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That #ShitToNeverHit Happened Down at the Arch

The St. Louis Egotist — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:48:42 +0000

Local

Doing our best to get your awkward cringe tally up for the week – we present to you FLASH MOB AMERICA's St. Louis marriage proposal flash mob…

AND WHATTA GLORIOUS TURNOUT!

Banksy's Anti-Adverising Manifesto

The St. Louis Egotist — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:27:03 +0000

National

Seems like this sort of thing from the Banksy camp rises up in the creative conscious at least twice a year. When it showed up in non-coke bottle form previously, it caused a little uproar.

Now it appears that this is actually the work of designer Karina Nurdinova.

So anyways. Who cares? Enjoy the good insight and notice the ironic counterpoint.

Point:

Counterpoint:

Denver Agency @MoxieSozo Wins Dieline's Package of the Year for @JadeMonkTeas

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:45:27 +0000

National

Winners haven't been publicly announced, but Denver agency Moxie Sozo has let the cat out of the bag on Facebook that they've received 2013 Package of the Year honors from The Dieline — the world's premier package design website. The Jade Monk designs and illustrations were done by Moxie's extremely talented Charles Bloom.

We couldn't help but share this beautiful work that we saw originally on The Denver Egotist.

#STL4OKC Switch (@Liberate) & Others Collecting Donations TODAY or TOMORROW

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:36:06 +0000

Local

When Hurricane Sandy slammed the east coast last year, the folks at Switch swung into action to create a plea for donations in order to get some Midwestern charity over to the survivors who needed it most.

This time around, the devastation is a little bit closer to home, but no less urgent as many people are displaced and lacking the basic essentials of daily life.

The City of St. Louis has partnered with Switch + Contemporary, St. Louis Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford, the American Red Cross and several generous partners to create #STL4OKC, a donation drive to support our neighbors in tornado-ravaged Oklahoma City and its suburbs.

The drop-offs are as follows:

Thursday, May 23rd
4 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
• Broadway & Spruce
across from Gate One at Busch Stadium
(Tums Parking Lot)

Friday, May 24th
7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Loughborough Commons
I-55 & Loughborough
• Kirkwood Commons
I-44 & Lindbergh

Go to the Facebook page for up to the minute information and a list of what sort of supplies they'll be collecting. Missouri is no stranger to this kind of disaster, so let's extend the good will and charity that others showed our state only a few years ago.

Uh - Oh, Guess What Day It Is?

The St. Louis Egotist — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:31:50 +0000

National

Geico is really getting good at (while maintaining the quality of) their humorous spots.

Agency: The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.

Worth It | FURminator Social Sub-Site by @MarketPlaceSTL

The St. Louis Egotist — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:08:14 +0000

Local

We don't normally think social sub-sites for brands are worth the time of day. To be honest, the only social sub-sites we can even bring to mind are for large international beverage corporations such as Coca-Cola or Budweiser and the content on those are typically pointless fluff at that.

But what happens when you apply this marketing strategy to a smaller niche brand for a product that helps you "de-shed" your animal? We think it's incredibly smart, on target and very successfully executed fluff. You just know those Pinterest Pet Lovers will go ape-shit (dog-shit?) and start pinning all this cutesy, custom-made content while building quite the awareness around FURminator.

Writer/Strategist Jeremy Huggins on the nuts & bolts behind the site:
A year ago, we developed for FURminator a brand strategy guide and a social media strategy guide, some of which led to the creation of this content-heavy mini-site, furminatorworthit.com. We designed and wrote this site in-house, from original photography to comic strips to an advice "column" from Old Sparky.

The site just launched two weeks ago, so we'll be curious to hear how effective this approach will be in the oncoming months. We'll keep you posted.

Credits:
Writer: Jeremy Huggins
Designer: Crystal Buckey
Developer: Matthew Strom

Historical Portraits Receive Modern Makeovers

The St. Louis Egotist — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:55:46 +0000

National

Famous faces from history including William Shakespeare, Henry VIII and Horatio Nelson have been given a modern makeover to see how they would look if they were alive today in this series done by the History Channel for its new series, "The Secret Life of…"

Via.

New Editorial: Dear Jr Creative, Earn Your Place. You'll Be Better For It. >>

The St. Louis Egotist — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:48:22 +0000

National

David Snyder, Executive Creative Director at Firstborn, wrote this piece on the benefits of coming up through the ranks the right way in advertising. Read it, you'll dig it.

Footage of the Oklahoma Tornado Forming

The St. Louis Egotist — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:36:21 +0000

National

Unreal footage of the category 4 tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma, yesterday afternoon as it formed over Newcastle. Mother Nature stomps special FX once again.

Many, many thoughts & well wishes to our border state friends; those who have been taken from us, the survivors and anyone at all affected by the natural disaster.

Rebrand & #SiteLaunch for @Fleishman Hillard

The St. Louis Egotist — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:49:02 +0000

Local

New

Old

We're about a few weeks late on this one, but we were waiting to get some feedback on the new logo and branding from the creatives over at Fleishman Hillard:

The brand had not been updated since 1990 and the agency wanted to give it a refresh to bring it in-line with who we are today.

The team that worked on the font was looking for something that was contemporary and timeless, but not trendy. The logo unites the names of both founders – Fleishman and Hillard – on one line to reflect the heritage of the firm and honor the two men.

Buck developed the mark and wanted it to complement the logo and reflect the transformation of the firm. He wanted to identify the F and the H in an interesting way. He didn’t want it to be obvious, so he utilized the negative space. Once you see the F and H, it becomes memorable. The vertical bars tell the story of a firm deeply rooted in the industry sectors, they also give the mark balance and strength. The horizontal bars represent FleishmanHillard’s ability to innovate, integrate and redefine the boundaries of traditional public relations. They show growth and going beyond, and the color change represents our aspiration and vision to be the most complete communications company in the world.

Here's a new spot that's meant to capture some of the intention behind this reboot:

This is one of those cases where we actually prefer the older, dated logo to the new "contemporary and timeless" version. Even though the prior logo did nothing to establish Fleishman Hillard as a creative company, it had become rooted in our minds as a kind of dominating, corporate father figure – represented by poorly kerned, yet commanding serifs that told us "This is Where PR & Marketing Happens."

The new logo feels somewhat sterile and more representative of a healthcare entity with it's shades of blue and white/gray gradient background. We also "get" what's trying to happen with the F and H letterforms but, honestly, after staring at this mark for more than a few minutes, we're just lost as to what exactly is going on. The negative space of F is evident but where the H overlaps, or is supposed to overlap, has left us stymied - as well as the top light blue "bowl" element.

Evolving as a company is crucial to remaining relevant and profitable in 2013. Being part of the massive omnicom giant won't hurt them from maintaining a steady client roster and income, but as far as progression goes – an ambiguous campaign in dual release with their even more ambiguous branding doesn't feel like a very progressive PR move in this day and age.

Some more insight from their blog post:

“True speaks to our unique ability to help clients navigate a world demanding unprecedented authenticity and transparency,” said Senay. “True also reflects our firm’s moral compass and commitment to the highest values. It defines who we are as a company, and the direction we are moving ahead.” To capture the meaning and message behind true, FleishmanHillard is introducing the tagline The power of true.

The power of true defines who FleishmanHillard is and what it believes. It also explains what the firm offers clients, including: the power of true insights; the power of true ideas; the power of true integration; the power of true client service; and the power of true outcomes.

The new logo equally reflects the firm’s transformation. “Our former logo did an excellent job of reflecting the trust and confidence clients have long placed with us,” said Marchesi. “Our new logo maintains those values, but with a fresh, innovative and more contemporary interpretation.”

The logo unites the names of both founders – Fleishman and Hillard – on one line to reflect the heritage of the firm and the originators of modern public relations. FleishmanHillard also added to its logo an iconic mark that complements the logo but also symbolizes the transformation of the firm. The vertical bars tell the story of a firm deeply rooted in the industry sectors and communications capabilities most important to clients. The horizontal bars represent FleishmanHillard’s ability to innovate, integrate and redefine the boundaries of traditional public relations.

That's a lot of communication from some light blue bars.

Website

Dear Jr Creative, Earn Your Place. You’ll Be Better For It.

The St. Louis Egotist — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:32:43 +0000

Dear Jr Creative,

I’m a firm believer in earning your keep, starting from the bottom, doing the less than desirable well, before moving up.

Prove yourself on what seemingly matters little, and people will notice. I promise.

At the very least, I promise I’ll notice. Because it’s the unorthodox grind of a route I took.

I was a rich kid from the suburbs. I was embarrassed by it. I hated it. It was a 90’s thing.

In High School, and in Gen-X “rebellion” against my white collar family, I worked for the Las Vegas Water District doing underground construction.

I dug ditches and changed water lines during the Vegas Summer for 8 dollars an hour. Not desirable work. And the guys I worked with could smell the rich kid on me. They busted my balls mercilessly for it.

I dug the shit out of those ditches. I loved it. I used my hands. I used heavy machinery and pneumatic tools—I drove a dump truck (which is awesome by the way).

All I wanted was the respect of these old guys changing water lines in the desert. Dudes that worked so fucking hard. For so fucking little. To feed their families; their addictions; their gambling debts.

Eventually, I’d earned a bit of respect.

I worked hard…”for a skinny rich kid.”

One day I mentioned to the crew lead: “Fuck it. I like this. Why not full time?”.

He pulled the truck over to the shoulder of a mountain road, heading North towards Mt. Charleston, looked deep into my face, “Every single one of us would give the world NOT to be here. Stop your blue collar charade. Go to school like you’re supposed to. Get out of this shit.”

So I did.

That was my last of three summers working for the water district.

I went to school for business. Marketing & Advertising to be exact. Which, aside from teaching me some business basics, really just help develop my aptness for bullshit.

Luckily for me, somewhere along the line, I learned a real skill and about this thing called the “Internet.” It was a place I could upload the photos I was taking (and developing in a darkroom, btw). I learned some Photoshop and HTML skills because of it. Eventually, I started freelancing: horrible graphic design and web work. Whatever I could get—fucking rave fliers, man. I just wanted to learn. The beer money was the gravy on top.

My first “real” job out of college was resizing graphics for an eCommerce company. I showed up for the interview on my skateboard, handed the HR lady my resume and said, “I’ll take anything. I know Photoshop. Here’s my book.” I didn’t even know what a “designer” was. But that’s why I was there. And by no means was I a designer; Photoshop monkey…maybe.

Ninety people had been laid off a month prior to me being brought on. I was the first hire after those layoffs and in the eyes of everybody…I was “that guy…”

I was at the bottom of the totem pole. Where I belonged.

The only thing I had going for me was a fear of “sucking.” And for the record, I sucked. (Certainly compared to the kids I see today).

“…good enough to resize graphics” was what I overheard the Creative Director say, just around the corner.

So I resized graphics. I resized the shit out of graphics, learning to code HTML along the way. I unlearned what I learned in business school. And learned…business. I developed site and page concepts for fun. Always showing my boss. Wanting critique. Always trying to get better. People noticed. He noticed. I gained more and more responsibility and more importantly, trust. Never begging for more money. Just wanting to do more work, better work.

To not suck.

Eventually, I took over as Creative Lead. I redesigned both KBToys.com and eToys.com. Enterprise level eCommerce stuff. Real businesses, making real money. I thought the designs were pretty damn good for the early 00’s. Some of the first .com’s to switch to 1024x768. We won some eCom industry awards. It moved product. I thought I was hot shit.

I was far from it.

Fast forward a decade and I’m blown away by the level of talent that’s out there. Kids today come out of school with so much fucking skill it’s crazy. But with all of that skill, in so many, there is equal-to-more parts hubris. An entitled attitude that seems to expect everything for nothing.

Somewhere, along the lines, we (everyone) got sensitive. We started giving trophies for last place. People forgot how to take criticism. We started (and continue) to want to spare people from the realities of what it really takes. Close counts. Thanks for trying. Better luck next time—even worse—Fail Harder.

I hate this phrase more than anything.

“Fail Harder” is a manifesto for the delusional, the lazy—the lotto dreamer.

Celebrating failure is a cop out. Be pissed that you fucked up—when you lose. And know why.

Fail “Smarter” maybe. But failing hard is for losers.

Industry-wise, we covet the idea. Not its realization, it’s viability.

“I want to be an AD. But I don’t write and I don’t design. I’m an idea guy”

“No, no, no, i’m a UX guy. I don’t do wires and I don’t do finished design. I just explore interaction concepts.”

“I want to be a CD. But I don’t like talking with clients.”

“My new Web 3.0 business concept doesn’t have a revenue model—it’s like Instagram but with animated gifs of kittens.”

Ideation in a clientless vacuum; devoid the realities of real life (inside an agency or any company for that matter). Feasibility. Budgets. Client bureaucracies. The fact is that big ideas take time to sell. They die. They have to be reborn. And that it’s your role to breath the life back in. But only if you really give a shit.

The “idea” is the tip of a gigantic, shit stained iceberg of work. And if you aren’t ready for what it takes, or worse, you think “that it’s someone else’s job” to push your idea from ether to reality—reconsider your profession.

My advice is simple: don’t be the entitled kid. The kid who over indexes in ambition but lacks any real passion—any real drive other than a new title at a new agency.

Be the kid who wants to learn even when he doesn’t have to—the designer who wants to learn to write, to code, to understand business because it makes the design better.

Don’t be an industry douche. They call themselves ninjas or gurus…even evangelists. They’re the ones who will tell you, to your face, that they are smarter than the other guy. They’re the ones who have stopped reading by now.

Don’t be the kid who hops around. Don’t be the kid, who, when given the chance, will opt for the bare minimum. Who scoffs at perspective. The kid who will jeopardize the team to spare his fragile ego. The kid, who, when faced with a situation that gets difficult, says “I’m too good for this kind of work. I deserve better.”

Nobody deserves shit. Until you do. And even then, never admit it.

I’m now the old guy. I get it…

I’m not saying you need to go out and work construction. But it’s good to know where you don’t want to be. And understand why.

I know I don’t want to resize graphics anymore. Why? Well…because it sucks.

But I’ll still dig the shit out of a ditch.

- Dave

I should note, that my teen “rebellion” against my Father was laughably ironic. My dad was blue collar. A cowboy who changed tires on big rigs before finishing college and becoming who he is today.

Behind my teen angst, unbeknownst to me all that time, I was trying to be just like him.

What a silly little rich kid.

David Snyder is Executive Creative Director at Firstborn. Living in Brooklyn. He likes progressive thought, design and technology. He eats and libates well. This editorial original posted on Medium.

The @InternetArchive Documentary

The St. Louis Egotist — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:10:40 +0000

National

This is a stellar documentary about the work of The Internet Archive project. If you're not familiar with their work, the IAP strives to document and store everything the internet has to offer. It's an ambitious project, but they have some crazy cool stuff in their database. The 13 minute piece does a great job of introducing the viewer to that project and some of the constraints / problems with managing a digital library of this size (10 petabytes worth of data).

This short is right up our alley as we spend a lot of time thinking about archiving and storing data for future compatibility. The piece was Directed by Jonathan Minard of Deepseed Media and produced by the Internet Archive.

Via

Now Hiring Locally: Pre-Press Artist - @Cannonball_Ad

The St. Louis Egotist — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:45:48 +0000

Local

Description:
The Pre-Press Artists at Cannonball are responsible for prepress and digital retouching projects which consist of preparing electronic key lines, following specs, formatting copy, creating die lines and building high resolution Photoshop files. This entails working in partnership with the creative team, account service members, print production and outside vendors gathering information, fielding questions and making sure pieces work mechanically.

See the full details

Please Note: You must become a member to see jobs posted within the last three days.
*Note to Agencies: The 'find a job' link is the most clicked-on area of our site by readers.*

Package & Website Redesign for @RockwoodSTL Charcoal - @Atomicdust

The St. Louis Egotist — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:23:35 +0000

Local

From coffee beans to charcoal, Atomicdust is flexing their packaging design muscle no matter what type of product gets thrown at them. Everything they work on lately seems to have that element of 'fun design' that young, idealistic designers hope to incorporate into their work at some point in their careers.

Atomicdust keeps representing this visual idealism along with clever copywriting and savvy execution that seems to have clients (and us) coming back for more. Well done guys. Wellll donnneee... (do we need to spell out the bbq pun here?)

From their blog:
Taking inspiration from screen-printed posters, we designed big, bold illustrations that honor the power and purity of the product. Rather than coating the entire bag in ink, we let the natural kraft paper bag color show through as a nod to Rockwood’s commitment to “real.” The bag is recyclable, and printed using soy-based inks that won’t produce harmful fumes if burned.

The Bike Maker - @MadeByHand No. 5

The St. Louis Egotist — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:36:03 +0000

National

The newest installment in the Made by Hand series is out. This edition looks to bike maker Ezra Caldwell (Fast Boy Cycles) and tells the story of how he faced cancer and overcame adversity. The series is produced by Bureau of Common Goods and as with the other installments is gorgeously shot and edited. This is swiftly becoming one of our favorite short form documentary series.

It's Been a Good Ride for ProWolfe

The St. Louis Egotist — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:11:34 +0000

Local

But all good rides must come to an end.
ProWolfe, for all you young guns who've never heard of them, represent part of the STL dynasty of advertising firms that flourished in the 80's and 90's – many of whom are still standing today. You might not know of them or think of them right off the bat because their methods of PR and awareness don't really rely on social media or submitting regular work to the Egotist (ProWolfe has no social media presence that we could find).

We're curious, as one of our helpful submitters pointed out, what happens when the old 'masters' retire? Will they fade out like ProWolfe or be passed on to new leadership which will (ideally) reinvigorate their work?

Something to think about…

View the ProWolfe Announcement.

The Artists Behind The Beastie Boys' Album Artwork

The St. Louis Egotist — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:26:49 +0000

National

For their June issue Beastie Boys: A Visual History + Tribute to MCA, Juxtapoz Magazine is paying tribute to Adam Yauch with inside stories behind the designs of each of the group's album covers.

Via

Now Hiring Locally: Associate Creative Director - @Cannonball_Ad

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:41:31 +0000

Local

Description:
The Associate Creative Director position at Cannonball requires someone who has a portfolio that features great ideas and solid design across multiple disciplines.
Minimum requirements:
• A minimum of 5 years related experience (5-10 years preferred)
The ideal candidate will have broadcast experience, but it is not mandatory. This is a great opportunity to join a creatively-driven shop with national clients.

See the full details

Please Note: You must become a member to see jobs posted within the last three days.
*Note to Agencies: The 'find a job' link is the most clicked-on area of our site by readers.*

There Are Some Racist Homophobic Twitterers in the Midwest

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:33:28 +0000

Local

Not exactly groundbreaking news, but now there is evidence to back it up. Monica Stephens, an assistant professor at Humboldt State, analyzed 150,000 geo-located tweets from June last year to this April to show where people are using Twitter to voice off homophobic and racist slurs. Called the Geography of Hate, the Tweets were then heat mapped across the country. Missouri fares none too well, although St. Louis is pretty spotless if you zoom in far enough.

Via

Now Hiring Locally: Art Director - @Cannonball_Ad

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:38:49 +0000

Local

Description:
The Art Director position at Cannonball requires an agile thinker, someone who likes a challenge and is hungry to learn. Applicants must also value a team environment.
Minimum requirements:
• A minimum of 2 years agency experience (2-5 years preferred)
• Knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite and familiarity in working in a Mac environment.
The ideal candidate will have an equal passion for television, digital, social, promotion and even packaging. This is a great opportunity to join a creatively-driven shop with national clients.

See the full details

Please Note: You must become a member to see jobs posted within the last three days.
*Note to Agencies: The 'find a job' link is the most clicked-on area of our site by readers.*

New Agency Insider: Step Inside @Moosylvania >>

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:21:07 +0000

Local

We're proud to present the fourth feature in our Insider Series for 2013. Today's insider focuses on Moosylvania, a marketing agency who's working space is the stuff of agency fairytales. In case you missed the Kegs With Legs last month at the embassy of Moose, sit back and take a digital trip through Moosylvania right now.

Go ahead, step inside.

Jealous of the spotlight? Well, we'd love to feature your agency & the work that isn't typically seen by the public eye. Email us at stlouis@theegotist.com for details.

Agency Insider: Moosylvania

Moosylvania — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:50:47 +0000

Company Name:
Moosylvania

Year Founded:
2003

Physical Location:
7303 Marietta Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63143

Online Location:
Website: www.moosylvania.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/moosylvania
Twitter: @Moosylvania

Company Philosophy:
Continue to build and foster open-dialogue and collaboration across all disciplines and between all people, to better establish our brands, incorporate design, and to successfully integrate digital, retail, and experiential programs.

Client List:
Universal Studios, Grey Goose, Capital One, Sapporo, Pay Pal, Enterprise Car Share, Bacardi, Martini, Cohiba, and others.

Personnel Count:
103

Best Achievements from Last Year:

Our advertising and shopper marketing services utilize the collaborative team of more than 100 in-house professionals including user experience designers, creative and account teams, developers, social media community managers, digital analysts, experiential marketers, media planing and buying and experiential execution. Our globally ranked research facility provides the ability to study usability and identify new trends in the market. We recently fielded a national study of 1,800 smart phone users determining trends and significant changes in mobile shopping behavior which was noted in Harvard Business Review other national publications.

3 Things The World Doesn't Know About Moose That It Should:

1. The Moosylvania Embassy is one of the most unique work spaces in the Midwest.

2. Each year Moosylvania employees support some wonderful charitable organizations, such as Friends of Wings (see friendsofwings.org, Events/Project Flutter).

3. Boomer is high up on the org chart. Contact@moosylvania.com to set up an appointment to meet Boomer.

Our Space

Our Work

Sapporo – Sapporo Last summer Sapporo partnered with Loyal Dean Longboards to create custom longboards. Not only was Loyal Dean's commitment to craftsmanship the perfect fit for Sapporo, the partnership immediately gave Sapporo credibility in the community. Loyal Dean uses a proprietary process to custom assemble each longboard deck out of natural wood so these pieces are beautiful and sought after. Sapporo gave consumers the chance to win these custom, limited edition longboards through out the summer months.

Snow White – After months of tinkering with games and toiling over spells, Moosylvania and Universal Studios launched Snow White & the Huntsman Conquer the Kingdom, an Internet promotion website on August 31st. Through this labor of love, we discovered that as a web development agency, our developers rarely say anything is impossible, and as a result, these exclusive games are truly one-of-a-kind.

Now Hiring Locally: Art Director - @Osborn_Barr

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:18:05 +0000

Local

Description:
We are seeking an Art Director to join our team. You will be responsible for creating concepts and executions of ideas based on the creative blueprint, client needs, and creative direction. You will be expected to work closely with our creative directors, producers, developers, directors and clients to produce high-end concepts, art direction and design solutions for integrated needs (print to digital to the next thing).

See the full details

Please Note: You must become a member to see jobs posted within the last three days.
*Note to Agencies: The 'find a job' link is the most clicked-on area of our site by readers.*

Real-Life Models of Abstract Paintings

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:35:13 +0000

National

19-year-old Hungarian photographer Flora Borsi imagines (with photoshop) what models from abstract paintings would look like if they were real people.

We love creepy beautiful.

Via.

Now Hiring: Graphic Design Intern - @GeileLeonSTL

The St. Louis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:24:56 +0000

Local

Geile/Leon is hiring: Graphic Design Intern.
Please Note: You must become a member to see jobs posted within the last three days.