Vice President International, 360i / Director of Digital Strategy, Dentsu Network
'I used to make ads, now I feed feeds'
Veteran NYC adman blessed to work with some of the greatest brands worldwide. Photos & observations from the road, with a little pop culture thrown in.
“Bolivia”
This FedEx ad debuted in the Super Bowl in 1999 and featured then champion Detroit Red Wings. Despite ambitions by the NHL to forge a longer term, mulityear strategic sponsorship, for BBDO and our client the prize came in securing the rights to use the most iconic trophy in sports - Lord Stanley’s Cup - as a foil to showcase the regrettable consequences of what happens when you don’t use FedEx.
Got an important package?
Happy Surreal Bowl
In 1995 I started my career making Super Bowl ad campaigns for Pepsi, which won the USA Today Ad Meter for the four years that I worked on the brand.
17 years later I’m making Big Game ad campaigns for Coke, but with a “second screen” emphasis on social and mobile via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr, and moments shared as important as what’s broadcast.
Now that Ad Meter and Facebook have teamed up for the 1st time, we’ll see multi-screen campaign viewing and sharing measured together as well.
Let the games begin… and don’t forget to watch the bears as they watch the game at Cokepolarbowl.com
So once I worked on an infamous Super Bowl :60 TV ad at BBDO called “Gnat”,
that riffed on Mick & the Rolling Stones…
“Brown sugar. How come you taste so good?”
Not sure the stones were talking about soda, but that’s a minor detail.
Wile E & Deion
We created this spot at BBDO for Pepsi back in ‘96 featuring three legends: Wile E Coyote, the Roadrunner, and Deion Sanders.
I remember working to get the script cleared for network broadcast, and while we could show missiles, rockets, bombs, and every manner of WMD, we could show no guns. Because that makes sense.
“Double Take”
This ad for Monster.com debuted in Super Bowl 2009, shot by Kleinman for BBDO, and highlighted the company’s new site, career tools, and a big claim - “over a million new jobs available worldwide.”
Unfortunately, even a million jobs seemingly wasn’t enough, as the global economy tanked and unemployment soared in the heart of the great recession. Consequently, being under a moose ass at work is a situation many could identify with.
Your calling is calling.
“Cheesy Bites”
Jessica Simpson brought some star power to Pizza Hut’s advertising for Super Bowl 2007, back when I ran the business at BBDO. Shot by Jesse Dylan - Bob’s son - the spot featured a hidden text/SMS promo to help drive news and engagement, Jessica was a consummate pro, and thankfully for the franchisees Cheesy Bites pizza sold well that month.
America’s favorite pizza.
“Bolivia”
This FedEx ad debuted in the Super Bowl in 1999 and featured then champion Detroit Red Wings. Despite ambitions by the NHL to forge a longer term, mulityear strategic sponsorship, for BBDO and our client the prize came in securing the rights to use the most iconic trophy in sports - Lord Stanley’s Cup - as a foil to showcase the regrettable consequences of what happens when you don’t use FedEx.
Got an important package?
“Diner”
Long before Coke held both the #1 and #2 slots for best selling soda in the US, this was the first TV commercial I ever worked on, as shot by Pytka for BBDO back when Pepsi TV advertising was ascendant, and my first tour of duty in the cola wars.
This :60 spot debuted on the Super Bowl, and ranked #1 on the 1995 USA Today Ad Meter.
Welcome to the business, kid.
