The Great American Smokeout is an American Cancer Society program dating back to the 1970’s. Our mission was to help change it from a one-day event in November to a program that supports smokers in their process to quit smoking – no matter how long that takes. We created three videos based on a simple idea: quitting smoking isn’t something you need to do in one day, you just need to take that first step and start with day one.

Winner of the 2018 Cynopsis Social Good Awards for PSA Content

CARE – a humanitarian organization that provides disaster relief and fights poverty around the world – needed to update their brand. And we were up for the challenge. They wanted to break through the sameness of nonprofit advertising, so we grabbed on to the one thing they could own: the CARE package.

We redefined the CARE package by turning the cardboard box that once delivered supplies to war-ravaged families into a symbol of sustainable, lasting change, where donations extend way beyond the confines of a box.

Across print, out-of-home, direct, and social media, we brought to life stories of the women, families, and children helped by CARE’s programs. We installed over-sized CARE packages in unexpected cityscapes to disrupt the ordinary and create buzz. And we reached out to publishers to take that buzz to the next level.

While the campaign raised awareness for CARE, it got its own attention from pubs like Archive and The New York Times.

When Sharon Osbourne, a colon cancer survivor, agreed to do a PSA for the American Cancer Society, we couldn’t create a traditional PSA. We needed to do it up in true Sharon fashion.

Honorable Mention, 2018 Cynopsis Social Good Awards for PSA Content

CD: Lindy Gross | Writer: Aundrea Hearn | Art Director: Nikki Vogel

When the NFL proposed the idea of creating a tool to help fans learn how to reduce their risk for cancer, we jumped at the chance to make it happen. We worked through the user experience, developed wires, and then wrote and designed The Defender – an experience where fans answer a few questions to find out how they can cut their cancer risk.

While the tool looks simple to users, building it required multiple versions of copy, a design system that allowed for skinning the experience to team colors (while still meeting accessibility requirements) and a few crafty algorithms on the backend to deliver a personalized experience.

We could have gone with a typical phone promotion to announce the launch of Nokia’s The Dark Knight phone. But why be so serious?

The Fight for Gotham City was a theme in the film, so it became the basis of our microsite. By asking users to choose a side in the fight, they were treated to slightly different experiences – one told from Batman’s point of view, the other from the Joker’s. If visitors couldn’t decide which side to pick, a “psychological evaluation ” determined their fate. For extra engagement – and to increase the creepy factor – we added the ability to commit a friend to Arkham Asylum using Oddcast’s 3D mapping technology. Check out the video here.

With the support of banners, emails and even a desktop widget that counted down to opening day of the film, the digital campaign saw unprecedented results for Verizon, including over 60 billion impressions, 630,000+ friends committed, 13.5 million searches, 1.4 million views for the WAP site, and the highest open rate for any Oddcast campaign at the time, with 25% more time spent than the Oddcast average. The 1,600+ blog mentions weren’t too shabby, either. Of course, Verizon and Nokia were particularly happy that The Dark Knight phone outsold unbranded phones by 66% during the run of the campaign and increased VCAST video downloads by 215%.

Laurel Hill Cemetery is packed with 72 acres of famous residents, incredible stonework, scandalous tales, and a rich history. Unique, themed tours and special events fund the preservation of the cemetery. Our job was to tell people about it.

We positioned Laurel Hill as an underground museum – obviously a nod to the fact that it’s a cemetery, but also to position it as an alternative to ordinary museum experiences.

The campaign consisted of non-traditional tactics, including the leather-bound gift book How Not to Die, as well as posters and bus cards. The campaign was a success. As far and wide as the UK, people were blogging about the “wacky” idea of advertising a cemetery in such a nontraditional way. But most importantly, people were showing up for tours and donating to the cemetery’s restoration fund.

How do you take a brand perceived as old fashioned and make it relevant to today’s 20-somethings? Mojo, baby. Mojo.

The idea: When you feel good, people are naturally more attracted to you. And since the citrus-y goodness of Minute Maid Orange Juice makes you feel good, it follows that Minute Maid gives you more mojo – or in our case MMOJO.

In partnership with Doner, Minute Maid’s traditional agency, we created a campaign in two phases. We launched with traditional and digital advertising that played up the feel-good effect of Minute Maid Orange Juice and followed that up with interactive experiences that let you see how your MMOJO measures up.

Our digital campaign had some mojo of its own. It increased Facebook fans from 14,000 to 175,000 in 4 months. Our video banners had a completion rate of 84% and the MMOJO Challenge enjoyed a whopping 93% retention rate.

Aquafresh Extreme Clean – the toothpaste with micro-active bubbles – used real people in its TV spots, professing that “a mouth this clean can’t lie.” Our job: bring this idea to the social space with a fan-boosting Facebook experience.

We let real people come clean online with an app called Bubble Banter. Users could inflate their friends by sending a compliment or burst their bubble by tossing out a little truth. 

The results? Our Facebook fan base grew by 30% over 5 weeks and the app garnered 12,829 shares – that’s 6 shares per registrant.

Our registration rate out-performed historical UGC programs as well, with a whopping 67% of unique visitors participating. Chatter about Bubble Banter even vaulted to other social media platforms, including Twitter.

Not too shabby, given there was no paid media driving to the app.

We knew teens had a lot of love for the Coca-Cola brand, but they just weren’t choosing Coke as their go-to beverage. So how does a 125-year-old brand regain relevance with teenagers?

We decided to own study time. We’d remind teens that Coke can provide the energy to get through the most sluggish study sessions with a useful app that makes it easy to remember class notes by turning them into catchy tunes. The Crammer Keeper let teens type in their study notes, pick a voice and a beat, and commit their lessons to memory, musically.

Through news feeds and emails, word spread fast. Just four months after launch, over 250,000 teens had visited the Crammer Keeper and 86% of them stuck around to play with the app. 32,362 songs have already been created with over 5,463 shared across social networks.

The Crammer Keeper was retired after a nice long year-and-a-half life. Check out the case study video for the whole story.

The message we wanted to convey? This vaccine IS cancer prevention. The way in with our target? Being a good parent means protecting your kids - long into the future, even when you’re not around. The curveball? Many parents immediately shut down when they hear “HPV” because their minds turn to sex, which is something no parent wants to think about in relation to their 11-year-old kid. So we spun the idea to get parents thinking about the future and the dreams they can protect by making sure their kids stay healthy, even as adults.

CD: Lindy Gross | Art Director: Drew Glafcke | Writer: Cecil Cross

The brief: “Drew Brees is giving us an hour next week to shoot PSAs and a social video to promote The Defender. Go.”

Promoting a tool that lets NFL fans assess their cancer risks is a tall enough task, and when the project is a quick turn, it becomes even tougher. The solve? Keep it simple and let the tool tell the story — with a little help from Drew and some emojis.

I know what you’re thinking. What is a kajeet? It’s the name of the first pay-as-you-go mobile phone for tweens, which we launched in an online world where kids rule.

We created six adorable characters - Tallulah, Skratch, Lottie, Zeo, Kane and Obie – to launch the brand. Their heart, souls, attitude, and fabulousness went into everything –  broadcast spots, interactive games, unique ringtones, wallpapers, screen savers, games, POP displays, a full-on texting dictionary, you name it.

The original tagline Use It For Good launched the brand with a nod to using your mobile phone for fun, not for cheating on a pop quiz. Parents had a separate site where they could allot minutes to kids, track their usage and all that good stuff parents like to do.

The result? Less than a year post-launch, kajeet phones were being sold at Best Buy and Limited Too. Today? kajeet is a bonafide wireless company, still catering to kids.

We created a few ads, direct mail pieces and videos to launch the event now known as the Southeastern Film Festival.

Relay For Life has always been the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, with events in more than 5,200 communities and 20 countries. But it was losing steam. In 2017, we partnered with our traditional agency, The Richards Group, to create a new campaign called “Rivals.” Using a sports theme and striking soccer-poster visuals, we hit home the idea that Relay brings the fight against cancer to communities across the country. Then, when tasked with creating an online video to drive participation, we created “Fan Letter,” which has captured more than 1.2 million views.

CD: Lindy Gross | Writer: Derek Lawler | Art Director: Trisha Lahiff

I love writing radio spots. I don't get to do much of it these days, but I thought I'd share a few oldies but goodies, just for fun. Three for Athens First Bank and two for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.