It’s spring, which means it’s time for Modern Copywriter‘s semi-annual CPS Week! It may happen every May (or so), but it’s still exciting. The Spring ‘13 edition is kicked off by a profile of the funny and fiendish Amy Bauer (she dismembered that Barbie). Check back each day to see if your friends made the site!
Winter Quarter 2013 will go down in CPS history as the Q when an Art Director won Best Headline and a Copywriter Best Art Direction. But no matter. Great showing, everyone.
BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN - JOYCE RUSSELL
BEST HEADLINE - BEN ONG
BEST ART DIRECTION - SEAN COLLANDER
BEST CONCEPT - ASHLEY KUHN
...Companies are driven by the pursuit of “likes”, how do they create real, lasting consumer interest and even - wait for it - love?
According to guest speaker Greg Jones, you do something memorable that can’t help but catch people’s eyes. To hear him tell it, it’s a bit like getting the attention of the person that you fancy*. Greg’s the CEO of Suite Partners, an experiential firm in River North that’s proven itself adept at eye-catching. For Kenmore, a brand whose public profile was flagging, Suite Partners organized a Kenmore Live Lab complete with fashion shows and live music that encouraged audience collaboration (an event whose Facebook view rate was dramatically higher than Facebook’s top 100 brands, according to Comscore). For Nike, Suite Partners turned the Lincoln Park Field House (pictured above) into a “Fuel House” for a 20-team “Day of Greatness” athletic competition that drove national interest in the brand.
Unlike your traditional agency, Suite Partners employs people with a variety of backgrounds - post-production, sound engineering and more. Read more about Greg’s shop here.
*Use of “fancy” is in honor of Greg’s South African heritage
John’s a Copywriter who’s locally known for his verbal inventiveness and joviality. The goal is to make him more-than-locally known. Here’s why you should help:
1. The above work. John’s “Wite Out The Wrong” campaign won both popular and critical acclaim.
2. The critical acclaim. John won “Best Concept” in the Fall 2012 Best of Quarter competition for his Ace campaign. His John Deere campaign took “Best Art Direction” in Spring 2013 Best of Break.
3. Speaking of Art Direction…John works well with Art Directors, but he doesn’t need them. He ADs some of his own pieces!
4. By this point, you’ve been swayed. The ball’s in your court. Contact him here.
Portfolio Debut is on May 22nd, and it’s going to feel a little something like this:
Are you man enough?
Kate Napleton is a CPS-trained Art Director and a runner. Horrified by the attack at yesterday’s Boston Marathon, she’s planning a fundraising event for the American Red Cross, Chicago Runs For Boston. Kate is asking people to donate a minimum of $10 or $26 (a marathon is 26.2 miles).
Please get the word out!
Namely, the confidence to expose your chapped winter nipple-flesh to the elements. Try it.
By 4th Quarter Art Director Adam Lieberman.
Occasionally, we pause to make character-driven short films. Stuff about people connecting with people.
By 4th Quarter Art Director Brittany Rubin.
(I didn’t know that the White House gave an award for Design, either).
Lovers of expressive type came out a few weeks ago to hear Rick Valicenti talk Design. Rick’s the founder of Thirst/3st, a Design Communications firm in River North. While his company primarily does B2B work, his high-profile stuff is very high-profile (see: the new international terminal at O’Hare and your odd NY Times illustration). Unlike many other recent speakers, Rick’s been in the communications world for several decades. There was no nagging feeling of competition in the audience; we just sat back and marveled at a guy who’s more accomplished than we’ll be for about 30 years. Good stuff.
(By the way, the award is called the “Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Award for Communication Design” and Rick received it in 2011. His and 3st’s work is also featured in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the 2006 Triennial, Design Life Now; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Library of the Museum of Modern Art. Get back to work).
Omaha Steaks: not just the mail-order meat that your grandparents buy.
Something much more intimidating.
By 4th Quarter Art Director Adam Lieberman.