Call of the Warrior
Role: Creative Director | Social engagement campaign | Concept and development
The call of the warrior.
Imagine having to stab you finger till it bleeds six to ten times a day. Then having to carefully measure your blood sugar levels and keep track of every change. And when the levels cross a certain threshold, having to break out the syringe (that you had to keep handy at all times) and inject yourself with insulin. Every day. For the rest of your life. And imagine that your life depended on it.
Now, imagine what affect this would have on your psyche. How would it hinder your ability to live a full, active and “normal” life? That is the “normal” that more than 30 million people in America affected by Diabetes deal with every day. Let’s just say living with Diabetes takes a level of courage that most of us cannot comprehend. It takes strength and support. It takes an unshakable spirit. It takes a warrior.
Our Purpose:
Live more. Prick less.
We’re more than a device manufacturer that saves your fingers from the dreaded finger prick. We’re a band of people working together with a singular purpose — to empower people affected by Diabetes to live their lives to the fullest.
Our Enemy:
Fear.
Our enemy isn’t Diabetes. It’s Despair. It’s the lingering fear that’s fed by feelings of isolation, endless uncertainty and hopelessness. The reality is that this disease still has no cure. But technology is opening up possibilities that didn’t exist before — possibilities that chip away at the fear and empower us to live fuller lives.
Our plan:
Call in the warriors.
We set out to change the narrative. To turn a demoralizing disease with a life sentence into a spirited crusade to live our lives on our own terms. This campaign needed to rally the diabetes community under one flag, with a sense of pride and purpose, and with a singular message: To stop letting this disease hold us back and start taking back our lives.
Call to action:
#WarriorUp
Warrior Up is an attitude. It’s the way of the Diabetes Warrior. It’s how we approach life, take on diabetes and live life to the fullest every day. We celebrated that unshakable Warrior spirit by asking the Diabetes community to come together in a show of force and give us their best warrior call in recognition of Diabetes Awareness Month.
This simple act of solidarity was our way of saying we’re officially putting diabetes on notice. We called on all our Warriors to stand up and let the world know that we’re not taking this disease lying down. We refuse to let diabetes prevent us from living life to the fullest.
Activation:
Bring in the big guns.
The message was straight forward and the request was easy enough; show your solidarity by uploading a photo or video of your best Warrior Call on Facebook or Instagram using the #WarriorUp hashtag, and we’ll donate one dollar to a diabetes charity for every post.
To kick things off we leveraged our very dedicated corps of celebrity influencers by producing a series of campaign videos reaching out to other influential social media personalities along with the rest of the diabetic community during Diabetes Awareness Month.
Social Campaign: Celebrity Influencers
Social Campaign: Warrior Calls
How it worked:
The Warrior Call.
With our celebrity influencers leading the charge, the #WarriorUp challenge was then handed off to the diabetic community at large to post their own Warrior Call and help spread some awareness with an attitude.
What’s a Warrior Call? It’s whatever you want it to be. It’s how you face a challenge. It’s a call on courage. A scream at the top of your lungs. An outburst. A snarl. Mostly it’s an attitude — sometimes you can yell using just your eyes. Whatever you call it, you’re telling diabetes you’re not backing down. There’s only one rule: don’t hold back.
Response:
And they showed up.
We needed a battle cry loud enough to be heard beyond our social media bubble. And our passionate community of Diabetes Warriors did not disappoint. Diabetes patients, their loved ones, and caregivers from around the world answered the call, sharing their own original #WarriorUp content. In all, more than 28,483 Warrior Calls were created and shared, with a total of 6,244,613 organic/paid social media impressions and 42 media placements. By the end of the campaign, 5,563 new social media followers had picked up the banner and charged forward.
Their voices could not be ignored. Because when that many people come together and start talking about what’s possible, the impossible tends to happen. Whether it’s finding the cure, or just finding the courage to make it through another day, with 28,483 warriors standing by your side, we find the courage to fight back.
$100,000 was raised for Diabetes charities.
Sketch boneyard.
Sketch boneyard
Role: Artist/Philosopher/Divergent thinker | Sketches by Jeff Hunter
Round 1: Peek inside the creative mind of Jeff Hunter
(Part one of a one part series)
by Jeff Hunter
“Too fast to live. Too young to die.”
-Malcom Mclaren
In the merciless world of professional advertising, there’s no time to fuss. Which is why in the first round, creative teams typically launch a fusillade of quick ideas at the wall—often accompanied by some kind of hasty sketch—to see if anything sticks. Once the dust settles, a handful of ideas live to see another day, and the rest are just… dead. They can’t all be winners.
Given the circumstances, It’s no surprise that the majority of first-round creative ideas face certain death. It’s a suicide mission; not exactly conducive to scholarly rumination. When the first wave of ideas inevitably gets thinned out, and all the misfires start to quietly fizzle, most hardened creatives simply deep-six the evidence and move on. But not this creative.
That’s when the real fun begins. As I dutifully make my way back to the bottom of Sisyphus’s hill with a notepad full of incoherent scribbles and half-baked headlines, my mind becomes engulfed in a fog of subjectivity. I mean seriously, some of those ideas had potential. Now what, more arbitrary notions of what makes a “good” idea? How many bad ideas have to die before we realize what a colossal waste of psychic energy has transpired? What drives us to so casually surrender our dreams – madness?
Well, it’s complicated. I mean, who can pretend to know the riddle of the creative mind, right? I realize this is going to disappoint many of you, but my years of advertising industry experience has revealed to me the true nature of creativity, and it goes something like this; no self respecting creative person in the history of advertising has ever really known what the hell they’re doing. It’s true.
Let’s face it. Bringing something new into existence is messy. It usually involves a volatile mix of knee-jerkery, procrastination, overthinking, self-loathing and bouts of desperation. Knowledge is useless when you’re trying to roller-skate in a tornado. When you venture into the unknown, the world gets fuzzy and you start seeing things that probably aren’t there. The distinction between good and bad ideas becomes nebulous, so you write down whatever pops into your head – because by then your brain has already moved on to the next random thought and you’re afraid you might forget whatever it was that led you in this odd direction in the first place. You’re chasing shadows, catching glimpses, getting lost in the wonder of it all. You are now relying on pure instinct and the only tether back to the real world is a flimsy line in the brief that could snap at any moment and send you adrift for eternity. I ask you, what could be more exciting than that?
The problem is, you can’t expect the rest of the world to recognize the tortured genius of your first round idea — unless you can make them feel something first. Feelings make ideas tangible. They make preposterous notions palatable. They imbue humans with the confidence to make bold, untenable decisions, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. But feelings, like bad ideas, are hard to define, unpredictable and known to spontaneously combust.
Denial is your secret weapon. It’s the default reaction when you first discover your first-round idea isn’t quite on brief and has zero chance of connecting with your audience. Nobody gets it, but you don’t give up that easily. You convince yourself that truth is an illusion, everything you know is probably wrong, opposites do not attract, k-pop is actually kinda good, and all bad ideas actually aren’t all bad. Of course, those distinctions depend on who you’re asking, the time of day, and the direction of the wind at the moment you discover their particularities. Why? Because unlike the computers, actual consumers make terrible algorithms. Rational people make irrational decisions all the time. Paradoxically, some of the most successful ideas didn’t test well, and some of the biggest, world changing notions were discovered hanging out in the most unlikely places—like in a small business on a Saturday.
Round-one ideas are like teenagers; they’re immature, irresponsible, impulsive, they think they’re invincible, and they usually make very little sense. Yet somehow they are the vanguard of popular culture. What the rest of us seem to have forgotten is that sometimes obvious and stupid is actually witty and cool. Sometimes when we indulge in the occasional stupid idea, stupid rises to the occasion.
Round-one ideas have something refreshing to offer; a willful indifference towards their own badness. They’ve got a license to suck if deemed necessary in the never ending quest for attention. They simply don’t play by the same rules and they’re unbearably honest about it. What’s good about these bad ideas is that they get to be irreverent, ironic, disarmingly accessible and unflinchingly truthful—and still be charming. Any one of those things is enough to get you noticed. Which is kind of the whole point. They’ve also got built in tensions that have the potential to lead to something unexpectedly entertaining, in fact some bad ideas are just one twist away from becoming great ideas. Others are so shockingly bad that you can’t look away. It just takes one brave idiot to go poking around where nobody else thinks to look, and another even braver idiot with a budget to say, “What the hell, let’s make it.”
The thing to remember about round-one is, If you’re going to go down, you might as well go down in a blaze of glory. That makes it our chance to throw out the rule book and get really creative. It’s the ADHD round. It’s our time for asking questions, ignoring answers, exploring tensions, taking naps, losing your keys, aiming for the fences, moving the fences,… My point is, you gotta step out of your perfect advertising bubble every once in a while and get your feet dirty. Over-rev your engine. Get out of your lane. Think across disciplines. Follow your gut and spend some time on an ill-conceived romp in the weeds and you may find the scenic route quite productive. I know, I’ve lost my keys there a few times. I think what I’m trying to say is never stop chasing after those foul balls.
Cause as much trouble in round-one as you can, because by round-two, you better have your shit together. Sometimes, bad ideas are hidden doorways to creative magic, Other times, they’re just a bad idea and should be approached with a long stick and extreme caution. Like you should never run down a hill at top speed. So please, use your best judgement and indulge me as I dust off some real stinkers. The following collection of postmortem thumbnail sketches is my tribute to all of the “other” ideas that have ever been conceived and then killed in the name of advertising.
Thinking with thumbnails.
A thumbnail is a key visual, in the form of a quickly drawn sketch, that accompanies the write up for for an advertising strategy, activation or execution. It is a visual shorthand that helps to explain the idea and bring it to life. It’s also an invaluable concepting tool for divergent thinkers who like to work out ideas on bar napkins. But enough words, allow me to present a 3:2 window into my creative process. To the Art Directors who strive to perfect their craft, I say “Behold the lost art of the thumbnail sketch.” And to my second grade teacher, “Yes Ms. Schnepp, you actually can make a living by doodling all day.”
More sketches by Jeff Hunter
“Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.”
-Dr. Seuss
Live Job Interview.
Live Job Interview
Role: Interviewee/live talk show guest | Thoughts on life, love, ass-kissing and getting started in the advertising biz.
How to get a job in advertising.
Check out my thoughts on starting out in the ad business — as I’m starting out in the ad business. Watch my 2009 live Fearless Q&A interview with Alex Bogusky and Omid Farhang, the first and perhaps last live job interview ever broadcast in the history of live job interviews.
Introductions.
(01:29)
Persistence.
(00:46)
Promotions, politics & ass-kissing.
(05:45)
About me.
(01:18)
Shameless plug.
(00:21)
Mortality salience & ageism.
(01:21)
Starting over.
(02:02)
Fear.
(01:20)
Where do your ideas come from?
(01:37)
Finding Yoda.
(01:00)
The live hire.
(04:56)
So, what are the hours?
(01:45)
Now what?
(00:42)
Persistence.
(00:46)
It’s like sneaking into the rhino enclosure at the zoo. It’s cramped, it’s dangerous, you can never stop running, people walk by and point at you, and the hours are ridiculous. Buy hey, if it’s what you really want to do…
On being an intern at CP+B by Jeff Hunter
FULL INTERVIEW (57:08 min) How I got a job in advertising by Jeff Hunter
Student Ads.
Student Ads
Role: Art Director | Print campaign | Concept | Design | Copy \ Production
Student ads that don’t suck.
Here’s an award winning subscription ad campaign for Playboy magazine that I made when I was in ad school. After getting my first taste of small-time award show glory (by accident), I set my sights on learning how to make an ad that didn’t suck. Here’s where I ended up the following year with my second award show attempt…
American
Advertising Awards
2007 Student Advertising
National Gold / Best Of Show
Young Guns
International Awards
2007 Student Advertising
International finalist
Applied Arts
Advertising Awards
2007 Student Advertising
National finalist
Print: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
Even with the obvious sexiness, these pieces still manage to go above the expected and surprise the viewer with its cleverness and wit.
–canadiandesignresource.ca
Wait, there’s more.
Designed to take advantage of men’s inability to never miss a scantily clad woman, and highly appropriate for the content of the host magazine, this insert does it’s job well.
– canadiandesignresource.ca
Photography by Paul Savage
Father’s Day Gifs.
Father’s Day Gifs
Role: Art Director | Social engagement campaign |Concept and develop | Video | Digital
No-fuss Father’s Day GIFs.
Nobody makes a fuss over Father’s Day. Which is exactly the way dads like it. So with that in mind, we created a registry of “no-fuss” Father’s Day GIFs that only a dad could truly appreciate. Why so laid back? It might have been because advertisers typically spend far less on Father’s Day than say… Mother’s Day, or Easter, or even Valentine’s Day. Or maybe because the client really only asked us to make them a few simple display banners. Or because dads are simple creatures that aren’t that into the whole “commercial holiday” thing… Whatever. I don’t know. Go ask your mother.
OK, fine. Just don’t make a big production out of it.
We didn’t. First we grabbed a few fatherly looking colleagues from around the agency and made shareable animated GIF “vouchers” that gave dads permission to indulge in the simple pleasures of being dad. Then we built a home for them on fruit.com and added seamless integration with their e-commerce site to drive sales of another easy gift that only a father could love; a Fruit of the Loom Classic Tee. This was all done in-house on a limited budget – so no big productions and not a lot of fuss. You’re welcome dad.
Unpretentious underwear.
Unpretentious Underwear
Role: Art Director | Concept and design | Print | Digital
Premium underwear for the average guy.
When Fruit of the Loom asked us to help launch a new line of premium men’s underwear, putting ads in fancy men’s fashion magazines just seemed like the thing to do. It turns out most of the underwear ads in those magazines are more about style than substance. And since Fruit of the Loom isn’t exactly famous for their haute couture, we went with substance.
“Smell our premium, super-soft ringspun cotton.”
“Take a sniff. Notice the bouquet. It’s a complex mix of pure U.S. grown cotton and cutting-edge spinning technology. with a finish that evokes fresh linens hung on a cool fall morning. Enjoy.”
Copy by Mik Manulik
(Slide to reveal scented strip)
Nextpedition.
Role: Art Director | Product development and launch | Film | Digital | Packaging | Experiential
Bringing the adventure back to travel.
Imagine setting off on a journey without having any clue where you’re going or what you’ll be doing when you get there. Some might call that crazy. We called it NEXTPEDITION.
Travel Insight
Not every traveler
is the same.
Travel Insight
There Is no itinerary
in adventure.
Travel Insight
Seriously, who has the time to be spontaneous anymore?
Solution
Meet Nextpedition.
Travel has become predictable. Thanks to the convenience of modern technology, we’ve managed to plan, program and arrange the spontaneity right out of our vacation plans. What ever happened to the excitement of discovery and the exhilaration of the journey? Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost our sense of adventure. To get that back we had to come up with an entirely new approach to travel.
Step 1.
What’s your sign?
It all starts with a short quiz. We didn’t just throw a dart at a map and put someone on a plane. Before sending our Nextpeditioners off into the great unknown, we asked a few questions. Once we got a bead on their personality and what they were into, we set these daring adventurers up with a travel sign (imagine a horoscope for travel), a virtual travel companion, a personalized dossier, access to a global network of travel experts and a few words of advice…
Be ready for what’s next.
PRINT COLLATERAL: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
Step 2.
A mysterious
package arrives.
Next we sent them a package containing a few essential documents — and one very important gadget. Instead of letting technology spoil the fun, we thought we’d use it to allow travelers to let go. By revealing surprise destinations and ad hoc recommendations tailored to their interests and personalities, our customized travel app freed up travelers to be spontaneous, and experience each new discovery in an entirely new way.
Step 3.
Discover what’s next.
This next step is more of a leap. It’s where you plunge into the unknown and let the adventure unfold before your eyes. Essentially, we dared people to embark on a journey without knowing where they’re going or even what they’ll be doing once they get there. Because when technology and the worlds most trusted network of travel experts team up, you’re in for something that’s more than just travel. And thus, the adventure returns in all it’s glory by asking yourself one simple question, “What’s next?”
Here’s a few examples:
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
WEB VIDEO: Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
Instarecipies.
Instarecipies
Role: Art Director | Social media | Concept and development | Film | Digital
Instarecipies.
Instant recipe videos on Instagram. Short, sweet and shareable, with a foodie aesthetic. That’s how these Jell-o recipes instantly reached nearly 20,000 shares and over four million views on Facebook.
VIDEO: Conceptual/Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
VIDEO: Conceptual/Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
VIDEO: Conceptual/Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
VIDEO: Conceptual/Art Direction by Jeff Hunter
InstaRemix.
To capture the imagination and inspire our Twitter audience on a more subliminal level, we also made these playful (and strangely mesmerizing) Instarecipe remixes set to an eclectic fusion of tasteful musical tracks.
Don’t cheat yourselves, turn your sound up.
Pizza Shootout.
Pizza Shootout
Role: Art Director | Social engagement campaign | Concept and initial development | Digital
Noid’s Super Pizza Shootout.
For seven straight days, our mind-numbingly addictive 8-bit arcade style video game, made exclusively for Domino’s Facebook page, gave away one free pizza every sixty seconds to the player with the highest score during this massive multiplayer online event.
User generated content (Explicit language).
Agency video (unreleased).
User generated content (Explicit language).
How it Happened:
1. Like us.
Domino’s Pizza needed more Facebook ‘likes’ to maintain their dominance in a highly competitive social media pizza war. And they were willing to give away 10,080 free pizzas to get the job done.
2. Wait for it.
Now, for most brands, a pizza for a ‘like’ might have been an acceptable trade off. But this was war.
3. Shoot pizza.
We came back to Domino’s with a question, “Why just give pizza away, when you can get the entire internet to fight over them?”
4. Win pizza.
It went like this: The player with the highest score wins a free pizza, one new chance to win every sixty seconds, for one week. That’s 1,440 pizza shootouts a day and 10,080 winners for the week. The price of admission? One Facebook like.
5. Get results.
The results? Not too shabby. 515,353 visits, 783,245 games played, 214,200 ‘Likes’, one briefly broken internet and apparently a few minor freak-outs, all in fun and all in just seven days.