Yes, even in bad economic times, there's room for creative risk-taking and innovation. We continue this month's Create feature online by asking more ad agency creatives and magazine photo editors to describe the undertaking their most proud of this year. Many shared their thoughts on how to stay creative and innovative in times of uncertainty.
Jenny A. Myers
Associate Creative Director
Drake Cooper
The identity work we did for Northstar Bicycle Couriers braved the battleground of many brainstorming sessions and arrived, on the other side, with all limbs intact. We wanted the photography to capture the many virtues of the bicycle courier business (rule bending, street speed, efficiency at all costs, enviro-loving attitudes)… we gave rise to some mud-splattered, spandex-wearing saviors, always ready to swoop in, speed through alleyways on a two-wheeled, white steed, and deliver your package in safety to its heavenly destination. …We were committed to finding a creative solution that could…transform two hard-working, regular guys into saints.
We paid meticulous attention to the materials we were using. North Star has a green ethos and we wanted to represent that and carry it throughout the entire production as much as possible. Almost all of the materials were found, borrowed from bike shops or purchased from a metal scrap yard. [We] enlisted the services of Greg Simms from Tri-digital Group to shoot the project. Greg is great to work with; his energy and enthusiasm is contagious.
I love to push the creative envelope. Innovative work is the driving force behind this profession. I think there are two key components of creating work that challenges creative boundaries. The first, obviously, is to come up with something original. The second is to sell the idea to the client. Getting buy-in from the client can be difficult at times. Different industries and clients pose different challenges.
I think clients want to be open to new and interesting ideas but are scared of taking risks, especially in today’s economy. However, I really feel that it is more risky to stay stagnant and pick the safe choice. The key to advertising success is differentiation.
Daniel Moorey
Head of Art Buying
DDB London
The DDB campaign that springs to mind is something I didn’t work on myself so I can’t take credit for it, but for me [Harvey Nichols store in Bristol[ is one of the best print campaigns I have seen in the last 10 years. Grant Parker came up with the idea during a post shoot drinks do and Sarah Thomson did the art buying. You need to know that in the UK , [animated characters]Wallace and Gromit are famous for being from Bristol! One of the things I love about this campaign is that it isn’t just a fashiony cool thing, it’s funny and engaging too. At its starting point though it is just a wonderful idea that has been realized with a light touch. The photography by Giles Revell doesn’t do anything showy but it achieves what every great photographer looks to achieve, the feeling that the shot couldn’t have been done any better.
[Department store chain] Harvey Nichols do some fantastic advertising, as evidenced by the fact that they are one of the most creatively awarded ad accounts in the world. All the Harvey Nichols ads show what can be done on a tight budget though when there is a good agency/client relationship.
DDB has a very creatively led art buying department that hopefully initiates a lot of ideas and suggestions for new photographers, illustration styles etc etc. The bottom line when we start a job though is the strength of the original idea we are given by the creative department. Being safe is definitely more of an issue than it used to be but it’s all about moving things along in a way that is right for each client. You can push the creative envelope quite nicely and be ultra safe too by making sure everyone knows what they are getting at the end.
Chris Johns
Editor in Chief
National Geographic magazine
Our July 2008 cover story, "Who Murdered The Mountain Gorillas," was a high point for National Geographic magazine. This was photographer Brent Stirton's first assignment for us and he performed with courage and skill. We ignored our long lead times and were able to publish the story far more quickly than under normal deadlines. It is a tough, thorough story, that pulls no punches, and our readers rated it one of their favorite stories of the year.
In July of 2007 we saw Brent Stirton's powerful photographs of the murdered mountain gorillas. David Griffin, our Director of Photography, contacted Brent about doing a follow up piece on the killings. The scene of the crime, the border area between Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC, is a very unpredictable and dangerous part of the world and Brent had the judgment and contacts to give us an in-depth look at was really going on. [We] assigned him the story with a very solid and experienced writer, Mark Jenkins. In the meantime we began working with the various NGOs who were working in mountain gorilla conservation to help our field team with contacts and to also give us the background we needed for revealing maps and information graphics.
There is a real rush for us in getting on a story quickly and getting it in National Geographic magazine as soon as possible. We've done it in the past with stories like Jim Natchwey's "Military Medicine," the December 2006 issue. We find it to be invigorating to work so quickly and our readers respond positively to relevant, current stories. It also reinforces how important it is for us to be constantly looking for new talent, like Brent, and to find creative ways of working with emerging photographers.
Kat Dalager
Manager of Print Production
Campbell Mithun
I worked on a project at the end of last year for The Hartford with Creative Director Andy Anema. Using Hartford’s iconic stag figure (lovingly dubbed “Larry”), the ads at once celebrated the company’s 200-year history while showing how The Hartford was the company for the future. Photographer Jim Fiscus and digital imaging studio Saddington Baynes were the heroes in this campaign.
It was truly a collaborative effort between Andy, Jim and his producer, Saddington, our account management team and me. Because the images required a juxtaposition of old and new elements, we had to come up with existing locations that would fit each situation. We also needed to acquire permissions for those locations, as well as for various buildings and artwork. Our timeline was tight since we were coming up on the Holidays and snow was a potential problem. The images were taken in various parts of the country, but mostly in and around New York City. Despite the logistical challenges, we produced some incredible images.
I think the greatest trend I’ve noticed is more in the way we do business. It can be summed up in one word: nimble. We’ve had to “go with the flow” much more than in previous years and we’ve had to work outside of the usual boundaries in everything from role definition/job function, to servicing our clients in a ways that best satisfy the needs of their specific businesses. We’re doing a lot of integrated productions these days, working in tandem with our moving image counterparts to give our clients the biggest bang for their buck. Print Producers function as Print Traffic Managers or double up as Art Producers. Interactive Producers double up as Print Traffic Managers. We do whatever the client’s business requires to operate smoothly and efficiently.
Steve Red
Chief Creative Officer
Red Tettemer
We believe the world is in a “permanent state of change” and that we have to embrace the opportunities that change presents or risk being left on the sidelines as the world whooshes past. We’ve been particularly successful at pushing ourselves beyond conventional thinking in the past year…
We’re in the midst of building an entire online social virtual network from the ground up for a client to be announced this December. Officially launching in February 09, this new virtual world will be a way for this national retailer to engage the next generation of customers. We’re also planning product and merchandising extensions.
-We’re launching our own brand of Gin. We’re ever vigilant about keeping the Red Tettemer brand fresh and surprising so with the help of some friends, we’re distilling, bottling and distributing our own spirits brand. Tub Gin will officially be available on November 7 of this year.
-We created an entire campaign out of living moss to announce the launch of a hybrid bus fleet for our client SEPTA, the public transportation company for the Philadelphia GMA. A campaign that was as beautiful as the message, created by eco-artist, Edina Tokodi.
-We built an event strategy around grilling for our client Hatfield Quality Meats. It included creating a one of a kind foosball table with dueling sausages instead of men and a documentary about a cannon that launches hotdogs into the stands at baseball games.
-We created a fictional bike team called the Weavers for our client the Pennsylvania Tourism Office and shot a short film that buzzed around the web. And speaking of PA, we’re about to embark on producing the 5th year of our original Groundhog vs. Shadow web series, which has been seen in indie film festivals across the country and has garnered comments from Adweek, Jack Nicholson and Variety’s, Army Acherd.
I won’t go into the details of every idea mentioned above, but they all start with clients willing to open their minds to new ways of engaging advertising-weary consumers. And they come out of Red Tettemer’s drive to create fresh, distinctive ways to tell stories and our ongoing effort to create and environment where people feel comfortable taking risks.
We’ve learned everything from how to take storytelling to the next level by literally building a new world for the consumer to live in, to how to walk in our client’s shoes by launching and marketing a product of our own.
Every time we find an interesting new way to break through and connect with people it’s a true rush. And like any rush, the more you do it, the more you want. The past year’s successes have made us want to push even farther.
Kim Hubbard
Photo Editor
Audubon
magazine
For our Mar/Apr issue, we got Mark Klett to shoot an assignment for us. I was really thrilled at this, because he rarely does editorial work, and I've been trying to pin him down for years. Our schedules finally meshed and he shot an archeological site in Arizona for us. He shot digital medium format and created some great, jagged composite photos. They were landscapes with an edge, and they lent themselves perfectly to the panoramic nature of the subject matter. We were incredibly happy with the shoot, because we love showing ordinary subjects in new ways. We always try to push the envelope in some way or another. We never want our photography to be boring or stale; we try to keep it as fresh as possible. We're lucky to have an editorial staff that trusts us (the art dept) completely to do that.
We got a lot of positive response from the story. People were also pretty surprised we were able to get Mark to shoot for us.
