Back before Al Gore even dreamed of claiming to have personally hand-coded the internet, I was a young, willowy sapling of a writer, trying my best to get a job in the red-hot advertising market that was Kansas City. I had been doing some freelancing for a small (six-person) shop on their retirement homes account. Seeing that I was not scared away by these glamorous assignments, the agency owner decided to use me for their next Jiffy Lube spot.

The local Jiffy Lube franchise was going to begin offering windshield chip repair and wanted a TV spot to tout this new profit center. The only requirements were that it had to feature the local franchise himself (as all their spots did), and it had to be cheap (as all their spots were). The former I knew I could somehow accommodate. The latter, well, I had no idea what anything cost to produce. So I winged that mother.

I gave the agency three scripts. One that, I would later learn, would be considered “direct.” (I now hate the phrase “make it more direct,” btw.) One compared rock chips to potato chips. And another that was the eventual winner. As I was a freelancing neophyte at the time, I was not invited to the set. In hindsight, not getting to sit around all day looking at a bearded rich dude standing on white cyc wasn’t much of a blow.

Lucky for you, I discovered a VHS tape of this spot whilst digging through my Archive of Advertising, currently located in a couple of plastic bins in my home office closet. So I fired up Final Cut, digitized that mother and stuck it on YouTube. Behold its wonder:

Produced in December 1994 and aired the following month, that spot is now over 15 years old. Sadly, it is not the worst spot I ever produced. That honor collectively belongs to spots #2 through #7. Some for Jiffy Lube Heartland and some for the national Jiffy Lube client (yes, somehow a tiny shop in suburban KC had an $8 million national account). Some of the spots’ awfulness is fully my fault. Other atrocities I can lay squarely at the feet of others. But the story of my first real war with account service will have to wait for another day.

And in case you’re wondering, I didn’t show this (or other old spots) to my now-wife whilst in the midst of pitching woo. I waited eight years. Which, for the spot I shall only refer to as “Lobster,” was still two years too few.

Later,

Fox

Our client, Stripes, donated new soccer nets to nine different youth soccer leagues in and around Corpus Christi and began rehabbing a soccer field as a Field of Dreams for one particular team. The program made sense for the brand and the community, and the timing was ideal with the 2010 World Cup starting that week.

What we didn’t anticipate was the extreme outpouring of gratitude from those who were receiving the donations. The presidents and directors of the soccer leagues that I spoke with to coordinate the donations could not say “thank you” enough and kept telling me that we just didn’t understand what this would mean to their all-volunteer, not-for-profit organizations.

While in Corpus to help with the donations and coordinate media coverage, there were several times when I was literally stunned at the response we got – from parents, from kids, from soccer team coaches and even from the maintenance worker at one of the soccer fields at a city park, who gave one of the most sincere and heart-felt expressions of gratitude, telling us that the impact of this program on the kids would be immeasurable.

It doesn’t get much better than having a seven-year-old little boy walk up to your client, shake his hand and say, “Thank you for the cool new nets for my soccer team.”

On the surface, the client donated soccer nets and some turf for a new field. But what we really did was offer some much-needed financial relief to organizations that often don’t get any breaks; helped lower registration costs next year across the leagues so it’s a bit easier on families with kids who want to play soccer; and made sure thousands of kids, who often see nicer fields when they play “away” games, can take pride in playing on their home fields because they look much nicer.

No big budgets, nothing glamorous or cutting-edge about it. But we sure did find a way to make a mark on our client’s hometown community. Made a mark on me, too – reminded me why I love doing what I do.

After a little research, we discovered the legend of the Krampus. A demon that sneaks into bad girls’ and boys’ room and, in the mildest, least disturbing form of the legend, beats them senseless with a stick? It really doesn’t get much more peculiar than that. (Thanks again, Rhineland)

Clearly this was a powerful story worthy of animatronics, CGI effects and latex creature makeup. As we didn’t have the budget for any of that, we went with a handmade puppet, some paper cutouts and the help of our friends at FastCuts.

Shannon came up with the idea to use 19th-century lithograph prints for the sets, Cara made our Krampus out of a G.W. Bush doll (is that appropriate in some strange way?) and then designed the sets. Zack played director while I (the bald guy in the video below) stood around and pointed at things whilst looking pensive and serious.

The entire process (along with some bonus shenanigans) was captured in time lapse below.

And the end result? Another bizarre tradition brought to life in a very unique and (we hope) hilarious way. See for yourself.

Yes. We know. There is a pattern developing here (murder but in cute kind of way) and yes, we will all being seeing therapists in 2010.

Much thanks to Ben and Gigi from FastCuts and Kari for saving our holly, jolly butts at the last possible moment.

Look for the 60-second spot on ESPN during the second commercial break at approximately 7:13 p.m. (Thank you Firehouse media planning.) Here’s a sneak preview if you just can’t wait or are fearful that sleep may set-in after a day full of turkey: Interstate Batteries on YouTube

While recognizing them as leading a trend in restaurants to move to healthier fare, Zinczenko specifically called out the Seared Scallops and Spinach Salad for the improvement to its nutritionals — they reduced the fat and calories by 80%, bringing it to just 400 calories and 4 grams of fat. And trust us, it tastes great!

Oh look, it’s time for lunch!

Check out some more Mac Grill work that has been helping to move the needle.

You see, we’re in the idea business. And we love what we do.

You may also notice (if you’ve seen our client list) that we have a great deal of restaurant experience. In fact, not just experience, but a real passion for the dining industry and tackling the unique challenges restaurant brands face.

So as the economy started going south and the media kept banging the gong of doom, people started hunkering down, staying home and spending less. But for some reason, things didn’t get a whole lot better.

Our planning and insights team started taking a hard look at behaviors, trends, statistics and a whole lot of other factors in order to see if something could be done to help not just our clients, but everyone else as well.

And as we dug, and learned and uncovered…an idea began to form.

Waiting around for bailouts and handouts isn’t the answer. The answer is us. All of us.

Our intent is to create a movement. One based on the simple premise of reminding people that they can contribute to the economic recovery by doing very normal things.

Like eating out at a restaurant.

Take a look at this video. Let us know what you think.

And eat out for a change, will ya?

It started out with word that our print campaign for adrenaline sportswear brand Fuel Clothing, featuring kids flying through the air on skateboards, Big Wheels and bicycles, was named a 2009 One Show Merit Winner and a Luerzer’s Archive Finalist. That. Is. Huge. Especially since this was a campaign idea we had a lot of passion for – showing the pure joy of figuring out when you “knew” you loved to ride.

Then Architectural Record selected our campaign for ThyssenKrupp Elevator’s new synergy elevator solution as a winner in the Integrated Campaign category for its 2009 Advertising Excellence Awards, which recognize the most effective ads in the building and design marketplace. They actually said of a print ad featuring a crayon-drawn building, “Amazingly, it captured our hearts and minds… and it never even showed a picture of the product.” What better response could you ask of a campaign meant to target architects and encourage their freedom to design?

And then there’s our “Carol of the Christmas Pickle” video that won Most Effective Use of Video AND Best of Show at the DFW Interactive Marketing Association’s 9th annual Excellence in Interactive Marketing Awards. This wasn’t something a client requested – this was just for us. It was simply an idea a few creatives had a lot of love for. And so, with a budget of $200 and six jars of pickles, they went for it. Two weeks later, a new holiday stop-animation masterpiece debuted, featuring costumed pickles, a snowy cardboard village and a song about pickles set to the tune of “Carol of the Christmas Bells.”

Carol of the Christmas Pickle from Firehouse on Vimeo.