What is 'new'?

Kendall Shaw, New Iberia, Acrylic on paper 1972

This sketch called New Iberia was done by Kendall Shaw 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. 

On the work above, he states, "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."

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 Modulor developed by the architect Le Corbusier. "That painting is a live animal, and the color is its blood", 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.

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 new year.

Kendall Shaw, Tabasco, Acrylic on canvas, 5 panels, 4' x 5', 2013

On Firsts: Manipulating the Media – the first in a series of firsts

Case Study: Oak Farms Luxury Ice Cream – Southland Corporation (7-11). 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. 

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.

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.

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, "We've never done it that way" 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.

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.

Inequality for All: How Do You Advertise to That?

Inequality for All 1928-2007

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 that moment 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 income inequality has now become part of the public debate with everyone from the Pope to President Obama to New York mayor Bill deBlasio chiming in. Even the New York Times observes: "The Middle Class is Steadily Eroding - Just Ask the Business World". But as an advertiser, what should you do if your consumer base is the middle class?

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 after 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.

The film, "Inequality For All", 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 here. For a quick explain, see the clip above.

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 company who comes out and truly embraces their customers  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.

Our Super Bowl Past: American Airlines 1988

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.

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.

Writers: David Everitt-Carlson, Patrick Scullin. Art Director: David Everitt-Carlson. Director: Terry Bedford, Ridley Scott Associates Agency: Bozell/Dallas

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!"

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.

Occupy This Agency: Welcome to DEC Communications

Today, we launch. In beta mind you, a new world advertising agency.

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. 

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.