As agencies and clients grapple with what’s appropriate in terms of humor and/or emotion in their commercial messages for the Super Bowl (see page one story) and the Winter Olympics (to be previewed in our 2/1 issue), examples of the proper balance sit on my desk.
No, they’re not reels. Though to be sure we’ve seen some tasteful yet tasty pieces of work in recent weeks—including the relevant yet humorous Alliance For Downtown New York public service campaign featured in this issue’s "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (see p. 13).
But the desktop examples I refer to are holdovers from December/early January: Holiday and New Year’s greeting cards from assorted industry companies. They reflect a sense of compassion and comedy that shows our spirit is still intact in this post 9/11 era.
"With businesses cutting costs everywhere, we figured out a way to get these cards for half price," reads a Christmas-red greeting card that when opened reveals a "Happy Holidays" wish: on the left, from Don & Bud’s Plumbing, specializing in stoppages and pump-outs; and on the right, from Miami ad agency Crispin Porter+Bogusky.
Another card, plain-wrapped and makeshift, looks like it was photocopied. It reveals, when opened, a check list with boxes next to such entries as "Bill enclosed," "Congratulations on your baby’s circumcision," "You car wasn’t stolen. It was repossessed in lieu of payment," "Happy Arbor Day," "Bill is past due (final notice)" and "A toast to you on your successful completion of the 12-step program!" Thankfully, the two boxes checked off on mine were "Happy Holidays" and a notice of an address change for the card’s sender: San Diego ad agency matthews/mark.
Other cards also incorporate humor while displaying an understated sense of social conscience, with notice of donations made to such worthwhile causes as the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, The Twin Towers Fund, The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, Inner-City Filmmakers and the Heifer Project International (HPI).
The latter is a nonprofit organization that works with others to alleviate hunger, poverty and environmental degradation. HPI helps impoverished families around the world become self reliant by providing food- and income-producing animals and training. Families "pass on the gift" by giving one or more of their animal’s offspring to another family in need. This particular card—from rep Mary Knox, a former SHOOT editor—notified me that a donation of a llama had been given to a needy family. Llamas are a source of wool to make warm clothes, and of manure to fertilize crops. They are also pack animals that can carry loads to market, and selling their offspring generates money for food, clothes and schooling.
The aforementioned Inner-City Filmmakers is one of three charities mentioned in a New Year’s card from Mad River Post. Formed in ’93 by editor Fred Heinrich and his wife, freelance producer Stephania Lipner, Inner-City Filmmakers offers free industry training to talented, disadvantaged high school students in Greater Los Angeles. SHOOT has chronicled the progress that Inner-City Filmmakers has made over the years, most recently with an addition to its curriculum: an eight-week advertising course followed by students getting the chance to create and produce PSAs for the Anti-Defamation League (SHOOT, 10/26/01, p. 7).
Fittingly, Inner-City Filmmakers was borne out of adversity: the May ’92 riots in Los Angeles. Heinrich and Lipner reasoned that a way to address the turmoil was to try to create career training and opportunities for young people in the inner city. The fact that good can come out of bad is a dynamic that, thankfully, is again playing out in the aftermath of 9/11. Happy New Year!
