tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28784142024620661302024-03-14T12:06:33.491-04:00D a v i d E v e r i t t - C a r l s o n C o m m u n i c a t i o n sDavid Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-74539075504759318172016-03-15T13:40:00.000-04:002016-03-15T13:40:44.180-04:00#iTOMB Season IV: A love story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Alex: Free thought<br />(#Québec) 10.25.14</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Quik. </b></span>Name the first organization you can think of that exists solely to encourage, freedom of expression. </div>
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Not so easy is it? And in America, a country who's founders felt so strongly about the idea that it became the First Amendment to our constitution, we now find ourselves not teaching it in schools - as arts and music programs disappear in the face of budget shortfalls - leaving the concept an obtuse philosophical theory with little or no practical application. And whilst the <a href="http://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/videos/freedom-of-expression.html" target="_blank">United Nations</a> and NGOs like George Soros' <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/free-speech-debate-needs-you" target="_blank">Open Society Foundation</a> expound at length on this fundamental <i>human right </i>through any number of societal and diplomatic channels, these programs are aimed primarily at developing countries and nations under siege from oppressive dictatorships or worse, mired in armed conflicts with the right to speak freely becoming a matter of life or death. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>David Everitt- Carlson at Occupy Wall Street 10.07.11<br />Photo: Bryan Derballa for </i></span><i style="font-size: x-small;">The Wall Street Journal</i></td></tr>
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But here, in America at least, with frightening billions of dollars spent on <i>defense</i> of our supposed freedoms, we seem to have conveniently forgotten about this one. As free as air, or water should be - now relegated to the basement of first world consciousness because - maybe we don't need it. Or maybe we need it more than we ever have since it was written into our national psyche, our <span style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">raison d'être.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Towers of Gold 09.16.14</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>That's where <a href="http://ithinkoutsidemybox.com/" target="_blank">#iThinkOutsideMyBox</a> came in,</b></span> as a protest communication vehicle at Occupy Wall Street, standing (or sitting in my case) in the line of fire as thousands of armed police, police in tactical riot gear, even police on horseback arrested over 3500 of us, many violently, for exercising our human rights, our constitutional rights, to speak our peace to what we believed was becoming a tyrannical government. It was an electric time and in the midst of all that, a simple cardboard box became a metaphor for me, in one sense a shelter and in another, a kind of soapbox for me to graphically air our collective grievances by painting slogans on a box. "The phrase "I Think Outside My Box" symbolized the thought of trying to come up with better ideas for a society that had become systematically disenfranchised from the bailing out of financial institutions without regard to human cost.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"It needs to be, just so" 01.31.16</span></i></span></td></tr>
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As a casualty, but not wanting to play the victim, I put words and art into action and next, I was in the Wall Street Journal. First, for calling out Wall Street, and second, for being a very interesting photo, a guy who looks like he could be working on Wall Street, sitting in that box. Activist performance art. But after becoming an Internet meme for a week, a funny thing started to happen; people began to ask me if they could paint too. An there, the public studio was born. A place where anyone could paint and express themselves in public - something defiantly peaceful and fun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Katie 10.19.14</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast forward to the <a href="http://www.thehighline.org/" target="_blank">High Line</a> park</span></b> one year later in the fall of 2012 and fun had become the operative term. The offer of <i>Feel free to paint℠</i> was attractive to many in a place where birds chirped high above the bustling streets of one of the most exciting cities in the world. Who wouldn't? And paint they did. <span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: magenta;">"<span style="text-align: center;">I stumbled upon a great thing. A man is letting people of all ages paint what they feel and either let the world see it or keep it.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> Magic."</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6aa84f; text-align: center;"> </span></i></span>By the fall of 2015, three years later, our collection numbers over 20,000 from visitors from over 100 countries and this collectivist collection of expressions has become not only my full-time work but my passion and creative love. In short, <i>my job.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVM5vgRVFfBHKLjZzZYu9JoWdnmgkG1N434t-lnLqdC7Y8v_R7CoXJ2QJPcKtaSiDrFIA1b2pY6b5mpbKUSsl7NmsSWikeiyMYCWCx9jpi9EGA2yjc5zkTUyZ6vye8_BetYxhTLv0raiF-/s1600/Where-To-Invade-Next-1-e1455084195782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVM5vgRVFfBHKLjZzZYu9JoWdnmgkG1N434t-lnLqdC7Y8v_R7CoXJ2QJPcKtaSiDrFIA1b2pY6b5mpbKUSsl7NmsSWikeiyMYCWCx9jpi9EGA2yjc5zkTUyZ6vye8_BetYxhTLv0raiF-/s200/Where-To-Invade-Next-1-e1455084195782.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Michael Moore's, "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4897822/" target="_blank">Where to Invade Next</a>?"</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>In Michael' Moore's new film, "<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2016/02/25/where-to-invade-next-is-an-invasion-of-great-ideas-review.html" target="_blank">Where to Invade Next?</a>"</b></span> he invades Finland to capture an idea that made their public education system the best in the world.<br />
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"Let the students express themselves. Cut the hours, eliminate homework, re-introduce music and the arts and do away with standardized tests - an effort to grow better people instead of just better students. Let them be kids. And it was found, that having the arts in their curriculum, increased their scores in math and science - not to mention expanding their entire worldview.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Schools: </span></b>that's one way I see us interacting with the community - as a plug in creative module for school festivals, summer camps or regular class sessions. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzp-y4QPkubbP0245i2L7KN8A0OPW1DSLejiaf9mVkgpmTeI3h0aE8OweHjmomKNVVr_eIWhaeycBh7ZyWdLdAQKs83QyPW83nLnZWmycebH9xgNBinuQ3ZRT7C1SFdQVbb5ZBDr9SbQp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-02-18+at+10.26.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzp-y4QPkubbP0245i2L7KN8A0OPW1DSLejiaf9mVkgpmTeI3h0aE8OweHjmomKNVVr_eIWhaeycBh7ZyWdLdAQKs83QyPW83nLnZWmycebH9xgNBinuQ3ZRT7C1SFdQVbb5ZBDr9SbQp/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-02-18+at+10.26.41+PM.png" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Cartoon: Hugh MacLeod @ <a href="http://gapingvoid.com/">gapingvoid.com</a></i></span></td></tr>
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We're currently booked for two educational sessions this season, a three day college creative festival in New Jersey in June and one day on the High Line in April with a large High School group.</div>
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<b><span style="color: lime; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:david.e.carlson@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Contact me</span> </a><span style="color: lime;">to add #iThinkOutsideMyBox to your school program this coming season.</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">"I was just passing through then saw a man painting, and that he was definitely enjoying what he was doing caught my eye. </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">David: 'Wanna paint?' Me: 'How do you know what you want to paint?' David: 'It doesn't have to be an apple'. So here we are." </span></i></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Suja <br />"Create a Life You Love" <br />06.29.15</span></i></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">#iTOMB welcomes Season IV:</span></b> This winter has proven to be most unusual with temperatures in the 50s and 60s, often enough, that we've maintained a presence in the park and it's caused people to remark, that if I didn't love what I do, I wouldn't be out there in the middle of February. And it's true. This is the winter I found the work I was meant to do.<br />
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In the beginning I thought it was something to keep me busy and bring in a little income as I looked to find my way back to the advertising business. But now I realize that it is much more than that. It is a chance to do what artist <a href="http://gapingvoid.com/" target="_blank">Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid.com</a> laments above might not ever be a possibility for anyone working in corporate America. It's a chance to change the world, for the better, just a little each day. By letting you change the world, just a little each day, with a new idea, remembered as a painting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpp6CpOvD5yVicYMDt5gkHBSAKMz86v8HxCGWMIYqs4AmWsZTMvdmtdOGNKI49jRXA_u6X_vQKS9uAlNqBKOFdZPY8misJfXUfk0Cc2v4JkjlZUsdfpkXfae8m84BpLSCvkV21a8POE-D6/s1600/Me+%2526+Tia+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpp6CpOvD5yVicYMDt5gkHBSAKMz86v8HxCGWMIYqs4AmWsZTMvdmtdOGNKI49jRXA_u6X_vQKS9uAlNqBKOFdZPY8misJfXUfk0Cc2v4JkjlZUsdfpkXfae8m84BpLSCvkV21a8POE-D6/s200/Me+%2526+Tia+.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Me and Tia 07.15.15</span></i></td></tr>
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One supporter, Diane, says this,<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: lime;"><i>"</i><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">I think of David as the Pied Piper of the High Line! F</span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">acilitating and adorning the High Line with the creative self-expressions of </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: lime;">thousands of people."</span> </i><span style="color: #222222;">And that to me, sounds as much like a real job as anything. Following are a number of extensions of the concept currently in process:</span></span></span><br />
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<b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Grants:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"> I am actively applying for arts and community grants for the project. If you are aware of any I should be applying to, please let me know.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Media:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> Please pass us along to your favorite media contact for stories.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Book:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> I have a proposal for a book that would be a cube of printed cardboard paintings, with descriptions on the back of each one, 3"X3"X3" called "#iThinkOutsideMyBox - <i>Every Picture Tells a Story</i>". Please talk to me if you know publishers or agents who might be interested in it.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">#iThinkOutsideMyBox #TheNewWhitney 10.15.15</span></i></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Museums:</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> Our sculptural display of paintings, 2014 - 2016 is now available as a museum exhibit, along with supporting artwork from the project, and the ability to execute live interactive performance. If you are a curator or educator with museums involved in design, sustainability, art or social change, or know someone who is, please introduce yourself. We'd love to collaborate.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Galleries:</b></span><span style="color: #222222;"> This season I am actively soliciting galleries to mount a summer fundraising benefit to encourage, </span></span>protect, promote and practice freedom of speech. With over 20,000 paintings to choose from we have the ability to fill a gallery and offer on-demand prints of any works in an interactive, press worthy exhibition. Please talk to us if you are or know a gallery or gallerist who might be interested.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Corporate:</span></b> With a background as a career advertising creative director, I am available for corporate presentations, retreats, team building and creative motivational exercises. Contact me to discuss adaptations of the activity and scheduling.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJns04e9RLDiZccs_Vb1Tf_ozfPSkTlmebFR2syvT30lY4-8v510p_ENt6g4YAbUvqSn4IV3g0TlEekAggfx7IJoP-5FAN3soqj_pwT8E3vZ1o24dpG950pwpYN3CltiGxhlllUwRvFCqq/s1600/%2523iTOMB.Color.Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJns04e9RLDiZccs_Vb1Tf_ozfPSkTlmebFR2syvT30lY4-8v510p_ENt6g4YAbUvqSn4IV3g0TlEekAggfx7IJoP-5FAN3soqj_pwT8E3vZ1o24dpG950pwpYN3CltiGxhlllUwRvFCqq/s200/%2523iTOMB.Color.Final.jpg" width="100" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fundraising:</b></span> Later this year I'll be mounting a fundraising campaign for financing our 501(c)3 application, book publishing, website redesign, mobile app and other growth opportunities. Should you like to support us otherwise, prints of anything on the website may be ordered at any time. $100, framed on acid-free paper and perfect for gifts or souvenirs.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank You:</span></b> I thank you all for your support of #iThinkOutsideMyBox and look forward to the coming year. I feel fortunate to be able to do something I love, and see that it is loved and nurtured by all of you in return.<br />
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Peace.<br />
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<br />David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-67461505806809173172015-03-06T21:15:00.000-05:002015-03-07T12:28:25.364-05:00"You talkin' to me?" A new/old MTA/PSA campaign begs that exact question<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSB3rlpMgfvKMBcEz6Gw1nFVtbBrTiFM6RKtwTp-uTYQuf4dYKhuoGLtmgSXTlAdbzTeAm31tzWkxB3f6Ru-7N1_mmKxlXpP0drI2Fb2kwNUCfkBUxjlZt8fZEhguRz3KFT6IfewLdBNE/s1600/ifyoutalkedtopeople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSB3rlpMgfvKMBcEz6Gw1nFVtbBrTiFM6RKtwTp-uTYQuf4dYKhuoGLtmgSXTlAdbzTeAm31tzWkxB3f6Ru-7N1_mmKxlXpP0drI2Fb2kwNUCfkBUxjlZt8fZEhguRz3KFT6IfewLdBNE/s1600/ifyoutalkedtopeople.jpg" height="60" width="130" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: lime;">"If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they'd punch you in the face"</span>,</i> observes Hugh MacLeod of <a href="http://gapingvoid.com/">Gapingvoid.com</a>, a cartoonist friend of mine who's work focuses on the more honest side of business conversations – and if he had written that in regard to the new MTA public service work, he wouldn't have been wrong at all.</div>
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The subject matter, tone and general treatment of their clients as cretins pits the MTA squarely against New York straphangers, who pay the bills, in what comes off more as a dysfunctional parent/teacher relationship than a business arrangement that should encourage both parties to play nice with each other.<br />
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And for the MTA, who's <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/fare-toll-hikes-2015-2017-mta-chief-article-1.1407617">fare increases</a> far outpace inflation and who's service could be improved more from internal stocktaking than through <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/bus-safety-campaign/">blaming </a>their passengers for the vagaries of the world's largest metro system, there should be little or no room for calling anyone else discourteous or foolish. Or, God forbid, a statistic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOnbZ4DyytBksaEDCGFE8FZEwKdjaI74loH-ZDWtoP7hpjwZxKujDwm9cWXCA-v7b1ZmS9_bGzdnuZhomD72CkaGlk3gsPZPPShST2jFJSBS9yd2WgSBR-rM7ggYAHH3k3czWdMu7Byc/s1600/Subway-Fall-Tracks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOnbZ4DyytBksaEDCGFE8FZEwKdjaI74loH-ZDWtoP7hpjwZxKujDwm9cWXCA-v7b1ZmS9_bGzdnuZhomD72CkaGlk3gsPZPPShST2jFJSBS9yd2WgSBR-rM7ggYAHH3k3czWdMu7Byc/s1600/Subway-Fall-Tracks.jpg" height="320
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />MTA Public Service Advertising 2015. Agency: <a href="http://www.mta.info/gsearch/corporate%20communications">MTA Corporate Communications</a>/<a href="http://www.koreykay.com/index.html">Korey Kay and Partners</a></span></i><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Exhibit A:</span> An old-school-marmish admonishment revisited, tells readers (the one pictured apparently drunk) not to get hit by trains, as if anyone really wanted that – but in reality, for the year 2011, just more than half those deaths were indeed intentional. <a href="http://nypost.com/2013/06/02/suicide-is-leading-cause-of-subway-passenger-deaths-mta-data/">Suicides</a> as it were.<br />
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Knowing this, were the writers and the people who approved the ad really talking to the majority of their own potential fatalities, their clients, or just the inebriated suicidal ones who were probably not in a reading mood to begin with?<br />
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Again, blaming the victims makes no sense (or friends) and renders the message either patently insensitive to all or at least insulting to the few who might survive their brush with death off the rails.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QoCJbAiuSZ49YArn1OLAssf9r2T3i-hG77IRjavy3FIVJvYyK8w9H1vsRzoBVDuzULcHrB7lPQEej8n-Fj7k7bvAUcuuMN0NVyi2DvczW51erlMF_iFicJjaCAZxI80vP1Z3O8s4-LE/s1600/eaf2fdd5f3db0d5414356c5df4f583ce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QoCJbAiuSZ49YArn1OLAssf9r2T3i-hG77IRjavy3FIVJvYyK8w9H1vsRzoBVDuzULcHrB7lPQEej8n-Fj7k7bvAUcuuMN0NVyi2DvczW51erlMF_iFicJjaCAZxI80vP1Z3O8s4-LE/s1600/eaf2fdd5f3db0d5414356c5df4f583ce.jpg" height="800" width="717" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Melbourne Metro, Australia. Agency: <a href="http://mccann.com.au/project/dumb-ways-to-die/">McCann</a></span></i></td></tr>
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Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe down-under at the Melbourne Metro in Australia, the same subject is dealt with playfully and engagingly by not showing the literal problem but by illustrating what other mistakes could be fatal like <i><span style="color: lime;">"Taking your HELMET off in outer space"</span></i> and ending with the suggestion that being safe around trains was a lifesaving and worthwhile idea as well. </div>
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So fucking cool.</div>
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Smart and treating the audience with respect by inferring that <i>nobody</i> would be dumb enough to do any of the foolish things imagined, the campaign embraced social sharing with a charmingly disquieting video, song and eventually an online game that made, <a href="http://dumbwaystodie.com/"><i>Dumb Ways to Die</i></a>, the <a href="http://mccann.com.au/project/dumb-ways-to-die/">most awarded campaign ever</a> at the Cannes Advertising Festival, 2013 – and more importantly, impressed hundreds of millions of people worldwide to be safe around trains by collecting online interactive safety pledges from them in exchange for fun customer-centric media.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAD8xjcPyKC20mdMv7r5oQs3qAf5hg3uHXu4LV27HupzTGtgTk1hyphenhyphenJPZCVq3GNSEWVYIu3Sbe8wN2cJy1o-KXtBjUNlbbjBEHs2tU-rfVBH5taayrQOHCTbMe5fYpuSE-430mEPsHGnU4/s1600/metro_dumb_ways_to_die_rattlesnake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAD8xjcPyKC20mdMv7r5oQs3qAf5hg3uHXu4LV27HupzTGtgTk1hyphenhyphenJPZCVq3GNSEWVYIu3Sbe8wN2cJy1o-KXtBjUNlbbjBEHs2tU-rfVBH5taayrQOHCTbMe5fYpuSE-430mEPsHGnU4/s1600/metro_dumb_ways_to_die_rattlesnake.jpg" height="220
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />Melbourne Metro, Australia. Agency: <a href="http://mccann.com.au/project/dumb-ways-to-die/">McCann</a></span></i></td></tr>
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Meanwhile, just over a year ago the MTA announced the appointment of a new agency partnership, leaving their old communications partner of 22 years. Korey Kay and Partners, well known for their authorship of the <i><span style="color: lime;">"If You See Something, Say Something"</span></i> campaign – which unfortunately, 13 years in, had begun to sound more like a post-Snowdenian invitation from big brother to be a snitch rather than an ernest partner in the war on terrorism. </div>
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Oh, how we all are so tired of more than a decade of terrorist alert level purple. Or was it orange?</div>
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But it doesn't look like the Korey Kay agency in a swan song, nor the new agency paring of Pulsar Advertising and the Arcade Creative Group had anything to do with the latest cadre of consumer alienating work. That seems to have come out of the MTA's in-house corporate communications team. </div>
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Hopefully their last.</div>
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With the MTA's decision on their new communications partners it was stated they felt their millions of riders who traveled by train and bus each day were <i><span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/business/media/the-mta-switches-ad-agencies-after-22-years.html">"looking for information in new ways"</a></span></i>. "You talkin' to me?" And although a look at the work of either Pulsar or Arcade Creative won't yield anything as inspired or communally grounded as the Melbourne Metro <i><span style="color: lime;">"Dumb Ways to Die"</span></i> initiative, we can only hope that seeing their public in <i>'new ways' </i>means treating them as stakeholders, instead of terrorists. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HLfh6Nsw8bywXURPeaQJUTkXZZWF0Kx9Es9OM0RQAQV-WX0-ds_kmd9sC0LiBmEF9P8H7ZhnQRnDLQt4R274-020Cg5qBLBxJIy0pN5NOhroputkz4UbucaGd35xqfGXC_Tu7_RBlrA/s1600/showtime_mta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HLfh6Nsw8bywXURPeaQJUTkXZZWF0Kx9Es9OM0RQAQV-WX0-ds_kmd9sC0LiBmEF9P8H7ZhnQRnDLQt4R274-020Cg5qBLBxJIy0pN5NOhroputkz4UbucaGd35xqfGXC_Tu7_RBlrA/s1600/showtime_mta.jpg" height="248" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /><br />MTA Public Service Advertising 2015. Agency: <a href="http://www.mta.info/gsearch/corporate%20communications">MTA Corporate Communications</a></span></i></td></tr>
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-73613676218247826692015-01-12T13:10:00.000-05:002015-01-12T13:10:39.759-05:00#JeSuisCharlie<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>#JeSuisCharlie, for Anna, 01.11.15</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit;">With deepest respect for the writers and artists at Charlie Hebdo, we see the world as you did. This company and the <span data-reactid=".0.0.1.0.0.0:$media895901671008773010:0.1.0.2.0.2.$text0:0:$entity2:0" style="background-color: #fafafa; line-height: 20px;">#iThinkOutsideMyBox</span><span data-reactid=".0.0.1.0.0.0:$media895901671008773010:0.1.0.2.0.2.$text0:0:$text3:0" style="background-color: #fafafa; line-height: 20px;">™ project were founded on the concept of freedom of expression </span><span data-reactid=".0.0.1.0.0.0:$media895901671008773010:0.1.0.2.0.2.$text0:0:$text4:0" style="background-color: #fafafa; line-height: 20px;">and will continue </span><span data-reactid=".0.0.1.0.0.0:$media895901671008773010:0.1.0.2.0.2.$text0:0:$entity4:0" style="background-color: #fafafa; line-height: 20px;">#EngagingThePublicInPublicArt</span><span data-reactid=".0.0.1.0.0.0:$media895901671008773010:0.1.0.2.0.2.$text0:0:$end:0" style="background-color: #fafafa; line-height: 20px;">℠ so long as we remain alive on this planet to do so. Long live Charlie Hebdo!</span></span></div>
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<br />David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-23904437362311471282014-12-10T12:20:00.000-05:002014-12-10T12:20:52.934-05:00Outside the #iThinkOutsideMyBox™ Project<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Annual Report cover pen and ink drawing</i></span></td></tr>
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One of the most frequently asked questions of visitors to <a href="http://ithinkoutsidemybox.blogspot.com/">#iThinkOutsideMyBox</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://ithinkoutsidemybox.blogspot.com/">™</a> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">regards whether all the small paintings have been done by me, and the answer of course is 'no', but I do tell people that the signage is mine and that brings into question the fonts, styles, and execution of such. The drawing above is an original font in mid rendering but much tighter than any of the work on cardboard seen on </span></span>the iTOMB exhibit. And the reasons for that come in translating hand painted work to hand lettered typography for printing, something that is done primarily by computer these days.</div>
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I began as a self taught hand letterer in my teens and eventually found my way into the professional sign painting business by the time I was in college, working for established sign companies and learning from the masters, painters who learned how to 'letter' with brushes as opposed to 'caligraph' with pens and quills. Eventually I graduated in graphic design, but have always had a love of fine typography over the many other 'crafts' of the design world.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28nfMOPU7MajyBVmnjmB_uN4wdVtT9tmDXNM6gYV04ycsgS0798a3xzdcZZwTIQdwZa-86I8RfprsbAucdetjZ60D2Un-pafC5npXjNtH1o8W8pcQVFJuLwWVNsLwESqUbrtLRtR660j2/s1600/St.Johns.Pencil.11.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28nfMOPU7MajyBVmnjmB_uN4wdVtT9tmDXNM6gYV04ycsgS0798a3xzdcZZwTIQdwZa-86I8RfprsbAucdetjZ60D2Un-pafC5npXjNtH1o8W8pcQVFJuLwWVNsLwESqUbrtLRtR660j2/s1600/St.Johns.Pencil.11.14.jpg" height="717" width="717" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Annual Report cover pencil drawing</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBM0KS3Nz_YwHD9R7S7CoUuqJp5lvF_Dz2GoFTIH-2BhrCEaa4AOtixwql7Hbqsz-h35k0kl5TtkHEMFBuJ8ilfIdqt9JKoIxq_XYaqhDtDuo0iU2X8xYz9VDl7z-OnPUMjfMQIW1qV7_/s1600/2014_annual_report_cover-page-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBM0KS3Nz_YwHD9R7S7CoUuqJp5lvF_Dz2GoFTIH-2BhrCEaa4AOtixwql7Hbqsz-h35k0kl5TtkHEMFBuJ8ilfIdqt9JKoIxq_XYaqhDtDuo0iU2X8xYz9VDl7z-OnPUMjfMQIW1qV7_/s1600/2014_annual_report_cover-page-002.jpg" height="130" width="100" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>A sample layout<br />made with Adobe <br />Illustrator from my <br />pencil drawing <br />above.</i></span></td></tr>
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Of course today, 99.9% of this work is done in Photoshop and Illustrator, but not always necessarily well if the person doing the work has never learned it by hand in the first place. </div>
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As I was once told, as an apprentice sign painter, "The letterform was originated by the human hand - but then the machine took over, Gutenberg and all that. Now that you are taking mechanical forms of what were once products of the hand, you must <i>put the hand 'back'</i> into the form - for there's no point in doing it by hand if you are just imitating something made by a machine."</div>
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And to this day, that continues to be my philosophy in font design. Above was inspired by my more free sign work - quickly sketched out in thumbnail form, then tightened in pencil and pen in a drafting form, and finally tweaked (not twerked) in illustrator. Yet it maintains the personality of the hand in that you couldn't make the design inset from a convention al font - or if you did, it would be a relatively painful process. Sometimes, at least in art, less tech is better.<br />
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The work here was commissioned by a graphic designer for his client, a non-profit working in healthcare and I was asked specifically to provide typographical solutions for the project. Should you be in need of hand lettering in any form, from simple sign design on cardboard, to painted permanently on buildings or items, to typography and font design, please feel free to <a href="mailto:David.E.Carlson@gmail.com" target="_blank">contact me</a>. It's one of the many things I do that's well outside the #iThinkOutsideMyBox<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">™</span> project.<br />
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<br />David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-8526935309813715482014-08-08T12:49:00.000-04:002014-08-08T12:49:50.718-04:00The Reality of Global Warming: Avaaz MTA Poster Contest Entry<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZg4WsjX3h9MsOJuYsRu2TQUTs2BjiVbPQBbCExMlItWMUsN_uKnhcw3WbRRx0ZHrjYZ7numfy2rxwNeTNgIZndabLN77Fty0MZaeJvKAV2HOz4IwtlxSRqqgKjgNFhtFlv9KcTwSImYI/s1600/Avaaz.Port+Hole+(iPhoto).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZg4WsjX3h9MsOJuYsRu2TQUTs2BjiVbPQBbCExMlItWMUsN_uKnhcw3WbRRx0ZHrjYZ7numfy2rxwNeTNgIZndabLN77Fty0MZaeJvKAV2HOz4IwtlxSRqqgKjgNFhtFlv9KcTwSImYI/s1600/Avaaz.Port+Hole+(iPhoto).jpg" height="717" width="717" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>DEC Communications Avaaz.org People's Climate March poster contest entry (comp layout)</i></span></td></tr>
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A conversation with a gentleman this week told me that the whole world is not yet sold on the idea that the earth is warming at an alarming rate. <i>"We've had the ice age - these things are normal"</i>, he said. </div>
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And maybe so, but according to <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/about.php">Avaaz</a> (meaning: Voice), an online activist network dedicated to global issues, 13 of the 14 warmest years on record have happened in this century and whether that's a blip in the overall picture of the planet or a continuing trend, the reality is that you and your children are living through it and what you choose to do or not do is up to you.</div>
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To gain awareness for climate change issues Avaaz has organized a <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/join_to_change_everything_rb/?slideshow">People's Climate March on September 21st in New York</a> and other cities around the world and will publicize the event with a one month long MTA Subway poster campaign promoting this direct action and a contest to decide the winning poster. Our entry is above. To vote on finalists click <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/peoples_climate_poster_voting/?baLBOab&v=43320">here</a>. </div>
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-32541527217433637672014-04-29T17:45:00.001-04:002014-04-29T17:45:43.561-04:00#iThinkOutsideMyBox: Seaon II<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I find the Respondent is not a vendor within the meaning of 56 RCNY 1-05, since he does not sell, offer for sale, hire or lease or let anything and does not expressly provide services in exchange for any donation".
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Slideshow by <a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/13544556466110960070" target="_blank">Sedef</a> and Zesty Moments</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">If we considered the fall of 2012 our pilot year, and 2013 our first season we have now moved into Season II in 2014, right along with Madmen and the start of the baseball season. And what a start it has been. Thanks to Sedef of <a href="http://www.zestymoments.com/2014/04/slow-art-day-in-one-of-fastest-cities.html" target="_blank">Zesty Moments</a> for the slideshow above and nice review below.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"David Everitt-Carlson is a one man activity center/activist who provides anyone interested in participating with paints and a 3x3 cardboard square to create whatever they are inspired to do. His project, <a href="http://ithinkoutsidemybox.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">iThinkOutsideMyBox</a> is a </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">community engagement art activity that should be in museums! </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 24px;">He has over 10,000 paintings that have been created by visitors since 2012. It is such an phenomenal project that all I can say is <i><a href="http://www.zestymoments.com/2014/04/slow-art-day-in-one-of-fastest-cities.html" target="_blank">'You have to see it for yourself!'</a></i>" <a href="http://ithinkoutsidemybox.blogspot.com/2014/04/ithinkoutsidemybox-season-ii.html">Cont...</a></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvx7j_M8jy6uuJiIiHwD80OTsn6wE5ymF87V7Nw9YEBP3Jxx0Fl2m6UWc1p7Vp_SFcwYKyvdR-WHq1v2RSc2E6hGz-k9FFNYjrJXOSFe2Ond-bwpwqTIp8gEUaQy_-uGynRc2ZBEMjGj_/s1600/%23iTOMB+Gallery.Sedef.+04.26.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvx7j_M8jy6uuJiIiHwD80OTsn6wE5ymF87V7Nw9YEBP3Jxx0Fl2m6UWc1p7Vp_SFcwYKyvdR-WHq1v2RSc2E6hGz-k9FFNYjrJXOSFe2Ond-bwpwqTIp8gEUaQy_-uGynRc2ZBEMjGj_/s1600/%23iTOMB+Gallery.Sedef.+04.26.14.jpg" height="717" width="717" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>#iTOMB Gallery.Sedef. 04.26.14</i></span></td></tr>
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-11302093934362818562014-03-18T18:51:00.001-04:002014-03-20T10:43:01.100-04:00Art in Advertising<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jTF1UmyDaYsVuclJcP7-KbjXTHHoUhCw_tUKAtedvnMZJ1_dLEDndbGUXadebzYp5UIMdXWX5thyphenhyphen0ovyO8_qnlRGoxIcyXgAToEmk8riugtj5-jolJRb6HMkqZ_iJVlG89ZR3KORdxU/s3200/original-5945-1394236543-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jTF1UmyDaYsVuclJcP7-KbjXTHHoUhCw_tUKAtedvnMZJ1_dLEDndbGUXadebzYp5UIMdXWX5thyphenhyphen0ovyO8_qnlRGoxIcyXgAToEmk8riugtj5-jolJRb6HMkqZ_iJVlG89ZR3KORdxU/s3200/original-5945-1394236543-14.jpg" height="269" width="717" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">MADMEN Final Season – Designer: Milton Glaser</span></td></tr>
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Art has always been part of advertising. In fact, it's exactly what got me into it when I was just a teenager – the album covers, done by so many a great graphic designer, to arguably "sell" us the music inside. But none of it was ever about the selling to me – more just the ephemeral being a part of our daily lives, sitting around decorating our houses – or bird cages. Milton Glaser, designer of those days and above, still these days, sums it up this way:<br />
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<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2014/03/17/milton-glaser-q/" target="_blank">"Stop thinking of art as an activity totally separate from the human activity; but rather as a part of being human and part of life that is intrinsic, not as a separate event."</a><br />
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Milton Glaser would also be known as the man who designed the I<span style="color: red;">♥</span>NY logo – something else that is more just a part of our lives, not really a piece of advertising. You can read more about him <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/arts/design/mad-men-enlists-the-graphics-guru-milton-glaser.html?_r=0" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comNew York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.3291648 -74.65142010000001 41.0995408 -73.3605261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-15086620256029909522014-03-04T12:10:00.001-05:002014-03-04T16:13:15.760-05:00What is 'new'?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbj0TujZcSMURdBickhkRMM_0Nic77lg3p4zxC_44ZeEZ_Jdbyc-ZumYVJmP_wYaSL8B26zxfOQk453GSg4ewSSSu7PbkzKO3MzGBssA4EByrUfv0MZGGYxqt2Ck9d7vDsmBzWupRjgU/s1600/Kendall+Shaw.New+Iberia.1972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbj0TujZcSMURdBickhkRMM_0Nic77lg3p4zxC_44ZeEZ_Jdbyc-ZumYVJmP_wYaSL8B26zxfOQk453GSg4ewSSSu7PbkzKO3MzGBssA4EByrUfv0MZGGYxqt2Ck9d7vDsmBzWupRjgU/s1600/Kendall+Shaw.New+Iberia.1972.jpg" height="300" width="717
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: x-small;">Kendall Shaw, </i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>New Iberia, Acrylic on paper 1972</i></span></td></tr>
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This sketch called New Iberia was done by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall_Shaw">Kendall Shaw</a> in 1972. So in some sense, it is old. But it was new to me as I viewed it in a gallery on Saturday. It precurses the work of Cajun Minimalism Mr. Shaw has developed over the years and how I came to have met him just a few months ago. </div>
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On the work above, he states, <i>"My colors have no system. I feel their energy in their juxtapositions. Color is reflected energy, everything is energy. This is not a sketch for a painting to be done from it. It is what it is; a sketch of colors I feel are real."</i></div>
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And if that idea is not particularly new, his application of it to his particular brand of minimalism is – something he attributes to his study with Mark Rothko in the late 1950s and a scale of anthropometric proportions called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulor" target="_blank">Modulor</a> developed by the architect Le Corbusier. <i>"That painting is a live animal, and the color is its blood"</i>, he attributes to Rothko whilst the system of Modulor scales the human form, the animal, to the space around it. Both ideas that were certainly new to Shaw at the time – but now new again through his paintings.<br />
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Yet, sometimes what is lauded as being new is not always improved – as referenced by too many claims in our advertising world. Sometimes new is a well applied existing idea, executed in a fresh fashion and medium – as Kendall Shaw has continued to do with his art, well into his 90th <i>new</i> year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUd8UvoV0J9iNVfj1aDLsScJX4ji7kEXonn4Z3uRfIYFYQtyNaDNWCCvTP4jeeBBqHOWQPIyq88hfSczrW_1_6MPw3bcBlQWf7ifEMT318ALpKvgFJLD-XU68cvf_RT9b2T-EvA8-VZkY/s1600/Kendall+Shaw.2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUd8UvoV0J9iNVfj1aDLsScJX4ji7kEXonn4Z3uRfIYFYQtyNaDNWCCvTP4jeeBBqHOWQPIyq88hfSczrW_1_6MPw3bcBlQWf7ifEMT318ALpKvgFJLD-XU68cvf_RT9b2T-EvA8-VZkY/s1600/Kendall+Shaw.2014.jpg" height="440" width="717" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Kendall Shaw, Tabasco, Acrylic on canvas, 5 panels, 4' x 5', 2013<br /></span></i></td></tr>
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-17893699810594748882014-02-20T16:02:00.000-05:002014-02-20T17:37:48.390-05:00On Firsts: Manipulating the Media – the first in a series of firsts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqPeNS41M6ly-f9KSXWigCqhwg6mACYiiBaxyU84RoTgexfN7n_fWGlvNVk51bo2nPRNGo2U6cY_9-38N0qpND2PyuXK9CgyeBgw8Gqn1MTqmbAHB2yAyyX10f0yH-0Cb-KSRD4rD8HU/s1600/Scoop+Comparison-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqPeNS41M6ly-f9KSXWigCqhwg6mACYiiBaxyU84RoTgexfN7n_fWGlvNVk51bo2nPRNGo2U6cY_9-38N0qpND2PyuXK9CgyeBgw8Gqn1MTqmbAHB2yAyyX10f0yH-0Cb-KSRD4rD8HU/s1600/Scoop+Comparison-crop.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a>Case Study: <i>Oak Farms Luxury Ice Cream – Southland Corporation (7-11). </i>At first it may not seem like much of an innovation, but when you look at how the creative idea bends the media towards its own purpose of owning the space, it's quite the trick. </div>
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Coupon ads for retail food clients at advertising agencies do not normally present themselves as award winning opportunities. In fact, they're generally considered as the assignment no creative wants. But that shouldn't stop anyone from making a little lemonade once they've got the lemons.</div>
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In the ad on the left the specified size, purchased by the media department, was a standard quarter-page ad, represented by the blue box. And this is where, in the creative mind, one confuses which came first, the headline, the visual or the change in ad size.<br />
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But once one has the image of an ice cream scoop, it seems only logical to use the most vertical space possible and take ownership of the page from top to bottom without spending any more money than was allocated in the first place. And this was the first time that had ever been done – at the agency, at the newspaper and also in the New York Art Directors Club annual where it was awarded and became the first of my works to be featured in that show – 30 years ago. Being first scares a lot of people. The phrase, <i>"We've never done it that way"</i> is a popular one among companies that have grown comfortable making money in the way that they do. But it's also been the kiss of death for a few as well.<br />
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As this series progresses we'll highlight some of our firsts and demonstrate how they've benefitted our clients in unexpected ways. When a company is very young, almost everything it does is a first of some sort – but to keep that pioneering spirit alive as an organization grows older can be a real challenge of survival. Hopefully, we'll be able to shed a bit of light on how to keep that happening.<br />
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-24917792934825336542014-02-04T03:13:00.000-05:002014-02-06T03:39:41.403-05:00Inequality for All: How Do You Advertise to That?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Inequality for All 1928-2007</span></td></tr>
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From the minute the photographer from the Wall Street Journal asked my name, after shooting me at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations of 2011, I knew <a href="http://deccommunications.blogspot.com/p/client-history.html">that moment</a> would follow me forever. So did I want to be identified by this for the rest of my life? Did I even understand the answer to that question? And the answer to both questions was always another question. But I was out of work and there for that reason alone, so if I could get press for practicing my profession, getting publicity for my clients, why shouldn't I? And the rest is indeed now history. And the Occupy story of highlighting <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/02/americans-income-inequality_n_4710673.html?ir=Business&utm_campaign=020314&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-business&utm_content=Title">income inequality</a> has now become part of the public debate with everyone from the Pope to President Obama to New York mayor <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/03/de-blasio-living-wage_n_4718350.html?ref=topbar">Bill deBlasio</a> chiming in. Even the New York Times observes: "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/business/the-middle-class-is-steadily-eroding-just-ask-the-business-world.html">The Middle Class is Steadily Eroding - Just Ask the Business World</a>". But as an advertiser, what should you do if your consumer base <i>is </i>the middle class?<br />
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Sunday's Super Bowl commercials were an interesting case study with Maserati leading the game with a commercial that only the 1% could relate to and Esurance running a spot <i>after</i> the game that reportedly saved them 30%, the same percentage they say they can save you on car insurance. And somewhere in the middle was everyone else, but nowhere was a company truly empathizing with a middle class (the Super Bowl fan base) that's quite obviously taken a beating over the last few years - and that to me, seemed like a lost opportunity.<br />
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The film, "<a href="http://viooz.co/movies/23488-inequality-for-all-2013.html">Inequality For All</a>", a sort of economic "Inconvenient Truth" features economist Robert Reich in a fascinating expose on how America's extreme income inequality is bad for everyone. The key graph from the film (above) shows how income inequality in 2007-2012 nearly matches that of the US before the great depression and explains how America ranks worst among developed countries in economic fairness - even worse that Iran and Nigeria, countries much less developed. To see the complete film, click <a href="http://viooz.co/movies/23488-inequality-for-all-2013.html">here</a>. For a quick explain, see the clip above.<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">But for every advertiser today the questions remain: What will they do as their market dries up? Or what will they do to stop it? Companies who pay their employees properly are already on the right track but companies like McDonald's and WalMart really should be worried. Why should we all have to subsidize their employees' meager paychecks through federal food stamps and when will people stop patronizing them because they participate in the US equivalent of child labor by paying their employees like children? What I'd like to see is <a href="http://wildwildeastdailies.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-have-i-done-for-you-lately.html">a company who comes out and truly embraces their customers</a> by warmly understanding their needs. Viewing the film above is as good a start as any but also click on the previous link, and learn about a company who took a leadership stance by admitting their industry had problems and vowing to fix them.</span></div>
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<br />David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comNew York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.3270823 -74.654166600000011 41.1016233 -73.3577796tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-46528146596832047222014-01-29T20:47:00.000-05:002014-01-29T20:48:37.641-05:00Our Super Bowl Past: American Airlines 1988<div style="text-align: justify;">
This commercial, produced in 1988 and filmed by Ridley Scott's production company, RSA, didn't begin it's life as a Super Bowl commercial at all but just another part of American's corporate advertising, which I had been handling in print for a number of years at the agency Bozell in Dallas, Texas. But once finished, the client was so impressed that a media budget for the Super Bowl appeared.
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The insight here involved people wanting to feel confident in their air travel and the fact that the great majority of pilots hired by American came from military backgrounds. For filming we built an entire air force at an abandoned runway at the Mojave, CA airport, used boneyard planes, repainted and towed around by cables and worked for three days in 117 degree heat with no casualties.<br />
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Writers: <i>David Everitt-Carlson, Patrick Scullin.</i> Art Director: <i>David Everitt-Carlson</i>. Director: <i>Terry Bedford, Ridley Scott Associates </i>Agency:<i> Bozell/Dallas</i><br />
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As we sat on the floor at my partner Pat's house to watch the game, I remember distinctly not being apprehensive or excited at all, as I had already seen the thing hundreds of times in editing and post scoring. After the spot aired, I called my parents at halftime to see if they had seen it. "Sure we saw it", my father said, "but you weren't in it. Did you direct it?" I explained to my dad that I wasn't an actor and that we hired directors to help us realize ideas for our clients – but that the idea had been mine and I had written the original scenario. "Really", he responded, pretty much non-plussed. "That's the easy part!" <br />
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The commercial won a Gold Addy, was Clio shortlisted and nominated for a DGA award for cinematography - but most importantly helped position the client in a leadership role at a time when airlines were being heavily criticized for lax service and operating procedures.</div>
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David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878414202462066130.post-6589955911795645362014-01-23T23:39:00.003-05:002014-01-28T13:49:25.974-05:00Occupy This Agency: Welcome to DEC Communications<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today, we launch. In beta mind you, a new world advertising agency.<br />
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Please take a look. This is a collective of international compatriots who not only care about what we do, but the overarching effects of that doing – to the betterment of our consumers. the planet and the bottom line. </div>
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Truth in advertising? An oxymoron of the past. We'd rather work on good. Because society is changed only by a small dedicated group of individuals who decide that whatever is thought by the masses, is not always good for the people per-capita.</div>
David Everitt-Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05273297703653439412noreply@blogger.com