DO IT TOGETHER.

After years of struggling with its business and its image, Radio Shack tried to reinvent itself by shedding its outdated image once and for all with the well known Super Bowl TV spot with the 80's characters, which was the campaign kick off by GSD&M. But that was just the beginning, there were other spots that were created as part of the continuing campaign to communicate its new "Do it Together" message. I had a lot of fun writing this one.

TIKTOK BATCH 1

We launched Jake from State Farm’s TikTok account with zero followers and no roadmap. Now, after two years, Jake boasts a following of 1.1 million (at the time of this writing). Making these was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Here’s batch 1 of some of my favorite TikTok videos we created. A good number of these ran in Jake’s Instagram account as well. Be sure to check out Batch 2!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FROM LOUISIANA TO LOVE POPEYES. 

I was responsible for the overall creative platform and positioning of the Popeyes Hispanic Market campaign launch. Through research it was found that while Hispanics had every reason to like Popeyes flavor profile, they didn’t understand or cared much about its Cajun heritage and they also felt like the general market campaign was not speaking to them at all. The way to the consumer’s heart and mind, was the simple insight that “you don’t have to be from Louisiana to love Popeyes”.

TIKTOK BATCH 2

We launched Jake from State Farm’s TikTok account with zero followers and no roadmap. Now, after two years, Jake boasts a following of 1.1 million (at the time of this writing). Making these was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Here’s batch 2 of some of my favorite TikTok videos we created. A good number of these ran in Jake’s Instagram account as well. Be sure to check out Batch 1!

THE WORLD’S LARGEST TEQUILA TOAST.

I co-led the pitch for El Jimador Tequila and won the account. Shortly after being awarded the business, we got tasked with the first and most important campaign of the year: Day of The Dead. The World’s Largest Day of the Dead Toast campaign featured a variety of content including video, social, email, a Facebook Live activation and a landing page. The campaign assets were leveraged in other markets around the globe where El Jimador Tequila has a strong presence, mainly UK, South Africa, Australia, and practically all of Latin America.

FINGER LICKING GOOD 

I led this effort in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy to make some fun-to-watch, hard hitting, special offer price point spots that could work seamlessly for Hispanic or General Market audiences. We took the Colonels’ retro aesthetic to dictate every detail in these spots by creating vintage “commercial making machines” operated by the Colonel. These machines were inspired in vintage stereo consoles. Needless to say, I ate an ungodly amount of fried chicken while working in this account and got to try new flavor profiles before they hit the market. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

SERVICE IS OUR BEST PART. 

Customer service is Advance Auto Parts’ greatest competitive advantage. So what better way to show the lengths (or heights) the company will go for its customers, than to throw an employee and a car from an airplane? (actually 3 cars in total got thrown out to get the shots needed). I wrote this, as well as a Spanish version which was also made. A scavenger hunt race crossing the country (I-95 challenge) was a live-online event that was also developed as part of the campaign. The only pit stops allowed, were the AAP stores on the way.

EL MATADOR AND HIS BROTHER.

El Jimador Tequila encouraged soccer fans around the world to celebrate the moment during the World Cup. We kicked off this international campaign with a moment from legendary Mexican National Team player Luis “El Matador” Hernandez. The animated video talked about the rivalry he had with his brother while encouraging fans to share their favorite soccer moments. We created a site for the campaign that documented submissions, shared recipes specifically created for soccer, and more.
Animation by Giant Ant (Toronto)

TIKTOK SF BRAND BANTER

My team started Jake from State Farm’s TikTok account with zero followers. Two years later, Jake has reached 1.1 million followers (as of this writing). But it wasn’t easy. Efforts like these were what made this possible. We knew that brand banter was a catchy, cheap, and fast way to garner engagement and leverage other brand’s followers. Some opportunities don’t give you the luxury of waiting for rounds of approvals. You have to act fast, so that’s what we did.

THE ART OF PATRÓN. 

I worked with Razorfish to develop The Art of Patrón platform uniting the 5 pillars that celebrate Patrón's commitment to craftsmanship: 1) Culinary arts 2) Mixology & cocktails 3) Music & culture 4) The iconic Patrón bottle 5) Patrón tequilas. We celebrated artists' commitment to their craft – from tequila makers to bartenders to musicians and chefs. In addition to the Art of Patrón Bottle Art Competition, the initiative included the ArtofPatron.com digital hub, events, integration in bars and restaurants, and the "Art of Patrón VR Experience" leveraging Oculus technology to take people on a VR journey to the agave fields and Patrón distillery in Mexico. Creative developed at Razorfish. VR tour produced by Firstborn.

A BETTER WAY TO WAKE UP

I’m not a morning person at all, so this app was born from my hate/hate relationship with alarm clocks. It works on the premise that once your brain is awake, it’s impossible to go back to sleep. There’s no snooze button, and it wakes you up by persistently beckoning you to play one of its six 80’s-retro-inspired games. The alarm only turns off by winning the game (with varying difficulty levels). Once you’ve beat the game, your mind is alert and it’s very hard to go back to sleep; plus it’s a lot more fun than an annoying sound. Coding by Roberto Calvillo.

“CHEATING"

AT&T U-Verse was not getting noticed by prospective customers that live in zones where the service is available. Direct mail is the most efficient way to target these potential customers, but competing cable companies also flood their mailboxes. Creating a piece that would stand out, was not enough. We needed something that could not be ignored.

FEEDING TIME

Kids have been told a lot of things about tobacco use that mainly focuses on the health dangers associated with it. But research has shown that they have difficulty grasping the concept of real addiction and its dangers. With “Venomocity: Brought to you by addiction,” we brought that concept to life – in graphic, impossible-to-look-away clarity. Both spots aimed at 12-17 year olds, make the case that addiction lives within you and the more you feed it the more it grows. The spots lead you to a website that drives that message home. This spot made teens “79% less likely to try tobacco” according to a government evaluation report. (scroll to page 3 of the PDF under "Tobacco Cessation Update"
Animation by Curious Pictures (unfortunately, now defunct) and La Flama (NY and Mexico City respectively).

PRETTY FLY FOR A FLY SWATTER

Have you ever seen a fly swatter that was nice to look at? Fly swatters are one of those products where design never even comes up. One day I looked for a fly swatter that wasn’t hideous, and couldn’t find one. It seemed like a completely missed opportunity. Fly swatters surely don't HAVE to be hideous just because you're going to smack flies with it. After searching and seeing that nobody has thought this is important enough, I decided it was important enough for me. If you're going to whack insects with it, you might as well do it with some style. At least the flies will appreciate it as the last thing they see out of their 5 eyes.
These are prototypes that I’m currently seeking to produce.