Though it’s difficult to pinpoint what makes for a successful creative partnership, particularly with so many varied personalities in the business, there is clearly one constant that virtually all can agree on, perhaps best described as Gestalt, a dynamic in which the sum is greater than its individual parts. The Gestalt can be born out of longstanding relationships or, as evidenced in a couple of the profiles below, an occasional collaboration. In some cases, opposites attract. But similar sensibilities can also make a twosome effective. Here’s a sampling of dynamic duos who have contributed to some of the industry’s most notable work in recent months.
Duchon & Edwards Scott Duchon and Geoff Edwards have been working together for three years, the first two at TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco, and during this past year at their current roost, McCann Erickson, San Francisco. In some respects, their most notable collaboration at the latter shop, the Xbox 360 campaign, including “Jump Rope” and “Water Balloons,” reflects the nature of their relationship.
“I’d describe it as fun,” says Duchon of his creative partnership with Edwards. Indeed “Water Balloons” and “Jump Rope” escaped the product category norm which often skews to the dark shooter games genre and went for pure enjoyment. The spots–directed by Frank Budgen of Gorgeous Enterprises, London (he’s repped stateside by bicoastal Anonymous Content)–are an invitation to join in the fun of the Xbox 360 with, for example, a grand scale water balloon fight for which some 70,000 water balloons were made.
McCann teamed on the campaign with El Segundo, Calif. agency 72 and Sunny. Duchon and Edwards (along with 72 and Sunny’s John Boiler and Glenn Cole) were group creative directors on both “Jump Rope” and “Water Balloons,” additionally serving as copywriter and art director, respectively on “Jump Rope.”
Both commercials have already gained considerable recognition this awards season: “Jump Rope” just garnered honors in the advertising excellence/single commercial and the editorial categories at the AICP Show. “Water Balloons” copped an AICP Show honor in the visual style category.
They continue a winning tradition for the creative duo, embodied in their TBWA/Chiat/Day work on adidas’ “Impossible Is Nothing” campaign, including assorted top drawer commercials–a prime example being “Carry” in which NBA superstar Kevin Garnett is carrying the whole world on his shoulders. Directed by Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, “Carry” earned numerous honors, including helping Murro win the Directors Guild of America Award as best commercial director of 2004. Duchon was creative director/writer and Edwards creative director/art director on “Carry.”
Prior to TBWA/Chiat/Day, where he had been for five years before hooking up with Edwards, Duchon worked at JWT, New York. He started his career at Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami. Meanwhile, Edwards moved to TBWA/Chiat/Day, from Element 79 Partners, Chicago. Prior to that he was at DDB Chicago and Spike DDB, New York. Edwards’ first career roost was TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York.
While the “fun” mantra characterizes their working relationship, Duchon and Edwards cite additional dynamics which contribute to a successful mix. “My weaknesses are his strengths,” says Duchon of Edwards. “Geoff’s artistic sensibilities kind of balance off my at times insane side conceptually. I feel comfortable with his helping to bring any idea to life with the proper taste level and sensibilities. It’s a good ying-and-yang dynamic.”
At the same time, they share a like-mindedness about collaboration–between themselves and with others. “We were fortunate to get Frank Budgen to direct the Xbox spots–he only directs a few American ads a year and he did those two with us,” relates Edwards. “I’d like to think it’s in part because of how Scott and I collaborate with people. The idea isn’t so precious that we’re not open to having others in the process contribute and do what they do best. You have to give a little to get a lot back. Scott and I are very keen on collaborating with others–and with each other–in that manner.”
The only rift between them is basketball-related in that Duchon is a Miami Heat fan while Edwards’ team is the Detroit Pistons. The Heat just beat the Pistons to make the NBA finals. However, the good-natured ribbing Duchon has given Edwards as of late about the Pistons notwithstanding, the agency creatives clearly are on the same side despite their hardwood team allegiances.
“The challenge has been to duplicate the success we had [at TBWA/Chiat/Day] here, working together and continuing to mentor creative teams,” says Edwards. “We feel we’re off to a good start with Xbox 360 but that launch is more like a two-and-a-half to three-year process. There’s a lot more work for us to do. Thankfully we have each other–and talented creative teams who allow us to help mentor them because they see the work we’ve done in the past.”
-by Robert Goldrich
Cianfone & Dawson-Hollis
Bob Cianfone and James Dawson-Hollis, associate creative director/copywriter and senior art director, respectively, have been partners at Miami’s Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B) for about six months now, but they don’t necessarily spend a lot of time together. “The last five months it has been a lot of travel, so we’ve been [communicating] through email or IM or on the phone,” Cianfone says. Actually, the phone interview SHOOT conducted for this story found Cianfone in New York and Dawson-Hollis in Los Angeles.
Despite the time spent apart, Cianfone and Dawson-Hollis have collaborated to create some notable work, including the most recent Burger King extravaganza “Manthem.”
Chosen as a SHOOT Top Spot of the Week, the :60 finds men hitting the streets to rally in celebration of manhood and a guy’s right to eat meat–the Burger King Texas Double Whopper in particular. Their war cry is “I Am Man,” a catchy, clever take-off on Helen Reddy’s feminist anthem “I Am Woman.”
Cianfone wrote the lyrics for “I Am Man,” which cracked up Dawson-Hollis the first time he heard them. “Have you heard the extended version of the song?” Dawson-Hollis asks. “Maybe Bob could sing it for you?”
Maybe next time.
Why the decision to base their “manthem” on Reddy’s classic song? “It’s got the right kind of motivational vibe,” Dawson-Hollis reasons, adding, “and it’s ironic to borrow from the feminist movement and spin it around for the manly meat movement.”
Cianfone and Dawson-Hollis both traveled to Rio de Janeiro to observe the “Manthem” shoot and the, uh, manly meat movement choreographed by director Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man. Then it was on to New York to sit in on the edit with Mackenzie Cutler’s Gavin Cutler. “We generally make sure we are both there for everything,” Dawson-Hollis notes.
In addition to “Manthem,” Cianfone and Dawson-Hollis are known for serving up other Burger King fare, including the spots “Lumberjack” and “I-Beam,” both of which find the King showing up at the workplace to surprise laboring men with sandwiches.
Working on the Burger King account is never boring, the pair agrees. “They’re a great client to work for,” Cianfone says. “They keep letting us do lots of fun stuff.”
“They’re very open to new ideas,” Dawson-Hollis chimes in, “and that allows us to take it new places.”
Cianfone and Dawson-Hollis were first paired together by CP+B chief executive officer Alex Bogusky to work on “Lumberjack” and “I-Beam” last fall.
They had seen each other around the office but didn’t know each other that well back then. Did they click right away? “We actually haven’t done that yet,” Cianfone cracks.
Given their rapport over the phone, it is apparent that they have.
Dawson-Hollis confirms this is true. “We’re both pretty laid back,” Dawson-Hollis says, “and we both find each other really funny, so ideas work themselves out naturally. If we need to readjust or change something, it’s never a problem. Bob’s not super precious about ideas.”
“James is great. He’s just really smart and really funny, and he makes things look great. What more could you ask for?” Cianfone says, noting, “I like working with him. He’s very down-to-earth.”
Cianfone has been at CP+B about six years now and has worked on the American Legacy Foundation, Molson and IKEA accounts for the agency, among others. A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, he started his career in Atlanta, working at Huey/Paprocki for two years.
Hailing from Yorkshire, England, Dawson-Hollis moved to New York 12 years ago, building a career as a fine artist before transitioning into advertising. After a five-year gig at now defunct Mad Dogs & Englishmen, he joined CP+B nearly two years ago, where he has done work for clients including Sprite, Slim Jim and Miller Lite.
When Dawson-Hollis isn’t working, he likes to visit galleries. “Art is the most exciting thing for me outside of what I’m doing,” Dawson-Hollis says.
Meanwhile, you’ll find Cianfone spending time with his wife and kids or surfing during his downtime.
Not that either of them has much. As for future work, “We’ve got a lot of other exciting things in the pipeline for Burger King and other clients,” Dawson-Hollis says. “Work is exciting for sure.”
-by Christine Champagne
Hayes & Stevens Pair art director Eric Stevens, a diehard Buffalo Bills fan, with copywriter Scott Hayes, a self-described “delusional” Boston Red Sox follower, and you find the inspiration for ESPN’s “Believe,” which just garnered an AICP Show honor in the animation category.
The largely stop-motion animation spot, directed by Mark Gustafson of Laika/house, Portland, Ore., for Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), New York, celebrates eternal optimism–paradoxically by taking us through the suffering of avid sports fans. The storyline takes us into the drab living room of the Mitchell family to watch a Buffalo Bills football game. Sadly, the Bills look like they’re about to lose yet again. But out of nowhere, hope emerges. The Bills recover a fumble that leads to a touchdown. With that, the sun comes out from behind the clouds, the Mitchell home is filled with glorious color, and the family–across all generations, from a little boy to a suddenly spry grandfather–is overjoyed.
Alas, elation is fleeting. A referee disallows the TD and the Bills lose. With the defeat comes the loss of color and joy in the Mitchell family’s world. But they had hope–at least for a little while. Part of ESPN’s “Without Sports” campaign, the spot ends with a super that read, “Without Sports, We’d Stop Believing.”
The commercial is a remarkable addition to anyone’s creative portfolio, perhaps even more so for Stevens and Hayes who are just a year out of school, landing their first major industry jobs at W+K. Eric came out of the Academy of Art College, San Francisco, while Stevens attended The Creative Circus, Atlanta.
“We’re completely lucky to be at Wieden,” relates Hayes. “The quality of the work, the people, the environment are all a dream come true.”
“They let you get your hands on stuff,” says Stevens. “They certainly didn’t treat us like we were just out of school.”
Stevens and Hayes have collaborated occasionally–also on work for ESPN U (college sports network), and Nike New York Soccer–but they’re not steady ad shop partners. “They move you around here, to work with different people on different accounts,” notes Stevens. “That’s part of what’s great about the experience–and working with others allows Scott and I to be that much better and more well-rounded when we work with each other.”
At press time, Hayes was waiting on an undisclosed project while Stevens was at an audio mix for the last spot in a series for ESPN’s World Cup soccer coverage that he’s been working on for several months; director is Christian Loubek of bicoastal Anonymous Content. The summer figures to be busy for both creatives–on jobs individually and in collaboration with one another.
They’ll try to apply a lesion learned from “Believe.” “What made it work was that it is based on a simple truth. When your team wins, you feel better than yourself. When it loses, you feel a little worse than yourself,” says Hayes. “And no matter how bad it gets for a real fan, you always believe. The simple truth–that people can relate to–makes for a great concept.”
-By Robert Goldrich
Casey & Tatum Consider it a case of static cling–the deployment of static characters to convey a message that sticks with and resonates with viewers. That’s what creative directors Randy Tatum and Steve Casey of Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, did in their campaign for Traktor Supply Company. A prime spot in the package is “Headed to TSC,” in which a farmer named Dale stops his pickup truck on the way to the local TSC store to speak with a friend, Ed, who is standing by the side of the road. Ed and Dale are nonmoving toy-like figures that somehow make for compelling characters worthy of our attention.
When Ed realizes that Dale is going to TSC, he asks his buddy to pick him up a gallon of tire sealant. Dale is fine with that. He also has no problem fulfilling Ed’s next request, which is for a 50-pound bag of dog food. But when Ed asks Dale to bring back a 35-ton log splitter, we can see by Dale’s facial expression that that’s where he draws the line.
Cut to the pickup truck driving down the road with both Dale and Ed in the cab.
“Why didn’t you just ask me for a ride?” Dale asks.
“I didn’t want to put you out,” replies Ed.
While the look of “Headed to TSC” is eye-catching, ultimately the spot–and the entire campaign–are driven by dialogue, and the way it is spoken. The characters pause to think about what they say before they say it. There are pregnant pauses in their speech. These aren’t wall-to-wall New York talkers. They think before responding, reflecting in a respect some Midwest sensibilities.
Also adding a dimension of interest to the nonmoving characters is the environment around them, which does move. The figures were shot on a set of miniatures and models, but at the same time live-action background plates of farmland and sky in rural California is part of the scenario. The clouds move and a bird flies by in the distance.
Director Paul Harrod of Bent Image Lab, Portland, explains, “I think more than anything else it was a matter of creating our own world that was not necessarily a live-action world and not necessarily a miniature world but some place that exists between. Harrod adds that the spot might have failed to appeal to the target adult demographic if it seemed that Ed and Dale existed in a world that was too pretend, too childlike.
Creative directors Casey and Tatum additionally served as copywriter and art director, respectively, on the TSC fare. Casey has been with Carmichael Lynch for some 10 years, Tatum for nine. They both moved up the ranks to creative directorships, and have teamed on notable work over the years for Ikea, Harley Davidson Motor Clothes and A.G. Edwards. However, they don’t work together regularly. At press time, Tatum was in Los Angeles for a Harley Davidson job. Meanwhile Casey had just wrapped some Jack Links jerky spots directed by Craig Gillespie of bicoastal/international MJZ.
“The fact that we go off and work individually has been helpful,” observes Casey. “We don’t have exclusive partners here. So that when Randy and I do work together, we bring a fresh perspective, a new spark, to the collaboration. We’re not like an old married couple.”
Tatum relates that working with different people helps to create “a good locker room” at Carmichael Lynch. Also helping the locker room atmosphere are the clients, a prime example being TSC. “When we presented the static figures campaign to them, they were totally behind it,” recalls Tatum. “It was creative they didn’t expect yet quickly embraced.”
Indeed the campaign has been well received. A microsite with backstories on the characters is up and running, and a follow-up campaign is in the works, again teaming Casey, Tatum and Bent Image Lab.
Both Casey and Tatum see themselves as simpatico, with similar senses of humor and creative tastes. “One of the things I like most about our working relationship is that the lines are blurred,” relates Tatum. “It’s not like he slips some well chosen words under my door and I send him some sketches. We’re both working on everything. I have this ability to channel voices, like thinking in the voice of the Dale character for example. People walk by the office when we’re together and say, ‘Are those guys working?’ because they hear laughter and channeled voices. It’s a special relationship. Steve doesn’t give himself enough credit. He’s an awesome writer. That’s why we’ve been here so long. We have some great people at the agency. I am very lucky.”
