Hasta La Creative!

The 1 percent truly get everything catered to them.

Sex toy maker Lelo has launched Pino, a vibrator especially made for bankers. The device itself is your standard stretchable vibrating silicon ring, but the devil is in the packaging details. It comes with matching Lelo silver cufflinks, a money clip engraved with “Always Be Closing” and a pinstripe shirt inlay—all for the price of $159.

Lelo claims it made the product after realizing that 6 percent of its online sales in 2014 were delivered directly to financial offices and stock exchanges, and that 71 percent of people you make $200,000 a year or more who responded to its global sex survey owned more than five of its products.

Why “the ultimate stimulus package” is catered to those employed in the financial sector, and wouldn’t work for the rest of us folks, doesn’t really make any sense. But if you’re in the market to buy something for the banker who has more money than he or she can spend, here’s something that might be missing from their briefcase that you can afford.

Forget all those sites that randomly generate band names, stripper names and hobbit names. This one could make you rich, my friends. Brooklyn rich!

The Hipster Business Name Generator creates a random combination of quirky nouns and drops them under a stylized X, with the requisite stylish dingbats and initials. The resulting names—such as Fox & Otter, Spyglass & Bean, Whiskey & Cake—are good for a laugh, especially when paired with icons of tiny rabbits, knives and muffins.

The site, which was quickly generating passaround among creative types today, seems to be a marketing effort for domain registration site NamesCheap.com, where you can conveniently book a site for your lovely new business venture. Or maybe the creators simply picked a booking site at random, though that seems unlikely. 

Try it for yourself and let us know your most fruitful combinations. A few of our favorites below.

Hat tip to my friend Paul Crawford for sharing this on Facebook, though to be clear, his agency’s not the one behind it.

Despite all their turnover and relentless pursuit of revenue, ad agencies often end up feeling like big families. And announcing any sort of life change to your family, especially a family of 500 colleagues, can be daunting.

So, imagine telling this family that you’ll soon begin transitioning from female to male, and you’ll have the first inkling of the road Chris Edwards began traveling nearly 20 years ago.

Edwards, a longtime creative director for Boston-based Arnold Worldwide, announced his gender transition in 1995. Over the next 12 years, he underwent 28 medical procedures to complete the transformation. And throughout, he maintained his role as a writer and creative leader, working on major national and global accounts.

In his upcoming memoir, titled Balls, Edwards shares an array of stories about his gender switch, along with the more traditional reminscences about a life in the already unpredictable world of advertising.

This week is GLAAD’s National Transgender Awareness Week, and we asked Edwards to tell us a bit more about his story. Check out our conversation below.

AdFreak: So, what’s the status of your book?
Chris Edwards: My manuscript is currently in the hands of a bunch of editors at various New York publishing houses. I’m hoping one of them will make me an offer soon. This is still a subject that makes some people nervous, so if I haven’t found the right editor by January, I will likely publish it myself. Either way, interested readers can sign up to get an alert when the book is available at chrisedwardsballs.com.

Is it really going to be called Balls? Because that’s amazing.
Ha. Yes it is. When I announced at work that I was going to be transitioning, so many people came up to me and told me I had balls. I always laughed it off with, “Well, that’s a few surgeries down the road.” But I knew what they meant, and it’s true.

It takes a lot of courage to change your gender to begin with. But to stay at the same job and do it openly in front of 500 co-workers and clients, yeah, you’ve gotta have quite the set of cojones. I was telling this “balls” story to my former boss, Pete Favat, over a few too many vodka sodas, and he was like, “Dude, that should be the title!” And we both cracked up.

The next day I thought, do I really have the balls to call my book Balls? Looks like the answer turned out to be yes. I’ve been told I’ll probably need a subtitle, though. I’m thinking “It takes some to get some,” but that might be pushing it.

I’m guessing your target audience is a lot bigger than just those considering a gender switch. Who else do you think would enjoy this book, and what do you hope they’ll get out of it?
Well, all you ad peeps will enjoy the book because agency life is the backdrop, and I name names, so you may read about someone you know. You’ll laugh a lot, too. My sense of humor helped get me through 28 surgeries and innumerable awkward moments, so it was critical that the tone of the book reflect that.

Yes, this book will surely appeal to a transgender audience, but really it’s for anyone who’s ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin—for whatever reason. It’s about having the courage to be true to yourself and realizing that, instead of fearing what other people will think, you can actually control it. I was able to use what I learned working in advertising to rebrand myself and market the “new me” to friends, family and co-workers with great success. I hope people read my story and come away empowered, inspired and more accepting of others who are transitioning.

At risk of one big spoiler here, how would you describe the way your colleagues and clients at Arnold handled your transition?
Ah, total spoiler! But without giving too much away … It was 1995. Transgender wasn’t even really a word yet. The only frame of reference people had was Silence of the Lambs, The Crying Game and guests on Jerry Springer.

I knew I had my work cut out for me when it came to changing perceptions, so I took it upon myself to be the educator. Arnold was very much like a family back then, so it felt like everyone was on this journey with me, and we all learned as we went. Some people had issues. And there were definitely some awkward moments, especially around me using the men’s room. But overall the response was incredibly positive. I’d like to think it was solely because of the way I handled the situation, but it probably didn’t hurt that Ed Eskandarian, the agency’s owner and CEO at the time, was also my father.

You were the creative director on McDonald’s “Singing Fish” spot, one of my personal favorites. What other work are you most proud of?
Ah, yes, “Frankie the Fish” will always have a special place in my heart. You know, we made a toy replica that plays the original jingle and club re-mix. I think there are still a few left on Amazon if you’re interested. Anyway, another McDonald’s spot I’m proud of is “McNuggets Guys.” I saw this YouTube video of two guys rapping about how much they love McNuggets (one of the rappers is now the star of the HBO series Silicon Valley) and turned it into a 30-second TV spot that went viral. I believe it was one of the first if not the first TV spot to use YouTube footage.

I’m also extremely proud of the early work I did for [the anti-tobacco campaign] Truth. Of all the spots I worked on, the most memorable one was probably “Project SCUM,” which is the name of the actual marketing plan Big Tobacco used to target gays and homeless people. Insane, right? While the facts we dug up were disturbing, it was so satisfying to get to do creative work that actually made a difference. Since the inception of the Truth campaign, teen smoking has gone down from 23 percent to 9 percent. Feels great to know I had a little something to do with that.

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about publicly changing genders but is worried it could create a difficult situation among friends, family and co-workers?
It’s pretty much the same advice I’d give anyone about to undergo a major life change of any kind: Take the lead and develop a game plan in advance. Script out and rehearse what you’re going to say. Make a list of who you want to tell personally and in what order. Educate and be patient—you may have been living with it in your head for a while, but it’s still new news to everyone else. Be open and encourage questions. Use your sense of humor to put people at ease. Oh, and read my book. 🙂

Chris Edwards is a veteran creative director and copywriter based in Boston. To sign up for updates about the status of his memoir, BALLS, visit his website.

FCB South Africa is running an idea up the flagpole. A really big idea. In fact, the idea is ginormous. And its main component is a South African flag so large, it will be visible from space, 30 miles above the Earth.

The Giant Flag project was put in motion last month by Guy Lieberman, the agency’s head of green and social new business development. The initiative is ultimately designed to foster national pride, improve the lives of people in need and make a lasting impact on South Africa’s economy and environment.

“Yes, it is big. And it is wild,” Lieberman tells AdFreak. “It’s both an unreasonable project—in the good sense of the term—as well as a practical one.”

So, how big and wild are we talking?

The proposed flag will measure 66 hectares—that’s nearly 165 acres, about the size of 66 soccer fields. Its red, green, blue and gold sections will consist of millions of cacti and succulent plants that can thrive in the semi-arid Karoo region, offsetting some 90,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. Solar panels designed to power the equivalent of 4,000 homes will make up the flag’s triangular black patch. (They will also “harvest” rainwater to feed the flag’s living components.) The white areas will be access roads.

The project will provide more than 700 jobs in Camdeboo Municipality, where the unemployment runs over 40 percent, and support tourism, hospitality and various enterprises over the long haul. Moreover, Lieberman says, it will serve as a symbol of hope, cooperation and sustainable growth for South Africa and beyond.

But … where did the whole giant-flag idea come from?

Lieberman drew his inspiration from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, noting “the nation’s huge emotional response to our flag.” After the World Cup, FCB launched the much-praised “Keep Flying” campaign to encourage the nation to maintain its momentum. “The CEO of FCB South Africa [John Dixon, since succeeded by Brett Morris] called me into his office,” Lieberman recalls, “and said that while the [“Keep Flying”] campaign was amazing, it was fleeting and we needed to look for a legacy project on the flag, something that could live on. And so the Giant Flag idea was born.”

Of course, a 66-hectare flag can’t be built on the cheap. What’s the price tag, and who’s footing the bill?

Crowdfunding and corporate efforts are under way. All told, it will cost about $20 million, with $2 million being the threshold to begin the massive germination project, followed by clearing the land, fencing off the site, building roads and constructing the solar field. “There has been half a million dollars sunk to date,” says Lieberman, “and a variety of commitments, soft to definitive, of around $6.5 million.”

Individuals can donate $10 to sponsor a plant, $100 for a section of road and $250 for a solar panel. What’s more, South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs is lending its support, and corporate sponsors such as Google and Toyota “have come on board because they see the value this will have on the nation, as well as on their brand,” Lieberman says. “It also speaks to their commitment to game-changing initiatives, and in this sense the Giant Flag is not tied to any one nation—it is global.” (Google is providing a monthly $10,000 AdWords grant to promote the project, as well as cloud services for the Giant Flag app.)

In a way, the initiative represents the confluence and expansion of two industry trends—agencies launching intellectual property efforts and creating installations designed to have a broader social impact. Many such projects have succeeded (including FCB’s own fascinating billboards in Peru), but they have been far less ambitious, and staged on a more manageable scale.

So, how does Lieberman respond to critics who say the Giant Flag is a grand idea, and great PR for FCB, that will probably never fly, owing to its cost, complexity and all manner of potential pitfalls?

“I understand why they would say that,” he says. “It’s unlike anything that has come before—there is no easy framework for them to grasp on to. How could they possibly see it happening? But that’s OK. The Giant Flag will happen. … There are too many people who can already feel it in the landscape.”

When you think of Santa Claus dropping loads all over the world, you envision bags full of gifts. But it seems jolly St. Nick leaves less happy presents in people’s homes too, at least according to this gleefully scatalogical Christmas ad from Poo-Pourri.

The before-you-go toilet spray—makers of the 2013 viral hit “Girls Don’t Poop,” which has 30 million YouTube views—is back with quite the seasonal surprise. Yes, the three-minute video below proves without a doubt that, as its title indicates, “Even Santa Poops.”

Here, he’s seen pooping in some British family’s house—posh British people being, as the original video proved, particularly amusing when talking about poop. But wouldn’t you know it—the three girls of the home aren’t asleep. They barge in on Santa while he’s on the can, claiming to have been woken by the smell.

And indeed, Claus does appear to have polluted the place with his Santa stink, having not used the Poo-Pourri that was sitting right there.

The concept will surely be off-putting to some, but the scriptwriting is pretty strong—one poop joke after another, many of them actually quite inspired, and some of them delivered by the squeaky-clean sisters.

That it is well done shouldn’t be a surprise: The spot was written and directed by Pete Marquis and Jamie McCelland, with concept and copywriting by Joel Ackerman. The former worked on the hilarious Hello Flo videos, while the latter wrote and directed “Girls Don’t Poop.” It’s like a dream team of bodily-functions humorists.

We caught up with Poo-Pourri creator and CEO Suzy Bátiz to ask how the ad came to be, and what kind of reaction she’s expecting from it.

How did the idea to do a Christmas commercial come about?
The holidays are a perfect time to promote Poo-Pourri as it is the perfect gift and a huge hit during the holidays as it creates laughs and, above all else, it really works. It’s the gift that everyone can use. So we wanted to continue the success we’ve had with our other online videos with original, timely creative content that drives customer engagement.

What was the scripting process like? Did you come up with various scenarios before settling on this one?
Other people wonder how Santa gets to all the houses, fits down the chimney or is he even real? At Poo-Pourri, we think a little differently, a little unexpectedly. We think Santa is just like us. He has to poop too, especially after eating cookies and milk all night.

That’s when we decided to reach out to our dream team: Joel Ackerman, our original writer on “Girls Don’t Poop,” and Pete and Jamie, the directing team and comedic geniuses behind the Hello Flo viral videos, which we are big fans of in our offices.

We definitely went through a number of concepts and scenarios with every brainstorm session and script review. With each session we continued to elevate the concept to get to the final. For example, the concept started with one girl and then progressed to three girls who were sisters. Then we gave Santa more of an attitude. And then we finally topped it off with Bethany, our “Poo Girl,” making an entrance as a throwback to our other videos and something our loyal Poo-Pourri brand followers would appreciate.

How did you find the right Santa for this? And who is the actor?
What actor? We flew him in first class from the North Pole. Yes, Santa is a union actor.

No, really, we auditioned several possible Santas, and none were feeling right. Then Pete and Jamie thought of a friend, who was a comedic actor, and just happened to look the part. We auditioned him, he began improvising, and we knew right away he would be a great fit. His name is Mike Faella, aka “Santa Mike.”

How far did you want to take the humor with the girls and their potty mouths?
As always, we looked for the balance of shock value versus clever, witty comedy that is the essence of the Poo-Pourri voice. Our brand is known for our witty, confident and playful spirit that we bring through in everything we do.

We did have a lot of fun, however, seeing a lot of giggles from the girls, because we actually were asking them to say “poop” and “fart,” words they hadn’t ever been given permission to talk about before.

Are you expecting an enthusiastic response, or do you think there might be a few Grinches out there?
Absolutely, we are expecting a great response! Whenever you create something that pushes boundaries, you’re going to have passionate lovers and passionate haters, but it’s all passion. We hope to have touched on a funny take on a traditional story—an unexpected twist to a holiday classic tale.

Our brand is built on the unexpected. Like in our first video, “Girls Don’t Poop,” you had a beautiful British girl saying things like “creamy behemoth.” It’s the same here. You have innocent little girls saying unexpected things. And you have Santa pooping in a house … certainly an unexpected scenario. Yes, he does exist. And, yes, his poop stinks too!

CREDITS
Client: Poo-Pourri
Production Company: World War Seven
Executive Producer: Josh Ferrazzano
Producer: Mike Begovich
Directors: Pete Marquis & Jamie T. McCelland (Pete & Jamie)
Concept: Joel Ackerman and Hector Batiz
Writers: Pete Marquis & Jamie T. McCelland (Pete & Jamie)
Copywriter: Joel Ackerman
Director of Photography: Kevin Phillips
Production Designer: Russell Jaeger
Wardrobe Stylst: Karla Cavalli & Harmoni Everett
Hair & Makeup Artist:  Colleen Hogan
Editor: Karen Kourtessis (Beast)
Sound Design: Chirs Stangroom (Hobo Audio)
Colorist: Robert Crosby (Neptune Post)
Santa: Mike Faella
Sister #1: Isabella Blake Thomas
Sister #2: Ava Devoe
Sister #3: Haylie Di Fronzo
Lady on Santa’s Lap: Bethany Woodruff

There’s a certain amount of pressure on designers when they decide to get tattoos. It’s like a hairdresser’s hairstyle, or an architect’s home—the choices you make seem weightier, more personal somehow, given your background.

Creative Bloq recently asked 21 designers to show off their tattoos, and explain what makes them special. And the designs, and inspirations, are varied and fascinating.

Facebook designer Russ Maschmeyer and freelance letterer and illustrator Jessica Hische got the tattoos above. His is RGB. “I convinced him it would be ‘conceptually stronger’ if I got the CMYK version of the same tattoo,” Hische says. “He was a little freaked out about having a couple’s tattoo, but the more we talked about it the more it made sense. Russ got additive color (RGB) since his career passions were primarily screen-based; I got subtractive color (CMY) because I started my career in print design.”

Typographer Carey Smith has tattoos of 26 tiny letters. “I didn’t start off thinking I’d get the whole alphabet,” she says. “I got the first one (j) on a whim, then the next few (g, a, q) without thinking much about it. … It’s the most uneconomical way of getting tattooed ever. You pay by the hour, and these little letters take about seven minutes each.”

Check out all 21 over at Creative Bloq, which has links to all the tattoo artists as well.

Via Design Taxi.

And your massive brand Twitter fail of the day goes to … Dave & Buster’s!

To advertise its Taco Tuesday, the restaurant chain made a joke that pretty clearly went over the line, prompting incredulity from its Twitter followers. “I hate tacos, said no Juan ever,” the tweet read.

Obviously, this isn’t the first time a brand has tweeted out something outrageous—in this case, racist. But the question remains: How does this kind of stuff make it into the actual world?

See some of the reaction to the tweet below. As of 1:40 p.m. ET, the tweet is still live—40 minutes after it was posted. Apology surely coming soon.

UPDATE: The tweet was deleted at around 1:41 p.m. ET.
 

Is the Frito Bandito your social media intern? RT @DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters

— Merry WarOnXmas (@MaryHartmanx2) November 18, 2014

@DaveandBusters @QueenOfShebaN Dave and Busters ‘come for the crappy food and games. Stay for the blatant racism!’

— Kloipy (@Kloipy) November 18, 2014

This. Is. Racist. RT: @DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters

— clarke (@radicalhearts) November 18, 2014

@DaveandBusters what the fuck

— Nick Liam Holmes (@therealnickliam) November 18, 2014

Delete Your Account @DaveandBusters

— jaromir blogr (@andymoney69) November 18, 2014

.@DaveandBusters time to log off

— Rich Gobblerts (@rich_roberts) November 18, 2014

Delete your twitter. RT @DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday

— Michele Catalano (@inthefade) November 18, 2014

Lmao who thought this was acceptable??? RT @DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters

— Brown, Mike (@SquidP) November 18, 2014

Now THAT is just a bad tweet for a company. RT @DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters

— Jacob Rosen (@WFNYJacob) November 18, 2014

“@DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters” wow yall just said fuvk it Huh

— AfroSamurai (@NaijaNupe_) November 18, 2014

lmfaooooo who’s losing their job today? “@DaveandBusters: “I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters”

— Teni Belcher (@CrazyNerdyCool) November 18, 2014

Someone at @DaveandBusters is about to be in trouble. pic.twitter.com/MiRipdDf9t

— Michael Lo Sauro (@michaellosauro) November 18, 2014

Just deactivate now and save yourselves RT @DaveandBusters: “”I hate tacos” said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters”

— Andre (@andredoesthings) November 18, 2014

Don’t come looking for free Wi-Fi. This Apple Store doesn’t have it.

That’s because it sells real apples—the nontechnological kind.

London’s Borough Market, one of the oldest markets in the U.K., is marking its 1,000th anniversary this year. (Yes, it’s been around for a millennium.) As part of the celebrations, it treated shoppers to a delightful concept—creating a “Real Apple Store” for the weekend that was a clever copy of Apple’s iconic retail establishments.

Actual apples were displayed on lucite pedestals just like an iPhone or iPad would be, but instead of technical specs, the signs showed each apple’s unique flavor notes and history.

Take a look below at some more photos of this great little shop. It remains unclear whether the apples themselves were marked up tp 500 percent of their actual value.

Via Design Taxi.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which warmed heart-cockles recently with its lost-and-found beagle, delivers another winner by listing a “Spacious Airplane Apartment” on Airbnb.

Yes, they turned an airplane parked at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam into an apartment with two bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, Wi-Fi and a panoramic view from the cockpit. Pretty sweet, right? It’s the closest any of us can come to being Elvis without abusing Percodan. (It’s also a step up from Airbnb’s Ikea listing.)

“On November 28, 29 or 30, you have the chance to spend the night inside this fly apartment. Tell us before November 20 why you would like to spend the night. We’ll fly in the winners from anywhere in the world,” the listing says.

Unfortunately, KLM stomped on this raging fire of awesome with some seriously bogus house rules, including “no marshmallow roasting with the jet engines” (lame), “the consumption of alcohol is not allowed” (lamer), “no flying” (OK, that one makes sense) and worst of all, “don’t use the inflatable emergency slide.”

Whatever, KLM. If I didn’t want to use an inflatable emergency slide, I would stay in a building like a normal person.

Via Design Taxi. More photos below.

What inspires agency people? How do they get to work? What’s their favorite color? What animal would they be? What would they be doing if they weren’t working in advertising.

Shushu, a senior copywriter at BBR Saatchi & Saatchi in Tel-Aviv, asked 128 of his colleagues those questions, and many more, and collected the results in the infographic below—giving a snapshot of the lives at his agency, and perhaps in advertising generally.

Bonus points for asking where they’ve had sex with colleagues; negative points for asking how many times they go to the bathroom every day.

Via The Inspiration Room.