Some 13 months ago Daniel Russ became executive creative director at R&R Partners, overseeing the work of the agency’s offices in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Reno and Washington, D.C. The move ended his long tenure at GSD&M, Austin, Texas, where he last served as VP/group creative director. There he turned out noted work for the U.S. Air Force, Chili’s Bar and Grill, Pennzoil and Walmart.
Russ cut his professional teeth at The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., where he was a senior writer. He then made a positive impact at three boutique ad shops: Zimmerman in Tallahassee, Korey Kay in New York, and Earle Palmer Brown, Bethesda, Md.
Over the years he has had a hand in work that has received assorted awards, including recognition at The One Show, the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the Clios, the Andy Awards and London’s D&AD competition.
Now at R&R–best known for its “What happens here, stays here” catchline, now a pop culture mantra, promoting Las Vegas tourism–Russ relates that more is on the way for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, including what he describes as “a promising extension” of that campaign later this year.
He also points with pride to the work being done by R&R in the public utilities sector, underscored by the inspired creative for Nevada Power’s “Hamlit,” which earned inclusion into SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery last month (6/22).
Meanwhile Russ maintains an ongoing source of gratification–the Peace Council–which he founded some 10 years ago as a non-profit foundation dedicated to creating advertising that helps to raise awareness about issues of social consequence ranging from racism to child abuse and most recently mental illness.
SHOOT: What led you to seek out the opportunity at R&R?
Russ: I did a lot of good work at GSD&M, was making good money and had perks but felt it was time to make a change. Roy Spence there taught me most every important thing I know in the business. One was that it is a mistake to look at a Goodby Silverstein & Partners and try to be like them. Or The Martin Agency. Or any successful shop. With that approach the best you can do is just be a worse one of them. So the key, said Roy, is to do everything we can to be a better us.
I took that to heart personally as it relates to me. At one point there were 15 group creative directors at GSD&M. I had clawed my way up to the middle, which was still a comfortable place to be. I could continue to do good work but I wanted to progress and accomplish more, to take another swipe at the brass ring, to move in new directions on new exciting business.
So I talked to a head hunter and put a book together to see if anyone would pay attention to a guy with my experience. I got a call from Billy Vassiliadis [R&R CEO] and Mary Ann Mele [president/chief strategic officer]. I had the best, most fun 40-minute conversation with two people I never met that I ever had. I then met them and liked them a ton. They made me an offer but my mother-in-law looked like she was going to have a healthcare problem so I turned them down. The healthcare problem was resolved but I figured it was too late. Two months later they [R&R] called me again, wined and dined me and my wife and we decided to make the move with a caveat–we would keep our home in Austin for weekends, PTO and to work from on occasion. I spend most of my time in Las Vegas but still have the chance to stay in my adopted home town of Austin every month.
SHOOT: Will you reflect on your first year at R&R?
Russ: I’m 50 years old and feel born again. The situation here is great. A wonderful creative department was bequeathed to me by my boss [VP/creative director] Randy Snow. People like Arnie DiGeorge who’s creative director on “What happens here, stays here,” Matt McKay who’s about to do our major push on UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts sport] and creative director Ron Lopez who heads our public utilities work.
For Ron, it’s the size of the idea, not the size of the budget. Just look at “Hamlit” and the upcoming work for Southern Nevada Water Authority promoting water conservation–one spot is “Lawnbada” featuring a little Pee Wee Herman-type character dancing around a lawn in his underwear; the other is “Loch and Loaded,” starring an angry Scotsman playing his bagpipes amidst sprinklers. This quirky funny campaign is about to debut and was directed by Peter Horton [of Denmark production company The Jones].
This agency culture is terrific. R&R feels sort of like GSD&M felt like in the mid-1990s–around $300 million in billings, around 300 people, a great esprit de corps. I saw GSD&M just take off, with signature work for Southwest Airlines and others, helping those clients succeed. I experienced the same earlier in my career at The Martin Agency [from 1984-’90] where simply great work was being done, proving you can do good work wherever you are–you didn’t have to be in New York.
Now here I am years later living in the desert. Last night I was floating in a pool, looking up at the stars and just felt grateful to be working at one of the hottest agencies in the country.
Recent research has shown after Google that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority [LVCVA] is the number two brand in the country–it’s a brand that R&R helped build with “What happens here, stays here.”
It demonstrates that R&R has a voice–and a select few do like Wieden with Nike, GSD&M with Southwest, Martin with Geico. And we’re about to embark on a lot more.
SHOOT: What are you embarking on?
Russ: We’re going to launch our second brand extension for LVCVA later this year. I’m not at liberty to talk about it in detail but we’re very excited.
Brand extensions are so important. Look at Geico with the Gecko lizard, the cavemen and the actors/celebrities campaign–those are three brand extensions. Southwest has done it with “Want to get away” and “It must be football season.” What we have planned for Vegas tourism is big and funny as hell.
And what we’re doing for UFC, the fastest growing sport around, will also break new ground. I also feel confident that more major new business will come our way. We’re in the bidding for business that in part is due to our hiring of Gwen Basinger, formerly of DDB Chicago, as our executive VP of business development.
SHOOT: You manage a Peacecouncil board of creative professionals. Over the years, Peacecouncil spots have tackled various issues and earned inclusion into our “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery. What’s your latest Peacecouncil endeavor?
Russ: We held a film festival competition for the New Milestones Foundation, which seeks to expand awareness of mental illness and to eliminate its stigma while raising funds to address the needs of those affected by mental retardation, mental illness or substance abuse issues. This project was brought to life by Peacecouncil member Vincent Calderone, a digital media producer at GSD&M. My contribution was getting a dear friend, the great filmmaker Albert Maysles, to judge the entries. The winning films will go a long way toward raising awareness of mental illness. The filmmakers who won prizes at the Peacecouncil/New Milestones Film Festival were director Brad Osborne and producer Andy Straifeld for Shock. Also gaining recognition at the festival was Susan Smiley with Out of the Shadows, a film about her mother’s struggles with schizophrenia.
