One of the last things I worked on back at Wieden was ESPN’s marketing for the very quickly approaching World Cup. One of the most interesting things we did with them (and a South African artist collective) is put together 33 murals that told the stories of each participating team (and another for the tourney). You can check them all out here on Facebook or on Flickr. But, of course, this is the most important one:

Finally, here’s the “anthem” TV spot (Bono and all) for the entire event:

P.S. I’d like to promise more activity over here, but with game-watching and my new job, I can’t be sure. Thanks for keeping me around.

Anyway, a conversation about creating something (an ad, event, application, etc.) that makes “a brand statement” – gets people talking and shows them a company’s values, personality and/or mission – led me to think about some of the work that’s broken through and resonated with me over the last half year or so. You guys and dolls in advertising have probably seen most, if not all, of these but figured I’d post them for the other nine visitors who aren’t scouring award show winner lists. Plus, I truly believe it’s important for everyone in our industry to talk about the work we see out in the marketplace – whether “creative” is in your title or not.

The idea that sparked this post originally is closest to the Coke example in that it’s a stunt that documented made for some pretty interesting video. What I love is how Heineken thought about their audience and decided to use the people who have the most influence over their soccer fan consumers to reach them.

Also in the sports world (my world) are Gatorade’s Replay, Nike’s Chalkbot and Puma’s Hardchorus. Definitely check these out – they’re really fun.

Given my history working with The Islands Of The Bahamas’ tourism board, I can’t deny last year’s big winner on awards show circuit. Here’s its case study video:

Other award winning ideas brought to life that I admire are BK’s Whopper Sacrifice, Axe’s 100 Girls and our Old Spice Swaggerize Me.

Lastly, two very different uses of film (hundreds of very short clips to show off a limited-run of shoes and one long tale about whiskey) have caught my eye and sucked me in. They are New Balance’s 574 Cilps and Johnnie Walker’s “The Man Who Walked Around The World:

P.S. Kevin, there’s your credit list.
P.P.S. W+K London just released an extended version of Impossible Dream for Honda.

As you can see, Charles and I have an uphill battle going into the game. But he’s a lucky dude and there are 9 ways to win. For those wanting to play along, here are the deets:

$20/box / 1st quarter – $150 / Half-time – $300 / 3rd quarter – $150 / Final – $1100
Additionally, the “four touchers” of the final score box will get $50 each and reverse score wins $100.

So start your own tomorrow at work or with your party on Sunday. Or just root for me.

We’ve created a heavy metal band called The Group of Death.

Inspired by the most hardcore group of the World Cup draw every four years and with the goal of entertaining football fans across the world. See the band’s one-sheet below for more info.

As most of you know, we’re constantly producing things with ESPN at W+KNY — for its sports properties (e.g., NBA on ESPN Shaqtus), shows (SportsCenter Duck) and media (ESPN.com Answers). Shit, I was going to say “I rarely share…” but instead I added links.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to post about the GoD is because it’s one of those ideas that usually get left behind for the main campaign, for the big stuff. Whether it’s too far removed from the ultimate objective (selling something), the immediate objective (need to focus everything on one main idea) or the more easily measured objective (ratings). Whether it seems too rushed to execute or too risky. Whether there’s just not enough money because producing 3 TV spots is the priority. Or whatever. An idea like this often never sees the light of day.

Props to ESPN for allowing us to bring The Group of Death to life. They had to be comfortable with the fact that this idea is not about promoting its coverage of the draw and is not meant for the sports fan masses. It’s about being present on the is the most important day for fans until the tournament starts on June 11, 2010 and doing something interesting/exciting/authentic for avid football fans.

Specifically, this idea is meant to capitalize on the fact that when the draw comes out, fans want to know two things: (1) where their team (or teams) are placed and (2) what teams are in the most difficult group – The Group of Death. It’s one of many ways we’ll be trying to build a relationship with sports fans leading up to the World Cup. And we got off to a good start yesterday when “The Gaffer” (no relation) unboxed us on EPL Talk.

Hope you enjoy it. Make sure to check out the songs on the music tab within the Facebook page (IMO it’s the best part). Come through Nevada Smiths around 5PM on Friday for the live concert. Leave a comment if you want me to save you/bring you/send you a t-shirt – I’ve got a few extras to give away.

TrueHoop

We Love You So
(Lauren Epstein passed this on a while back)

(Phil Chang posted on Facebook earlier this week but I can’t get enough)

And this
(Not just because of the mention in “Motherlover”)

Yesterday afternoon I saw a tweet from ESPN RISE asked if anyone had questions for Donald Faison of Dr. Turk on Scrubs fame. I posed: Best hairstyle in sports? Look at Lawrence’s head. It’s da bomb! Cause I’m keepin’ it real. Cause I’m keepin’ it real. (reference Clueless script)

Well, today he responded to me (right after dirtydave998):

(Note: Many of the slides contain hyperlinks to videos. Also, I have no idea why that clip art heart shape would upload properly. But I’m done trying since it’s not relevant to the pres. Plus, it’s only getting further away from Valentine’s Day.)

UPDATE: Many people have told me they need the VO with this or even the notes, and unfortunately I don’t think there’s a way to upload it with them. But in the absence of each, I must clear up just one misconception – I’m not feeling that State Farm spot creatively or strategically. Of course I understand that it was just to get the NFL sponsorship across; however, I used this slide to make the point that advertising is not the end game – that it must serve the brand, connect to your memories of the brand, etc. In hindsight, that was probably not the best example or title of that slide for those reading it. Thank you, Clay, for bringing it to my attention considering I got the idea to use when he and an ex-colleague bashed it on the same day.)

A little over 4 and a half months ago, I started training to run the NYC Marathon for MS. A little over three months ago, I sent my first email asking for donations with two (connected) goals:

Raise $3,450 and Run the race in under 3 hours and 45 minutes.

I’m beyond happy to report that we beat both these goals. You helped me reach a total of $5,242.20 and a time of 3 hours 25 minutes and 15 seconds. That’s almost $2K more and 20 minutes less than I had hoped for! (Just wanted to give you all a chance to pat yourselves on the back, and give me a chance to show off my “3 on the AP Test” math skills :))

Thank you so much to:
Vince and Ila Gaffney, Megan Gaffney, Larry and Linda Fields, Craig Addeo, Carolena Deutsch-Garcia, Hara and Michael Cohen, Steve and Patti Cohen, Howie and Cathy Stein, Phyllis and Jarrett Pikser, Patricia Marchese, Kerri Holt, Jeff Stein, Lauren Cochran, Eric Rattner, Adrian Ho, Brean Cunningham, Jeffrey Greenblatt, Laith Kalamchi, Michael Rubinfeld, Jess April, Stephanie Redlener, Andrew Tchabovsky, Hara and Michael Cohen, Matt O’Laughlin, Robert Nelson, Lisa Michel, Kirsten Shiroma, Eric Friedman, Kim Nguyen, Jeff Friedman, Jason Brupbacher, Steven Krammer, Sherri and Jeff Feinman, Ron and Diane Kaufman, Matthew Jung, Mark DiMassimo, Paul Garvey, Zach Lev, Eric Mishlove, Tom Theys, Erica, Dave and Noah Ellenbogen, Barry Blyn, Jen Giroux, Eve Silverman, Jason Oke, Pete Brown, Justin Eshak, Michael Katz, Matthew Johnson, Steven Fields, Leah Zamkow, Donna and Ed Mishlove, Tori Greene, Marie Shadi, Lee Goldstein, Chad Blakenship, Kamila Prokop, Genna McKeel, David Buxton, Slyvan Garfunkel, Arthur Marino, Aki Spicer, Noah Brier, Evan Schepps, Sarah Saline, Sean Cox, Toby Daniels, Jonathan Stein, John Dooley, Jonathan Marshall, Ian Young, Christina Verdeschi, Annemarie Cullen, Einat Korman, Aaron Perlstein, Gary Van Dzura, Alex Sagol, Rich Weinstein, Sarah Park, Jonathan Eshak, Brian Flax, Jessica Rowlands, Annie O’Rourke, James Hochleutner, Mara Kelly, Alain Sylvain, Adrian Heney, Michael Page, Virginia Scoza, Irene Binder, and Brian Morris.

So how did it go? Well, I woke up at 5AM to go the ferry. I got on the ferry to Staten Island. I started in Staten Island and crossed the Verrazano Bridge. I crossed the Verrazano Bridge to swallow the fly. I don’t know why…Okay, I’ll stop. But suffice to say, I had a great day physically, mentally, and emotionally. The conditions were fantastic that Sunday, though a bit chilly causing me—as you’ll see in pictures—to rock gloves for the full 26.2 miles. I got to see a handful of you lining the course, including my family, which provided that extra burst of energy and motivation to keep going. And for the majority of those miles I ran with a couple of new friends from the Run MS team, Fred and Andrew. These guys kept me inspired, entertained, and honest. I had a tendency in training runs to get a little too speedy for my own good, and as you can see here my pace was pretty consistent for the entire race at 7:49.

I don’t have any glamour shots by Deb or anyone else, but I did take some screen grabs of some photos taken by the hired pros on November 2nd. (Don’t underestimate my sneakiness, Brightroom.) I put them into a little video for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy:

UPDATE: I received quite a few emails asking how long it took me to put that together. The answer: Less than 20 minutes – the bulk of which was spent taking screen grabs of my race pictures. I used Animoto, a free service that allows you to make a customized slide show video (with your own uploaded images and music). It also enables you to import the video into YouTube straight from their site. Check it out.

How am I doing? Thanks for asking. In short, great. In long, I’ve experienced some minor aches and pains and grosser stuff I won’t put in this email but week-to-week have been solid. Last weekend I completed my longest run of 20 miles and have been “tapering” since (starting to run less and rest more to let one’s body recover/get stronger for the race). This past Saturday I did 14, have 8 next weekend and then comes the big 26.2.

From when I began training to now, I’ve run an estimated—with the help of Nike+, which I use to track most runs—500 miles. From when I began training to now, I’ve met some incredible people also running for MS and made some good friends…2 with whom I’ll likely be running the marathon. (That is, if we can coordinate and find each other amongst the other 39,000 runners.) From when I began training to now, I’ve been both motivated and extremely touched by the support you’ve given me and this great cause.

When I began training with the Run MS team, I started with a goal of raising $3,450. Now, thanks to you, I have just surpassed $4,000. And I’m making a push for a nice, round $5000. So if you’d still like to donate (or pass on to someone who may like to donate):

Click here

Thank you’s go out to:

Vince and Ila Gaffney, Megan Gaffney, Larry and Linda Fields, Craig Addeo, Carolena Deutsch-Garcia, Hara and Michael Cohen, Steve and Patti Cohen, Howie and Cathy Stein, Phyllis and Jarrett Pikser, Patricia Marchese, Kerri Holt, Jeff Stein, Lauren Cochran, Eric Rattner, Adrian Ho, Brean Cunningham, Jeffrey Greenblatt, Laith Kalamchi, Michael Rubinfeld, Jess April, Stephanie Redlener, Andrew Tchabovsky, Hara and Michael Cohen, Matt O’Laughlin, Robert Nelson, Lisa Michel, Kirsten Shiroma, Eric Friedman, Kim Nguyen, Jeff Friedman, Jason Brupbacher, Steven Krammer, Sherri and Jeff Feinman, Ron and Diane Kaufman, Matthew Jung, Mark DiMassimo, Paul Garvey, Zach Lev, Eric Mishlove, Tom Theys, Erica, Dave and Noah Ellenbogen, Barry Blyn, Jen Giroux, Eve Silverman, Jason Oke, Pete Brown, Justin Eshak, Michael Katz, Matthew Johnson, Steven Fields, Leah Zamkow, Donna and Ed Mishlove, Tori Greene, Marie Shadi, Lee Goldstein, Chad Blakenship, Kamila Prokop, Genna McKeel, David Buxton, Slyvan Garfunkel, Arthur Marino, Aki Spicer, Noah Brier, Evan Schepps, Sarah Saline, Sean Cox, Toby Daniels.

Update: Since sending the email early this morning, I’ve reached $4,551. Thanks to Adrian Heney, Alain Sylvain, Annie O’Rourke, James Hochleutner, and Mara Kelly.

Clay + Kevin + the rest of the Hustlewood team have been working their butts off, Giorgio (can’t resist the Zoolander reference) and have managed to get a site up and running (can’t resist the pun) in less than ten days. We’re still revising it and will likely continue to do so over the next week (if not more) as we learn what’s working and discover opportunities to enhance the experience. What that means is making the idea and call to action more clear and compelling, the blog portion more interesting and useful, and the pieces (Twitter, Flickr, Facebook NYC & CHI, etc.) work more seamlessly and effectively together.

As I said in my last post, we’re trying to be as transparent and inclusive in building this idea (and we hope, movement) as possible. We’re using our blogs and now the blog on obamabaton.com to do so. (Please comment over there with any Obama Baton-specific thoughts you have.) And we’re learning quite a bit along the way. But we’ve still got a long way to go—a couple of marathons at least—before Barack wins on November 4th. So please visit the site, show your support, and Pass It On.

What a good guy!

But truth is, most of my time has been spent trying to get you people (especially the sports fans among ya) to feel a deeper, stronger connection to ESPN. I do this primarily, as many of you know, by developing interesting strategies for their variety of properties. These ideas serve as platforms for our creative work.

That’s what we call what you call “ads” here at W+K, the “work.” I wanted to use this post not only to make an excuse about being super busy with work but also to show you the most recent work I have been a part of bringing to life (in my own small way).

When most sports fans think of ESPN’s advertising, they think “those SportsCenter commercials.” And that’s a good thing because most of them ‘em. I do too (even if they don’t require a “planner” and brief). When we set out to announce the start of SportsCenter going live in the morning, however, some strategic thinking was essential. Planning’s role (my role) was as much about tonal approach as it was about message. The news itself was not wildly important news to sports fans nor would it have a huge impact on the show, so we had to be honest, transparent even, and make the campaign the news/entertainment. The tagline (as it often does) encapsulated our strategy “More work for us. More better for you.” You seen it (and my handwriting) here already.

In addition, I am particularly jazzed (yeah, I said it) about latest work we did right after the Olympics. Our clients smartly wanted to be proactive about making a statement that celebrated this global event (which of course ran on NBC, not ESPN). We framed the challenge to figure out a way to be true to our personality without being self-serving. We turned the work around within a week and the response to our ad in the Sunday New York Times has been great.

Also very recently, we launched our campaign for Monday Night Football on ESPN. The idea is simple, Monday Night Football helps you get through Monday. Was this a planning breakthrough? Hells no. But it’s the truth, and in my career as a planner, I’ve found some of the campaigns I’m most proud of working on have started with identifying a clear truth like Mondays suck or You need a vacation (Bahamavention). Back to the MNF campaign, I’m really happy with how it turned out…and only partly because MC Hammer is in one TV spot. (Whose beeper keep beepin’ and beepin’!?) Check out Creativity’s nice write-up.

Other than that, I’ve been working to get our office’s blog in full swing, updating my Tumblr, and of course wishing I was responsible for the brief that led to this work.

Back to the point: Today, after work, I officially kick-off my training for the NYC Marathon with the NYC Chapter of MS. I decided to Run MS for a few reasons, which I will talk more about in future posts. The first of which is quite honestly that I wanted to run the marathon and thought running for a charity/cause would be a win-win. I would get guaranteed entrance (after being rejected a few years back) and the organization would get a dedicated champion of its cause. (Jen was also an inspiration for this.) When I got to Wieden, I saw that one of our pro bono accounts was the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I was extremely interested in working on this account for two reasons. The first of which was to offset my not helping the world in advertising guilt. The second was a lot less selfish—my friend’s mother has had the disease and in recent years had to fight harder against it. Therefore, I wanted to help by both learning and doing. And I’m proud to say that NMMS has recently become a client of mine.

Please check out My Personal Donation Page. As you can see, I have not started to raise money yet. (The 100 spot was what I dropped initially to get the spot in the race.) And as you can also see, my goal is to raise $3,450. 3 G’s (not to be confused with the iPhone 3G) is the bare minimum and I don’t want to be someone who is thought of as doing the bare minimum when it comes to fundraising for a great cause or wearing flair. But the amount is not arbitrary; it correlates to the time I hope to finish the marathon in – 3 hours and 45 minutes. I ran my first and only marathon (Twin Cities) in October of 2006 in just under 3:48.

While this seems like a conservative goal, three minutes is a lot to cut in running even over the course of 26.2 miles and the temptations and running routes in NYC are greater and lesser, respectively!

So all that said, you’re going to be hearing more about my training and about MS. And I’m going to be asking you (hopefully not harassing) for some support in the form of cash money (PayPal or checks) until November 2, 2008. Starting, well, now if you feel the urge. Thanks for reading everyone. More to come.

How do people enjoy watching cars go around and around in a circle?

Well, given it’s part of my job to understand not just the rules of NASCAR but also the fans, I spent a significant part of my yesterday (over 5 hours all in – including pre-race and a bit of post) watching the Super Bowl of the sport, The Daytona 500. (Yes, it is unlike any sport I can think of in that it starts out with its biggest event.) I watched with a couple of work friends—one in particular (Michael) who is an avid fan of racing and driver Jeff Gordon and thus was able to answer all my stupid questions.

If you have any interest in learning a bit about NASCAR and what my viewing experience was like, check out my twitter. Go back a couple of pages to see the start (picking up Bud heavy). Overall, I had a great time—as noted by Mike, “the beer helps”—though I don’t think I’d have the stamina (read as: time) to watch all 200 laps in the future. Hopefully I’ll get to attend one of the other Sprint Cup races in person this year. I hear that helps you more fully appreciate NASCAR. Until the next race, I’ll be looking for some Target car #41 gear!

I have a Nano already; a little (RED) one came with my black MacBook purchase back in May 2007. I had given it to my dad since I was rocking the U2 Limited Edition (bought for the color, not the love of the band – yes, that’s how I roll and I can’t be the only one). But since I saw it still sitting atop the microwave in the kitchen unopened when I returned home for the beginning of the holiday, I’m taking it back. I will pass big old original on to my pops so he can add his Rolling Stones and Dr. Wayne Dyer to my Girl Talk and Dj. Khaled.

So, I went to the Apple store and picked up the Nike + package with the sensor and receiver as well as a nano-holding arm-band.

Now all I’m lacking (to my knowledge) is a pair of Nike + shoes. Any suggestions? As much as I’d rather use my Mizunos and respect the efforts of non-Nike wearing predecessors, I don’t see myself hacking this product.

So when Seth Godin comes through with a hot book or post, I can’t say I’ve ever felt closer to it than others but it does kind of make me want to step up my game as a Seth (a Seth G. at that). Or when Seth Green comes through with a hot video clip (like Chris Cocker) or Robot Chicken episode or character (Kenny, anyone?), I try to up the funny…after being like, “yeah SETH! that’s what’s up!”

And don’t think this is limited to “real people.” In fact, when characters in movies, TV shows, or books are named Seth or Gaffney (yet to see a Seth Gaffney), I reap the benefits. You don’t think girls at bars ever said, “Oh, like Seth Cohen???” That’s right. Jokes and jokes and jokes and spaghetti, spaghetti. How about Seth from Boiler Room? A bit of a whiner, but ran that casino from his house and could make a sell like no other newbie. Not last and certainly not least my sister, Julie “The Cat” Gaffney saving the last shot glove side in the Mighty Ducks 2 shootout with Russia. What? Yes, that’s right. Team USA. Give me a high five for homegirl!

That’s all. If you see my in the hall, throw me something. A pen, stapler, whatever. I’ll catch it…and then I’ll tell you about a Purple Calf…because I’m badass by association.

So congratulations to Patrick McEnroe (captain), Roddick, Blake, the Bryan Brothers, whom (as a doubles player myself) I believe are the most fun players to watch in the world. Watching Bob Bryan, a lefty, serve 4 straight aces in a game at the Open this year was one of the most ridiculous sports feats I’ve witnessed in person. (There should be a name for that, but I don’t think there is. Anyone? What’s the opposite of the golden sombrero.) He was also the model for American Express’ serve analysis that they offered for free in Bryant Park.

I’ve always been a fan of doubles. I’ve enjoyed playing it mostly for the strategic aspect (as well as the fact that it allowed me to more easily hide my appalling backhand). And I’ve enjoyed watching the strategy that great teams employ (as well as the speed of net play and the energy that comes from having a partner with whom to celebrate – just look at the Bryans’ patented chest bump). I’ve also always been a fan of team sports, so making this individualistic sport a team one for this tournament has always been appealing…even if I can never find it on T.V. And finally, I like an international competition…even it’s no World Cup. Even as an accomplished singles player, Andy Roddick has talked about how this tournament holds the most importance to him for this reason. And that’s the main reason I’ve always supported him. He cares as much about growing the sport of tennis in the U.S. as anyone in the USTA., and he acknowledges he can’t do it alone.

Anyway, I’m pumped so I posted. As Mike Bryan put it, “No words can explain how we feel right now, except Woooooooo!” The energy around this event is really good for the sport, and if I ran the USTA, I’d work more closely with the ITF, invest more in getting it on air and making people aware of it, and link it closer to their youth tennis initiatives. Yes, I know there is a significant challenge in that it takes almost a full year to complete (first round in Feb and just finished now). However, as a planner this is a challenge I’d love to take on…with a team!

This is almost as good as The Village Voice’s breakdown of This is Why I’m Hot: Rap Charts. A sneak peak of what you’ll find (a couple of the more tame lyrics):


Wow. I really can enjoy that all day. But anyway, a few more links for the rock or folk music fans…
-This is not for trendy mustache wearers: Beards Rule
-This new sport may not catch on: Binocular Soccer
-This customer complaint is classic: Jimmy Dean Call
-This is a coldblooded prank: Cardinals Game
-This is for the margarita-loving and advertising-recalling New Yorkers: Dell Dude’s New Gig

Those should hold you over for a while. Peace.