CASE STUDIES
STATES united
For the
Prevention of
Gun Violence
HARVEST FILMS
DIRECTOR/Script Doctor
Originally conceived as a bank robbery scene, the script the creative team sent me was broader and more overtly comedic in tone.
I rewrote and restaged the spot, placing it in an office and covering the primary action in a single fluid take to make the moment feel found, sudden, and startling, while still maintaining the wit and insight of the original idea.
The spot became an immediate sensation, with coverage in hundreds of publications, 250 million + earned broadcast impressions, and has since racked up 180 million views, making it the most organically viewed PSA in history.
It has also earned numerous awards, 2 compliments from President Obama, and 11 death threats.
All with zero dollars in media spent.
FedEx
BBDO/NY
COPYWRITER
The mandate was to say the offer three times.
Not the kind of assignment most creatives see as a chance to do something impactful and award-winning. But exactly the kind of assignment Gerry Graf saw potential in, and asked me to see if I could find a way to do something smart-funny.
The resulting spot became one of FedEx Chairman Fred Smith's all-time favorites. Despite having already aired, the brand team elected to run it on the Super Bowl. Then they asked us to turn it into a campaign.
Several years and way too many awards to count later, it's still going strong.
Street Installations, print Copywriter
Rozerem
RSA FILMS
DIRECTOR
Still regarded as one of the top pharma campaigns ever, the initial Rozerem spot "Honest Abe" became an early viral sensation, Combining 3D, animatronics, subtle performances and my own touches of whimsy such as the diving bell guy making a PBJ in the background, my approach was to play the absurdity straight, making the scene at once totally ridiculous and utterly relatable.
In addition to massive social media interest, the spot was featured in full in The Sopranos, parodied on The Simpsons and the Tonight Show, and referenced in a New Yorker cartoon, and even got a shout out in Billy Crystal's memoir, Still Foolin' Em.
Dissected, debated, and discussed in the press and online, the campaign burst into pop culture with references on The Tonight Show, The Simpsons, and more.
Rolling Rock - Evolution
Rolling Rock - Ex-Wife
History
Writer, Creative Director; concept development of store itself.
Rolling Rock
AMMIRATI PURIS LINTAS
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, GROUP HEAD
COPYWRITER
Conceived music mestival in Latrobe, PA built around "Denizens of Latrobe" campaign. Concept, Creative Director, Producer, Beer Vendor (Dream job #7)
I wrote the headline as a way to pitch the concept. And it all came to pass exactly as we had envisioned. Except: No Ferris Wheel (liability.)
If you look carefully, you can see me behind the riser, Stage Right.
It began with a single radio project, the success of which led to winning the entire Rolling Rock Brand, then 5 other Labatt USA Brands. For Rolling Rock, I led a group that handled creative development for print, radio, and TV, as well as dretail/catalog, events, and digital/.
GAME READY PERFORMANCE
OFFICIAL SELECTION / LOS ANGELES
CREATIVE DIRECTOR. WRITER.
DESIGNER.
Vertically integrated branding for high-performance training facility. Game Ready Performance works with elite athletes ages 12 to pro. With a committed client base ranging from NBA All-Stars to World Champion MMA fighters to US Girls National Team Soccer Players, GRP had grown organically for several years.
Word of mouth was a key business driver. But to expand the business, we needed to reach wider while still preserving the feeling of a passionate personal referral.
I developed a social campaign, print campaign, and designed a new web experience celebrated their elite clientele while communicating the complex and deeply researched Game Ready science, statistics, and innovation in a lighthearted, familiar tone.
I also designed a system of iconography to communicate the benefits of the Game Ready approach. These appeared in social, on merch, and were given as pins to clients to display on their backpacks as rewards for achievements. This added visibility increased word of mouth recommendations and established a framework that led clients to reinforce key messaging.
Healthy Choice
SAPIENT NITRO / NY
COPYWRITER - FREELANCE
With her role as Global CD at Nitro expanding and the acquisition by Sapient absorbing more and more of her time, Kathy Delaney would frequently bring me in freelance as a sort of surrogate Creative Director, managing her department, curating her teams’ output, and generating work on my own, including this Healthy Choice campaign starring Julia Louis Dreyfus.
Originally conceived and written as a web series, Spokesperson Wanted was one of the earliest efforts to create work that merged entertainment, branded content, and advertising.
DISCOVER
SOCIAL. AUDIENCE DIRECTED RESPONSE. WEB VIDEOS.
HARVEST FILMS - DIRECTOR
+ Writer + Creative Collaborator /Talent Improv Partner
During a break in shooting their long-running Peggy campaign, the Martin Agency creatives posed an ostensibly hypothetical question:
If we only had a day or two to shoot, just a general campaign idea but no actual scripts, and precious little budget, could we shoot a year's worth of social videos, mini-spots, moments, and bits? And could we do this within the next three days so as not to lose our talent?
We started coming up with ideas right then and there. And didn't stop until we collapsed four days later.
But not before we had created a library of more than 100 videos, postable moments, and modular elements that formed the backbone of the entire years' social and digital campaign.
