Zack Scott Goes Virtual for Microsoft

Continuing a long and fruitful relationship with the good folks at McCann/SF, Zack Scott collaborated on a global trade initiative for Microsoft's Virtualization product along with SuperFad, who handled all of the CGI work. Don't ask us what the product does! McCann AD: MaryAnn Saltonstall

Say Cheese!

Why is it that when creative people are photographed for industry trade rags like ID Magazine or AdAge, the majority of them DO NOT smile? Come on people! Being a designer/art director doesn't mean you have to cop an attitude for your public persona. Maybe it's just me, but I try to show my best side whenever I'm photographed...just like my fellow industry media, account management and marketing executives. Check out THEIR mugs the next time you are browsing AdWeek, and compare it to those folks featured in the next issue of Creativity...I rest my case.

Where Are WE?

Got the latest CA Photo Annual recently. Here's what I thought about it: Noticed a new feature from Ann Telford covering a specific personal project from Jim Fiscus. I hope that is a regular feature, as we have alot we could share. Wondered why Fiscus mentioned how much he depended on his creative team to help him realize his vision for the series featured, but then failed to give ANY of them credit by name. Protectionism?? Hmmm. Everard Williams, Jr., a friend of mind and formerly a part of our roster, was included in the "50 Years of Photography" feature the pub ran. Ahh, those were heady days! Go Everard! He's now the 2nd in command at the Photo dept. at Art Center. Then I got to the annual part of the annual. Where are all of the US advertising winners??? I've noticed a declining number of US winners in other award shows, but never took the time to go through an tally up the totals. Here's what I came up with for CA: Non US: 24 winners, US: 12. Of those, almost half were for either pro-bono clients or spec work done purely for exposure. Is it indicative of a declining amount of good ad photographers in the US, or the lack of good ad work here?

Comrade Shoots Stashes for MN Lottery

Moneystaches, that is... Colle & McVoy AD Dustin Black came to Michael Rodriguez (aka Comrade) recently with a wacky campaign riffing on the Monopoly board game's iconic character for Minnesota Lottery's Mega Monopoly game. Shot in-camera in Los Angeles using a custom mustache prop and a combination of agency and "real people" talent. The portraits were lit using Rembrandt as an inspiration, and a oil-painting effect was applied to the images in post to further push the classical, kitsch direction.
Here's what they look like as bus shelter posters...

Redpath and Cossette Team Up for Pro Bono

Anthony Redpath and long-time collaborator, Rob Sweetman, now CD at Cossette Communications in Vancouver, BC teamed up with AD Andrew Alblas on a charming campaign to generate donations to the Vancouver Society of Children's Centres, a non-profit who's aim is to provide high quality child and family services to people in need. Ahhh.. Where's my wallet??

Eva Kolenko Shoots Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind front man Stephen Jenkins was introduced to Kolenko through Mary Scott, the Chair of Graphic Design at Kolenko's alma mater, the Academy of Art University, who he had enlisted to design the packaging for the band's long awaited fourth album, "Ursa Major". Eva shot a huge variety of individual and group shots over the two day shoot at a friend of Jenkins' mansion, which were eventually whittled down to the twelve selects used throughout the packaging, which we're told is in record stores now. Here are a couple more of my personal favorites...

I'M BAAACK!!

In case anyone noticed the lack of blog entries here lately, I've got a good excuse. We got away for two vacations in August, one to Oklahoma for a family reunion and a two week home exchange with a family from Rouen, France. Ready to put the "pedal to the metal" for our Fall business push now that I'm back, but there is ALOT of news to share in the meantime, as Annika and the gang were busy while I was gone. First, here's a self serving picture of me and the family on our bicycling tour of the gardens at Versailles...

Morgan Silk Shoots Network Rail

Last month, Virgin-owned Network Rail launched a campaign promoting the massive improvements recently completed on the company's North West Main Line - the largest civil engineering undertaking in ALL of Europe, if one is to believe their own PR (bigger than the Chunnel?!). However big, the campaign provided Morgan Silk a great opportunity to create some amazing time lapse images of trains moving through key portions of the line, in collaboration with Iris, London and AD Toby Burnett. The images are also being used with motion on digital out-of-home boards, which is pretty damn cool. All aboard!!

Jamey Stillings' Bridge to Somewhere

Jamey Stillings first saw the Hoover Dam Bypass construction project while on a photo journey/vacation with his family. Inspired by the project and the material from it he originally captured, he began a personal quest to document it and (hopefully) some of the workers there as it evolved. We presented a selection from his first round there to the editorial staff at the New York Times Magazine, and they got on board immediately. Turned out it was a perfect fit for the first issue of their pub's redesign, which was devoted to our nation's infrastructure. The NYT used the shot above on the inside back cover to introduce Endpaper, a new feature to close the pub, as well as a larger selection of images in a slide show available on nytimes.com.

Though he's returned to site three additional times since he first encountered it, he's planning on shooting there one more time in the coming weeks as the gap is about to close. Jamey's access to the site has grown with each subsequent visit, as he gains the trust and respect of the numerous parties involved in the construction.

Additionally, the images have struck a chord with other publications around the globe as well as private collectors, giving us hope that the series might find a home in the gallery world.

Brilliance from Boone Oakley

Charlotte, NC ad agency Boone Oakley hit one out of the park with it's new company website. The brainchild of agency creatives, Jim Robbins and Ryan Holland, the site is a collection of low-tech videos residing on YouTube that brilliantly position the company as a smart, creative, fun, contemporary alternative to the bigger, older, stodgier, inbred agency brethren found in Big City, USA. While Modernista! was the first agency I'm aware of to adopt a "siteless" approach to their web presence, their effort isn't nearly as successful at branding the company as Boone Oakley's. Web 2.0 won't just be about access. The content will still have to entertain and inform in order to get the attention that marketers and agencies are after. Boone Oakley has set the bar, and its already paying off. Not only has the intro video received over 120K views in just it's first six days, the agency has already received calls from new biz consultants, clients, the press and people like me, who are now out here in cyberspace, spreading the word. Credits: CDs: John Boone, David Oakley; Interactive Director: Bill Allen; AD: Ryan Holland; CW/Illustrator/Narrator: Jim Robbins; Producer: Craig Jeiniker; Media Director: Demian Brink; Strategic Director: Phil Smith.