Problem:
An iconic 1990's brand became irrelevant in consumer's minds, resulting in lagging sales.

Insight:
SunnyD is the king of sugary “juice” drinks, and, as such, is really off-trend. Despite years of “100% Vitamin C!” starbursts screaming from the label, people know what’s what. And most people’s recall of the brand was the 90’s commercial of rollerblading kids and Mrs. B.

Solution:
Stop trying make people believe the product has any healthy attributes, because they know it doesn’t. It’s a guilty pleasure, and people are fine with that. Embrace it. And tap into the one bit of cultural cred that brand has. That so-bad-it’s-good 90’s spot that is etched in the memories of those 90’s kids who are now millennial parents.

Results:
The work galvanized the SunnyD internal teams, customers and consumers, and was responsible for driving incremental sales in select test markets. When the folks at MTV saw the spot, they said SunnyD “…Won Throwback Thursday...forever.”

Agency: Grenadier

My Role: Writer (w/ Mark St. Amant), Creative Director (w/ Mark St. Amant/Randy Rogers)

Situation: Stanton Optical is a discount eyeglasses retailer in a sea of stiff competition. Not only are they up against brands such as America’s Best Eyeglasses, VisionWorks, and Zenni Optical, as well as stalwarts Pearle Vision and LensCrafters, but also Target, Walmart, and even Warby-Parker. So, how to be heard over all these other voices?

Insight: Designer eyeglasses have a dirty little secret. Most all designer brands are owned by Luxottica, and most all are made at a handful of factories in China. Stanton gets their frames from the same factories, just without the designer label on them.

Solution: Be the thorn in the side of designer eyeglasses, by creating our own eyeglasses designer, Macula. And drive him crazy with our incredible styles at unbeatable prices. Bonus: He also screams louder than all those competitors’ voices.

Side Note: This campaign was a good example of how to stretch a production budget, and get as much extraneous content as possible. We were fortunate in that we had a great, trusted director (Clay Williams) and a lead actor who could really assume the character on cue, which made getting all the other shorter form bits much easier.

Problem: Our country is sitting on a $1.5 trillion student debt crisis.

Insight:
The best way to get out of student debt is not to get into student debt in the first place.

Solution:
Show incoming college students the real cost of college in a very real way.

Results:
Over 4MM views and counting.

Agency: Barkley

My Role: Creative Director

Problem:
Classic car owners are aging. Hagerty needed to reach a younger car enthusiast whose definition of “classic” is more in the realm of cars from the 80’s and 90’s. And they needed to do that without alienating their longtime, older clients who are their bread and butter.

Insight:
While the demographic of classic car enthusiasts is in flux, and the definition of what is “classic” is always changing, there are certain tenets of being a classic car lover that don’t change. We tapped into that universal spirit that transcends generations.

Solution:
Partnering with Hagerty’s in-house creative team, we developed a brand campaign that reflects the diversity of vehicles and owners that make up the classic car hobby today. National television, brand videos, a print campaign, and digital assets were all designed to position Hagerty as the industry leader that knows classics and their owners like no general market insurer ever can.

Agency: Grenadier

My Role: Writer, Creative Director

The Problem:

Noodles & Company had been lagging in sales from a menu that was off-trend (high in carbs) and was in desperate need of some new news. They finally had a healthy new product (zucchini noodles) that could get them back on track, but needed to make a big splash on a limited budget.

The Insight

The way zucchini noodles are made is with a spiralizer. So why not maximize the health angle on zucchini noodles by mating the spiralizer to an exercise bike? Oh, and then having Hoda and Kathy Lee try to break the world record for spiralizing the most zucchinis in one minute on the Today Show.

The result.

Millions of dollars in earned media.

Agency: Grenadier

My Role: Creative Director (w/ Randy Rogers)

You never know what you’ll find when you go to Big Lots. But what you do know, is that you’ll always find it at an incredible price. This campaign was about tapping into that unexpected treasure hunt find, and leading customers right to the deal.

Agency: Barkley

My Role: Writer (w/ Mark St. Amant), Creative Director (w/Mark St. Amant, Randy Rogers)

I’ve written a ton of manifestos and brand essence video scripts in my career, and the need for them never seems to subside. Here are a few of the ones I like best.

Problem:
Over the past fifteen years, the vodka category has splintered into two distinct offerings: Tasteless and tasteless. On one end, a sea of nothingness. Colorless, odorless premium and ‘craft’ vodkas, over-distilled to the point of losing all character. On the other, a circus of ridiculous flavors (tiramisu-flavored vodka? Yes. It’s a thing.).

Insight:
We wanted to change the conversation about what a great vodka should taste like, and how it should be made. Woody Creek Distillers was in a unique position to flip the category conventions on their head and make a vodka that challenges everything consumers know about vodka.

Solution:
The Return of Real. Woody Creek doesn’t make flavored vodkas - never will. And they only need to distill their vodka one time. Because they use only fresh potatoes grown on their own farm, just a few miles from the distillery. We took all of the conventional wisdom, all of the features and benefits touted by the category, and turned them against it. We woke people up and reminded them what vodka was supposed to be. Woody Creek represents the Return of Real Vodka.

Results:
Since the launch of The Return of Real campaign, Woody Creek sales and distribution have increased by triple digits. Additionally, Woody Creek vodka won Best Vodka and Double Gold at the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Agency: Grenadier

My Role: Writer, Creative Director (w/ Randy Rogers)

Trestle Bike Park is the number one bike park in the United States. But that still have a limited budget. So what do you do when you can only run one billboard for a few weeks a year? Make it a memorable billboard.

Agency: Grenadier

My Role: Writer, Creative Director (w/ Randy Rogers)