And for the record, just because I hate it doesn’t mean I haven’t said it once or twice. I have. I’m not proud of it and had the heartburn to prove it.

So instead of settling for “good enough,” we press on and fight for something better. (Dial M for masochism)

The question is: why?

There’s apparently no real financial incentive for the agency since an awful lot of creatively average (or worse) agencies make buckets of money. Look no further than the AdAge’s 100 largest agencies in the country. A spotty showing of greatness to say the least.

If that’s not it, perhaps highly creative work is more memorable? Tell that to the Mentos guys. Or the Whisk “Ring around the collar” guys. Or Subway’s $5 foot long guys. Hammer someone’s brain enough and it’ll leave a mark.

Doesn’t make it right.

Here’s the deal: If you just slap a message out there, you’re not marketing or building a brand, you’re getting a task off your plate. It’s the equivalent of getting up in the morning, throwing on a hat and some sweats and going to work. Sure, it covers all the bits that need it but are you really going to impress?

If we don’t put time and energy and care into crafting interesting messages, why should we expect anyone out there to care? What better way to show consumers that your client really does appreciate their business and respects their time than by rewarding their attention with a compelling idea and execution.

And this gets to the crux of the answer to “why?”

If, as creative agencies and people, we really want to make a difference in our client’s brands, our industry and our companies, we need to constantly fight for something better.

A better strategy. A better idea. A better execution. A better typeface. A better director. A better…whatever. Because the ball can be dropped at any point along the way and suddenly what you’ve worked towards becomes remarkably average.

And average doesn’t make a difference.

That’s the ultimate reason why we willfully subject ourselves to the conflict, agony and meeting awkwardness that so often comes with pushing for a higher standard.

Ok, that and also because advertising would completely suck if we didn’t.

First up is the work Wieden & Kennedy is doing for Dodge. I don’t like Dodge. We never had a Dodge growing up. I have never considered buying one as an adult. Always thought they made pretty good engines but then wrapped them in poorly designed shells that were not terribly well made or reliable. But man, the work Dodge has put together coming out of this financial mess is fantastic. There are other funny takes on minivans, etc…but here are two ideas that represent just some of what I think is the best they are doing:

Print:

TV:

I don’t know if their vehicles are any better, but in my eyes their brand is better because of this work. And that is good help to get from your agency. I have given them another look. Pro America. Pro Dodge. Funny and engaging. Not taking itself too seriously. A leadership position. Maybe Dodge should run for office, we sure could use a little more of that…

Next up is something near and dear to my heart as a Red Sox fan. What makes this even better is that I really don’t like Alec Baldwin very much, and he is cast as The Yankees Fan.

Take a look at what New Era has out on TV and Facebook:

This is brilliant. “Hats off” to The Brooklyn Brothers in New York for creating the work.

I want to go buy a new Red Sox hat right away. I have several. But to reward this, I need another. Oh, and did I mention the Red Sox erased their entire panic-inducing deficit that their early season losses created? See you in October, fascists!

Cheers,

Mark

While we appreciate whenever our peers recognize the work we do, this award just validates the work we are so proud to be a part of. A year ago today, Firehouse launched the 1 Million 4 Anna initiative with the simple goal of getting 1 million prayers for Anna Basso, our agency founder’s neighbor, as she battles Ewing’s Sarcoma. We knew Anna had an expert team behind her from Children’s Medical Center, but we also wanted to find a way encourage her through the power of prayer as she fought this tough battle.

One year later, Anna continues her brave fight, and we are up to 840,000 prayers and counting. We are so thankful to have the campaign honored this year and special thanks to the award show hosts, Chris Smith and James Hering, who did a great job of telling our story during the show. Because we launched 1 Million 4 Anna on the same day as last year’s DFWIMA Awards, the wonderful board members were kind enough to let us set up a table on site at this year’s event to help event attendees sign up at http://www.1millionprayers.com. We were so thankful for the great audience response to the 1 Million 4 Anna story and we’re excited to launch another push as we near the 1 million prayer milestone.

We haven’t quite reached a million, but we are getting closer. Please check out the site and “pledge” to pray everyday at 12:12 p.m. for Anna. Thanks again to DFWIMA for this great honor and to all the people who bring us closer to 1 Million 4 Anna everyday.

Check out how Sierra Mist decided to “go green”.

Over 3,000 plants were put into individual fabric pockets and hung on vertical frames. The board did not have a water source so a watering reservoir and pump system were built to pump water and food to the plants at pre-programmed times.  Did you catch that? They had to FEED the outdoor board.

As a person with a keen appreciation for the production process, I am floored by the details of the execution, and jealous of the team that got to make it happen.

So let’s all raise a watering can to  Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for a cool idea, and send a huge shout-out to Sierra Mist for letting that great idea come to life. LITERALLY.

But the funny thing about those spots is that they only ran for about three months last year. They were incredibly impactful, driving sales and awareness, when they were actually on air.

This week, our new design for the Interstate Batteries delivery trucks rolled out of the docks. We gave it a fresh new look, made the battery the hero, and furthered our “Outrageously Dependable” messaging. Interstate Batteries has about 1,500 of these vehicles, and their Route Sales Managers are constantly on the road delivering batteries to dealers across the country. You’ve probably even seen them driving around your own town. As proud as I am of those TV spots, I am perhaps more proud of this truck redesign. Unlike TV, this medium is in front of consumers every single day. When you think about it, these delivery trucks are likely our best brand medium.

Likewise, we will be rolling out a new cup design next month for our convenience store client, Stripes. Think about how many fountain drinks a convenience store sells in a year. This little piece of Styrofoam valued at about a penny is our best everyday medium for Stripes.

Marketing dollars continue to be lean for all of us. So contemplate what your best medium really is, the one that is front of consumers the most. Likely, it’s not traditional media. It is probably your storefront, your employees, your packaging, your delivery trucks or maybe your Facebook page. Now ask yourself, are you maximizing the impact of that critical touchpoint?

Photos:

For example: You can start a week working on some super-sweet outdoor boards and by the end of the week find yourself standing in a wrestling ring with 4 giant mascots playing a game of musical chairs at a masked wrestling event.

(Me thinks you won’t see what follows on the next episode of Mad Men.)

Stripes had an opportunity to be the title sponsor for a masked wrestling event in Corpus Christi called “Lucha Libre.” The event fit perfectly with the Ultimate Breakfast Taco Showdown promotion scheduled to be happening in-market at the time. Sometimes the stars just align, rarely does it involve angry men in masks performing a high-flying ballet of violence, but it does happen.

The radio for the promotion fit perfectly with the vibe of the event.

Check it out. [audio:http://thefurnace.firehouseagency.com/wp-content/uploads/Taco-Babies-No-Music1.mp3|titles=Taco Babies No Music]

All in all it was one of those sponsorships creatives dream about: you get free reign of the perfect event for your brand AND there are flying midgets involved.

The first step: hyperventilate. Second step: happy dance. Third step: get to work figuring out how to make this event unmistakably and completely owned by Stripes.

We wanted a presence from the front of the stadium (Whataburger Field) all the way to the ring.

First things first: the entrance. We designed a Stripes booth that would feature a custom “Thumbador” ring where kids could put tiny masks over their thumbs and thumb wrestle like a pro…if there were such a thing. The action was to be streamed live onto a TV mounted on the tent behind them. The idea was to go beyond just a presence and deliver an experience. Here’s how it turned out:

In the tent, face painters decked out folks on their very own Luchador masks (in Stripes colors).

Of course the mascots would need a proper lucha makeover. As luck would have it, Stripes has a seamstress on hand for just such an eventuality. She did an excellent job of bringing our designs to life.

We then had the luchafied mascots greet folks as they filed in the door and past our booth and flanked the booth with our giant Stripes cup.

Inside the stadium, Stripes signage was everywhere and the mascots worked the crowd between fights, keeping the energy level crazy high.

During intermission we staged our musical chairs event billed as the Stripes Mascot Folding Chair Challenge (sounds a bit more dangerous than “musical chairs”). We coached the actors to really get into the lucha spirit and they took the advice to heart…big time.

The taco was scripted to win so the audience could be awarded an exit coupon for one free taco in support of the Ultimate Breakfast Taco Showdown promotion. What was not scripted (exactly) was that he would win by body slamming the beer bottle and then dropping a DDT on him from off the ropes. The crowd totally  loved it.

While the crowd was still on its feet, we started flinging t-shirts into the audience with a giant slingshot. The first couple actually went completely out of the stadium, but we quickly improved our aim eventually taking out an entire row of senior citizens who had mistakenly showed up expecting to see Justin Bieber on Ice (ok, that may not have actually happened).

The crowd was louder and more into the event at this point than at any time during the show including the evening’s main event.

Our exhaustive post-event research has already revealed some surprising insights:

At exit, everyone in attendance received a coupon and redemption is at about 8% as of today (not too shabby).

Go big. That’s just how it has to be when Firehouse does a promotion, we go gonzo, all the way to 11, rip the nob off, light the fuse and walk away looking cool as the whole thing blows up in a beautiful ball of awesome.

Sometimes, we’ll even get tarted up a bit in the spirit of the moment.

Face paint over entire head + 4000% humidity = blissful near-death experience, mild hallucinations.

The next morning, we discovered the press (no doubt notified, annoyed, badgered and possibly threatened by our very own mistress of PR, Kari) had given us a little love.  Bonus w00t!

Mask Warriors logo courtesy of Lucha Libre USA
News clipping courtesy of the Corpus Christi Caller Times

The Creative Process Illustrated is a must have compendium of some of the highest profile names to ever work in the business. Davis Kennedy, Hal Curtis, Kevin Roddy, just to name a few. Oh, and also, yours truly.

Answering the questions:
What was the method these creatives took when approaching an assignment?
What do we do when we try to solve a problem for a client?
Frankly, I was honored to be asked to participate in the experiment, and since every creative is as unique as their processes, I was looking forward to reading about the methods of my colleagues. It’s fascinating stuff. The answers range from ultra-complex to simple to whimsily brilliant. It’s a truly inspiring book and I can say with full confidence that it’s a good idea to check it out.

-Silver