Herman Miller
Max De Pree, former CEO of Herman Miller, once said that the quality he looked for in an architect was “delightful surprise.” The work I had the pleasure to be a part of for Herman Miller made it up onto the JumboTron at Joe Louis Arena during a Red Wings game, was featured in a program on the Canadian Broadcast Channel, and provided the catalyst for the digital design direction of an Eames exhibition in Japan. I was the creative director and copywriter on a campaign that went on for ten years, born of a promotion that never happened. A brochure cited as one of the seventy-five best designs of the year by the AIGA, came about as the result of a newspaper campaign concept we couldn’t find the budget to produce. We shot the Aeron Office Hockey spot in 1999. This year, the World Office Hockey Championship was hosted in London. Working for Herman Miller was one delightful surprise after another.
Herman Miller Office Hockey (TV)
Office Hockey Brochure
Get Real (Video)
Herman Miller Real Voices (video)
Celle
Bill Stumpf Memorial (video)
Herman Miller SQA “Campfire” (radio)
Herman Miller SQA “Lonesome” (radio)
Herman Miller Capelli Postcards-(print collateral)
Herman Miller Home Doing Things Campaign (print)
Herman Miller Aeron Posture Fit X-Ray(print)
Herman Miller “Things That Matter” Brochure
Herman Miller “Aside” Brochure
Rubio’s
Nice and simple. We forget sometimes how “nice” modifies “simple.” It adds civility. It lends elegance. Creating an app to order a fish taco was simple. Creating a way to make someone’s day better was simply nice. We knew we were on to something, when a woman in a focus group wrote down “Have a nice taco,” as a phrase exemplifying San Diego lifestyle.
Rubio’s App (mobile app)
Rubio’s Brand Video (TV)
Rubio’s Outdoor (outdoor boards)
Rubio’s Letter
ABC 7 (San Francisco)
Another anchor with perfect teeth and hair, does not a differentiated newscast make. With news everywhere, ABC7 ran spots about the story—with the story as hero.
ABC 7 Egypt (TV)
ABC 7 Tuition (TV)
ABC 7 San Bruno (TV)
ABC 7 Giants (TV)
ABC 7 Finney (TV)
Einstein Brothers Bagels
Melvyn and Elmo Einstein look at the world through the bagel, and invite everyone to do the same. While that may seem a little quirky and unconventional, looking at the world through something round, yummy and delicious improves your viewpoint, opens your eyes to possibilities, and gives you a positive perspective.
Spartan Foods
We shot these spots in Capetown. The campaign was part of a reinvigoration effort that proved to be an enormous success. As part owner of a wine bar in San Francisco, the experience also provided inspiration for the following by-the-glass offering:
Simonsig Chenin Blanc
Key lime, savannah grass, and enough minerality to leave a tingle on the tongue. Like the cable car ride up Mt. Nelson, a simple South African pleasure.
Spartan “Line” (TV)
Spartan Foods “Wax Fruit” (TV)
Spartan Foods Outdoor
Spectrum Health
I worked with a wonderfully talented art director who had his chest shaved, portraying a heart patient in one of our shoots. Then somebody turned it into a screensaver for the agency. A pretty fine example of no good deed going unpunished.
Spectrum Health “Without” (TV)
Spectrum Health “Nurses Different” (TV)
Whirlpool
Our client told us that in spite of the fact that they were not in the jetted tub business, the company got sued several times a year by people who thought their baths came from Whirlpool.
Whirlpool Cielo (video)
Turion Bamboo
I took the shots. Jack Unruh did the illustrations. From a live snake at the dinner table, to a crowded bar quieted by an a cappella snippet from an old Chinese opera—this was truly an adventure in advertising.
Turion Bamboo Map (print collateral)
Grand Rapids Press
This campaign stopped a steady decline and increased subscription sales. Even more astounding, when we showed the boards, the publisher and editor both smiled in the same room with each other.
Grand Rapids Press (outdoor)
Bank of Northern Michigan
People in Northern Michigan love Northern Michigan. So do people like Michael Moore and Mario Batali, who both have homes there. We just put our money where the bank was.
Bank of Northern Michigan (print)
Kasson Pool Tables
A homegrown, American Midwest pooltable company. A female British nine-ball champion. A match made in ESPN2 heaven.