NOTHING LIKE WINNING A PITCH

Pitching a big piece of business is possibly the funnest thing to do at the agency. To know your pitching creative against another agency's creative team with the same time-frame, creative brief and deliverables. Sports has always been a passion of mine and sports creative has always been a favorite niche to be in. To have the opportunity to work on the Harlem Globetrotter business is awesome. They have an incredible history with Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and Meadowlark Lemon. Being at their headquarters and looking through picture after picture of celebrities and jerseys was pretty sweet. I tried not to talk too many pics or weird everyone out with my giddiness, but too cool to see a Magic jersey with Larry Bird's signature on it, given their history, or to just see all the different arena locations around the world where they play. Jackson did some videos of people spinning an official Harlem ball, and i've got some work to do on keeping the ball spinning, but have had a lot of practice with the trick shots over the years at the office (horse games happened all too much last year).

All the famous celebrity photos and world records set by the Globetrotters is pretty unreal. I saw just one day last year they set 7 new Guiness World Records® (2 of which were previously held by NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki). Looking through some pictures of over 90 years worth of history, I saw pics with many past presidents, celebrities, famous personalities and just watched Jimmy Fallon and the Roots take play them on The Tonight Show.

Props to Chad Rucker and our whole team on the win, I am excited to work on developing some creative. Images by Getty images, video screenshots, wikipedia and all other pics were shot on the iPhone 6 :).

TO SEE EVERYTHING COME TOGETHER

Like a lot of projects, events are many times a rush project. Vehicle wraps, signage, displays etc., all have to be done by a set date, no excuses. Illustrators, designers, production and the account team all coming together can be a lot of fun and pretty stressful, ha. Pretty often, we have to get the work out as quickly as possible and then never hear about it again. In this case, we got to see it all come together in the end. Really cool to see all of the pieces together and even see a premier of Building 43 at the Nascar Hall of Fame. Meeting up with the king topped it all off. Art directed at Jackson Marketing.

THE OBIES & BOCA RATON

Really cool to be a part of the Obies this year and to meet Gerry Graf. The Obies has been around 74 years and there was over 700 entries this year. Only 12 golds were given out and we were pumped to get one. We never saw the Best in Show for our category coming and was too cool for a small agency in SC to be included. 

ONE OF A KIND

I love target shooting, archery, hunting, the whole bit, almost as much as designing and illustrating. I've bartered in the past for handguns, a rifle and various tactical equipment. I really enjoy concepting, designing and just talking advertising with any client in the sporting/outdoors industry. I rarely rent any guns at the range since I have a few firearms myself but ever since I rented a Springfield 1911 at the range, it's the one I have to have. Maybe it's due in part to the history of the 1911 or the overall design of the gun but for sure part of my obsession is the way it shoots. Truly everyday I am working out some new idea and new project in my head, typically when I am waiting in traffic, waiting to fall asleep or doing tasks around the house. I'm not going to lie and say they're all winners, most of the time they aren't and many times they have no purpose or even make sense. Advertising is what I do, it's my passion, and I love trying to combine my passion for advertising with creating artwork.

THE IDEA

I wanted to showcase the beauty of the Springfield MIL-SPEC .45ACP PARKERIZED 1911 by creating an original ink wash painting of the gun. The plan was to sketch and then paint the firearm all by brush as realistic as possible. For sure there would be some imperfections and some slightly crooked lines or shadows, but that's what makes a piece of art. I also sought out to create an interesting backdrop, that has an artsy feel and sets off the realism of the gun artwork. The final piece of the project would be to develop a spread ad/poster using the artwork to promote the Springfield 1911, which truly is a work of art. The artwork could also be turned into prints and posters to be given away at trade shows or given away as part of a social media campaign.
 

THE GOAL

Besides wanting to barter for firearms (of course the Springfield 1911 depicted), having the opportunity to design anything for an amazing brand like Springfield would be awesome. I love the Springfield XDM I already own and creating original artwork and posters for more Springfield products would be a blast. I totally get this isn't a traditional ad with a black background, a sleek beauty shot of the gun and some red text, but that's what makes it interesting. Whether the artwork and campaign goes anywhere, I have no idea. What I do know is that I love creating original artwork, starting on a new advertising idea and going out to the gun range. Next time I go, I hope to be shooting with my own Springfield MIL-SPEC .45 ACP Parkerized 1911.

THE PITCH #SPECWORK

This blog doesn't need much explaining. During another long road trip home to see the nieces and nephews, I kept driving by restaurant billboard after billboard that would say "Bla Bla ahead" or "Bla Bla, exit 23". If there was just a simple thought that would get my attention, or make me hungry, maybe I would care how far ahead it was or which exit it was off of. Anyway art direction is not only what I do, but what I love and I'm not sure how many people in my family really understand what a typical day is for me. My grandmother and nieces and nephews have no idea, they think I work on the computer and know I can do some photo manipulation, draw, etc. but they have no clue what a pitch is. Anyway, I thought I could show my nieces and nephews what I do by doing it with them, for a completely made up project. And just like I thought, they love concepting and creation as much as me. This took most of the day we had together, but we had a great time doing it and now they notice more advertising and billboards then I ever thought they would. Just last week they told me about one that was terrible and another they liked. Awesome.

DENTIST CUSTOM MOUTH GUARD POSTERS

My dentist needed a way to make young athletes aware of his fitted mouthguard offering. The idea was to create some interesting posters that would get the word out. I created some posters that spread awareness and interest with the teeth containing his contact information and begging to be ripped off.

ZOO ANIMAL ILLUSTRATIONS FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK