Digitas LBi SF Hires Co-Creator of ‘Concepting with Convicts’

Ben PfutzenreuterDigitasLBi San Francisco has hired Ben Pfutzenreuter, who previously served as an intern and was co-creator of the popular “Concepting with Convicts” program, which utilized the Federal Bureau of Prison’s pen pal program to allow collaboration with inmates to create speculative ads. Ben created the program with fellow intern Pat Davis, with the goal of proving that “Great ideas can come from anywhere.” Inmates provided either copywriting or art direction for each ad; art directors Marcus Löf and Luis Gonzalez also collaborated on the project.

Pfutzenreuter began work this week as an associate copywriter. The Miami Ad School grad interned with Digitas LBi this past winter.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work that Ben and Pat have done independently with Concepting with Convicts, and we’re thrilled to have Ben join our San Francisco team,” said Dave Marsey, EVP/Managing Director, DigitasLBi San Francisco. “The spirit that good ideas can be born anywhere, is our philosophy here in San Francisco.”

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Helping the Homeless, with Advertising

Some young ad students, who you may remember from this QR code eulogy, wanted to do something to help the over 3,000 homeless people in San Francisco. But, like most students, they were broke. So they decided to employ the knowledge they learned in ad school as a tool to make a difference.

The group came up with creative signs, designed to attract attention and increase the likelihood people would give money, and handed them out to willing homeless men and women around San Francisco. These signs included slogans like “My start-up needs more investors,” “Invested in MySpace. Here I am,” and my favorite, “For every dollar you put, a Justin Bieber fan dies.” While some may question whether these signs make light of the difficulties of homelessness, people aren’t used to seeing humor employed in such a situation, and it may be just the thing to attract the attention of those who would normally ignore more traditional pleas for help. At any rate, it seems that the project was well-intentioned. It’s hard to say whether their efforts made a difference, although they make it seem like the signs helped in the above video. Let us know what you think of the project in the comments section. Credits after the jump.

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