do and how they do it:
"Sometimes a client will come to us with an extremely well-established identity in need of reevaluation and/or refreshing. Sometimes they'll come to us with an idea for a new brand–like, say, flushable diapers. In either case, we approach a brand's corporate identity from a holistic, systematic and idea-centric perspective. Everything emanates from the one overarching idea that drives the brand–the reason for its existence in the first place. We generally try to get agreement on that before we explore specific marks or typography or color. Everything should exist for a reason, not just because the CFO's wife likes teal. Don't get us wrong, we love a good teal now and then and we're sure Muffy has exquisite taste. But if logic and aesthetics got into a fight, we think logic would kick aesthetic's aesthetic."
Copy like this makes me want to go out and kick some serious aesthetics.
Chicago has been chosen as one of four cities in the world competing to become the host of the 2016 Olympics. The Chicago 2016 organization is reaching out to the people of Chicago to help tell the story of Chicago in its bid to host for games.
My background is diverse. I have deep experience in digital, brand campaigns and identity development. At heart I'm a designer, but few things get me more excited than generating big ideas. I know what it takes to motivate and direct people to shape an idea into something that has meaning for our team, our audience and ultimately our client’s business.
For the last 15+ years I've worked at a variety of agencies honing my digital, branding, B2B, direct and design skills. Each of these disciplines has given me a unique perspective on communication and refined my insight into how they work together to move a brand forward.
I've had the pleasure to work with many incredibly talented people and numerous smart, successful organizations and I'm hoping some of if it rubbed off on me. I love talking strategy, developing ideas and growing as a creative.
Inspired to take a chance, I formed C2 Creative Consulting, Ltd. in 2009 with my long-time creative partner. We are a specialized creative team that partners with C level executives, agency teams and marketing leadership to bring an outside perspective on a strategic or creative challenge. I am also a part of the kohactive team.
On this Thanksgiving Eve we’re thankful that our C2 Creative website is
finally live www.C2-cc.com. We still have some work to do as we’ll be adding new
portfolio samples and new people in the coming weeks.
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