Advertising with A Conscience?

One of the biggest lessons that my mentor at MCAD, Nancy Rice, taught my classmates and myself is: How do you seek out and work on only those that are doing good?

By this she meant intentionally not working with companies that you considered to be immoral whether that be a tobacco company, a company built on exploitation or one that is knowingly harming the environment. She brought up an example of a client that had approached her at her agency Rice & Rice that she had created after she had left Fallon Worldwide (then called Fallon McElligott Rice).

It was a pesticide intentionally created to not deteriorate, meaning that it would sit in the soil for virtually ever killing specific kinds of bacteria and bugs. Being from a farming background, Nancy knew the harm this could create on the environment and respectively declined the invitation to pitch for the work. Half a year later the company was unable to sell that product and was moving into an environmentally friendly sector and specifically sought out Rice & Rice for their ethics and passion for doing right by the environment.

Stories like these coupled with Nancy’s mantra of, “Never tell a lie no matter how much they are willing to pay.” is something that has stuck with me for quite some time. Although it is a difficult proposition for any new agency to turn down work there are some successful agencies that have been known for only working on clients that do good and I feel they are all agencies that we should aspire to be more like. A few of them include Fame Retail, Green Team, Mono and Olson.

For some cool eco-friendly design inspiration hit up the inhabitat blog.

2009 British Television Advertising Awards

There are many avenues for inspiration in advertising; but, the one that seems to trump them all every year is the annual British Television Advertising Awards.

I was fortunate enough to be back at home in Minneapolis over Christmas and got a chance to see a showing of the awards this year at the Walker Art Center. Although the work skewed more towards the serious this year (most likely due to the economic climate) the work was still excellent. I have found also that the few that you remember a week later are the ones that I truly need to learn from.

I think the greatest or worst piece of a creative persons’ character can be seen when faced with obvious greatness in their field. Those that see it as a command to rise and those that denounce and hate it in fear.

Some of my favorites this year:

Barnardo’s/////BBH

PG TIPS/////MOTHER

Sony/////Fallon

Virgin Atlantic/////RKCR/Y&R

Economic Recovery?

Will the signs of revitalization be noticeable as they happen or only in hind sight?

I’ve liked looking at each agency as a mini-cosmos of the gradually improving economy and I think one of the best success stories of the past few months has been Fallon in Minneapolis.

Creative Success with Alice

Creative Success with Fizzy Lizzy

Business Success with winning Chrysler

Not a bad way to end the year or to bring a jolt back to the ad community in Minneapolis.

The Importance of Integration

“The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time." -Anonymous

What is the point of making advertising if the voice isn't consistent and whats the point of using a logo if the application is random? Many people laugh off the need to have a singular voice projected for any given company or product/service. The need to follow brand regulations doesn't seem to be a large concern of many creatives and agencies. So why is there a perception out there that you need to?

Lets not forget the consumer. If a specific brand is telling them one day that they are high end and the next day they are offering a coupon in the penny saver, exactly what will the consumer think of that brand? Often it seems that consumers perceptions default to the lowest common denominator.

So than, isn't it important to remain consistent to give the consumer a clear idea? I was once told that advertising should speak in the simplest voice possible so the any given consumer can understand it. They continued to say, it's not because the consumer is stupid; but, it's because they don't genuinely care. All they want to do is read their magazine or watch their show. It has to be simple to stick and the way to do that is to remain consistent pushing ONE attribute that differentiates your brand.

Fallon created an excellent example of a great integrated campaign over multiple platforms for the SyFy show, Alice. Check out a piece of the guerilla advertising, social media and online marketing.

The Start to an Interesting Career

Hello, I'm Taylor Snyder. I just graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design into the worst financial crisis since the great depression.

My career of choice, for the last five years, has been to be an Art Director in the Ad World. I graduated with a BFA in Advertising Design from one of the top design schools in the mid-west and was tutored by Nancy Rice (one of the founders of Fallon Worldwide). I am an extremely hard worker having worked full time as a Starbucks Store Manager and Noodles & Co. Assistant Store Manager (avg 60 hrs a week) while going to school full time.

I have worked in two agencies thus far including MRM Worldwide and Campbell Mithun. Both agencies wanted to hire me. Both extended my internship (MRM for over a year). And at the end of this week my extension will be over at Campbell Mithun.

It's most definitely an interesting time and this is for sure a start to an interesting career.