In this week’s Special Report on top regional agencies, SHOOT looks at three highly creative ad shops outside the traditional markets of the New York-Chicago-San Francisco-Los Angeles loop. The agencies featured below are: Karsh & Hagan, Denver; Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy, Charlotte, N.C.; and Young & Laramore, Indianapolis.
Karsh & Hagan
Don Poole, creative director at Karsh & Hagan (K&H), Denver, and a 15-year employee of the shop, is unequivocal about why it’s the top agency in town. "We’ve always had the best client list," says Poole, who was named to the top creative post in 1997, "and we have real budgets to work with."
K&H also has a reputation for doing strong creative work for its clients. Now retired Phil Karsh and Tom Hagan founded the shop in ’77. Currently, K&H has 70 employees, and is headed by president Pocky Marranzino.
Among its prime accounts is the Colorado State Lottery, which K&H won in ’82 when the game began; last month, it successfully defended itself as the account’s agency of record for the eighth time. "It’s a big dog for us," Poole says.
In ’92, the agency picked up another plum account: McDonald’s. K&H currently handles advertising for the fast food chain in the regions of Denver, Las Vegas, Des Moines and parts of Minneapolis. Among other agency accounts are Anthem/Blue Cross Blue Shield; Albuquerque-based Lovelace Health Systems; Globus & Cosmos, a Denver-based travel agency; Pinnacol, a Denver-based provider of workman’s compensation insurance; the Colorado History Museum; the Denver Newspaper Agency (which was formed in ’01 to handle the competing voices of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post); and the city of Deadwood, S.D. (a small mountain town offering 80 casinos).
According to Poole, the shop also recently picked up Adelphia Cable, which services Los Angeles, Florida, Kentucky, Colorado Springs and upstate New York. At press time, production on 17 Adelphia spots was wrapping up.
In ’98, K&H was bought by Denver-based Integer, a large promotional agency that is owned by Omnicom. But corporate ownership hasn’t changed how the agency does business. "They bought us because we’re good at what we do," says Poole. "But they’ve been hands-off. They let us do our thing."
K&H’s Colorado State Lottery work is one of the more striking examples of how to advertise creatively without using the hard sell. The ads don’t show typical scenarios of people fantasizing of a life of luxury. "We’re very conscious about not overselling [the lottery] or using the greed and dream factors," Poole remarks. Instead, the spots emphasize whimsy and fun. One such spot, "Lottoland," produced by Psyop, New York, with designer Justin Fines, was showcased earlier this year in "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (SHOOT, 2/20, p. 12).
Two other animated spots that highlight fun and whimsy are "Salt," from director/animator Aleksandra Korejwo, who is repped for commercials by Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, and "Woodcut," helmed by directors/animators Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, also through Acme.
"Woodcut," which garnered a nomination at this year’s Annie Awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood), starts off with a view of 42 numbers. As the spot progresses, the numbers pop-up on screen randomly, alongside images of nature and wildlife: the Rocky Mountains, a bear walking, a flower, a fish jumping out of the water. In one scene, a bird opens its beak and various numbers pop out. At spot’s end, the copy comes up: "Six numbers add up to pure fun!"
"We’ll find a style of animation we like, and give the company the premise," Poole relates. "Here, it was forty-two balls eventually ending up as six, which are the ‘hero’ or winning lottery balls."
"Salt" and "Woodcut" were written by Kathryn Russell and art directed by Troy Farrow. The agency’s head of production, Susanne Soderberg (who has since left the agency) produced "Salt," and Heather Pollock (now head of production) produced "Woodcut."
The shop’s soft-sell approach has also been successful for its McDonald’s commercials. Two charming spots, directed by Dan Levinson of bicoastal Moxie Pictures, are based on universal French fry truisms. In "Fries: Bottom of the Bag," men discuss who should get the orphaned fries that fall out of the cardboard holders and rest on the bottom of the bag. "They’re like fry tax," says one, adding the fries should go to the person who picks up the food. "The fries in the bag are dealer’s choice," another man declares. "Fries: I’m Not Hungry" offers similarly passionate sentiments from men. They complain about girlfriends and wives who claim they aren’t hungry, but wind up eating all of their fries anyway. Russell served as copywriter, Becky Ferguson was art director and Pollock produced.
Broadcast work comprises 30 percent of what the agency does, and it works with production companies and other vendors in the region and out of town. "Denver is still a print-heavy town," Poole comments. "We tend to have budgets on the low side, and we ask local vendors for favors. Then, when we do get a big budget project, it doesn’t seem right to say, ‘Adios.’ " Besides Incite Films, favorite local vendors include Denver-based audio house Rocky Mountain Recorders, which does 99 percent of K&H’s work, according to Poole.
—Kathy DeSalvo
Loeffler Ketchum
Mountjoy
If agency Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy (LKM), Charlotte, N.C., is any indication, excellence in creativity is not just limited to the large markets. Led by principals John Ketchum and Jim Mountjoy, the company, in its current form, has been around since the mid-’80s.
"We have the same basic people, a consistent philosophy about the kind of work that we want to do, and the kind of people we want to work with," shares Mountjoy, the shop’s creative director. "We believe in the power of creativity and the power of good ideas that are born from listening to and respecting the consumer. For us, it is about hearing what they have to say, and presenting, in an entertaining manner, a benefit or reason they should care about."
The agency has a staff of 30, which breaks down into the usual agency line up, and also has a strategic planning group. "This group analyzes a business and works with us not only to find the right message, but also to determine the right mix in distribution and planning," explains Mountjoy. "They also think strategically for companies—not just about advertising, but also whether we are marketing the right kind of product in the right way."
Local, regional, national and international in scope, LKM accounts include Cargill Dow, for whom they market a corn packaging product called NationWorks; Just Fresh, a chain of casual dining fresh food stores; Hunter Douglas, which makes window shades; Georgia-Pacific Building Products; North Carolina Tourism; the North Carolina Symphony; and the United States Canoe and Kayak Association.
"Our accounts are more national than local," Mountjoy says. "Cargill, Hunter Douglas, North Carolina Tourism and Georgia-Pacific are all national and/or international accounts. We do work in Europe, and have done work in Southeast Asia. It’s kind of strange in that we are a small shop with some bigger accounts. Our strategy from day one has been to work with people who believe in the power of great ideas, and they can be large or small [accounts]. But we prefer to work with national accounts because they offer us a lot of different constructs."
Mountjoy also acknowledges that the Charlotte market has its challenges. "This market is small and budgets are tight, but we really try to work with the best people we possibly can," he says. "Often we may lack in dollars and cents, but we certainly try to develop enthusiasm for the idea and a concept that the client can get excited about."
While LKM has gained its creative stripes primarily in the print arena, broadcast creative work has become a bigger part of their repertoire. "The agency’s strength traditionally has been in print," notes Mountjoy. "But we are starting to do more TV because we have national accounts. When the economy kicks down a little bit, people pull their horns in on broadcast, but now we are seeing the economy pick back up, and so there is more activity and more desire to use the broadcast medium."
The agency also works on creating Web-based works for its clients. "We are not just producing for TV, but also for the Web," Mountjoy says. "It is an extension of a medium, sight, sound and movement, and we have produced more things there, bringing concepts to life on the Web. We are about to launch into a big project for the North Carolina Symphony [that] is going to be used on the Web, and then may possibly [be] broadcast on television."
For it broadcast work, LKM currently relies on freelance producers, primarily from the area. "We have worked with people from far outside as well," Mountjoy states. "The creative team gets together and decides a path and a direction, and what kind of talent would be best for the project. Recently, we did a project out on the West Coast and we worked with producers out there." Director Brian Aldrich directed a package of spots for North Carolina Tourism earlier this year; one of the commercials, "Hiker," was featured in "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (SHOOT, 3/26, p. 19). Coppos Films–which is closing (see story, p. 1)—produced the package. Aldrich joined bicoastal/international Believe Media earlier this year.
The company often calls on local directors from shops such as Boulevard Films and Picturesque Films, both in Charlotte. "But we have worked with directors from Atlanta and Los Angeles," Mountjoy adds. "It really boils down to the job, and figuring out who is going give us the best work and most enthusiasm to bring the creative to life."
Looking to the future, Mountjoy relates that the agency’s goal is more than growing their national client base. "We have to constantly improve the creative quality, and grow ever closer to consumers in order to excite and motivate people," he says. "That is an educational process with ourselves and our clients. More national work is another goal, but most important is finding clients and partners who share a passion for great work, and the power that great work brings to every situation. The great concept can supersede and override so much."
—Margot Suydam
Young and
Laramore
"It’s sort of nice not always having big budgets," says Carolyn Hadlock, VP/creative director at Young & Laramore (Y&L), Indianapolis. "That way, you get people involved who really want to do the work."
Indeed, the 21-year-old agency prides itself on attracting top-level talent—with or without top-level funds. "I don’t think I’ve ever had within my career a situation where we haven’t had a [director or vendor] come down on budgets because they’ve liked the boards," agrees fellow VP/creative director Charlie Hopper, who has been with Y&L, on and off, since ’87. "We’ve always had to make the boards good enough for that to happen."
That’s been particularly evident these days, with the shop winning more and more national accounts (five in the past year), and calling on nationally known directors to helm ads for those accounts. Recently, Agust Baldursson of bicoastal Headquarters took some creatives and a crew to Iceland to shoot the striking Galyan’s Sporting Goods ads "Hydroguard," "Splint Runner" and "Spar Partner." Additionally, Brent Thomas of Green Dot Films, Santa Monica, recently directed the subtly effective "Dishwasher," among other ads, for Stanley Steemer.
Like most of Y&L’s creative output, the Galyan’s and Stanley Steemer spots exhibit a non-traditional—but carefully conceived—perspective. "Dishwasher," for instance, depicts an unmonitored dishwasher spewing water all over a kitchen floor—water that will undoubtedly reach the carpet in the next room. The camera focuses on this impending household disaster for 30 seconds. Then the tagline appears: "Life brings it in, we take it out." "It’s really not about seeing dirt on the carpet," explains Hadlock, who headed up the creative team on the campaign. "It’s more the Hitchcock approach of letting somebody imagine what’s there."
That approach has paid off for the client. Since Stanley Steemer placed their account with Y&L two years ago, the carpet cleaning business has managed to reverse a negative trend, with sales increasing 10 percent in the past year. "What Carolyn’s team did was kind of revolutionary for that market," Hopper relates. "Before those ads, the entire cleaning market used to be ‘stain-based,’ meaning they would show the red wine tipping onto the white carpet. But these ads say, ‘Look, there’s dirt you’re not even aware of coming into your house.’ "
Likewise, the Galyan’s spots deviate from the sporting goods store norm by not showing actual sporting goods. In "Hydroguard," a man is hiking in the mountains. When it starts to rain, he pushes a button on his jacket, activating a water-repellent force field. "Spar Partner" depicts a woman boxing with a talking punching bag that also weaves and dodges, while in "Splint Runner," an injured jogger pushes a button on his running shoe and inflates an instant ankle splint. At the end of each ad, a voiceover states that while these items don’t exist yet, Galyan’s will be the first to have them in the future.
Creatives visualized the Galyan’s commercials before choosing a director. "That particular series of spots seemed to demand a beautiful, cinematic look for the story to be interesting," Hopper recalls. "We had to make sure we found someone who could honestly deliver something that was unusual from the first frame."
"Unusual" is a concept that plays big within Y&L’s creative culture. Founded in ’83 by artists David Young and Jeff Laramore (lawyer Paul Knapp is the third principal), the shop has seen its staff grow from 12 to 65. Billings at present are $73 million, and 25 percent of its work consists of TV spots. But even through all that expansion, the shop has maintained an unconventional approach to product branding, with creatives not only encouraged to think outside the box, but to collaborate closely with the account team. "We have a process called an ‘unlearning curve’ that is basically positioning," muses Hadlock, who joined Y&L as an art director in ’91 and partnered up with Hopper, then a copywriter. "At our place, the creative team is involved in that. Typically, it’s a linear progression—the account team generates strategy, then they give it to the creative team, then a brief is written—but here, it’s really very together."
"It keeps the creatives from turning into the mercenaries that you meet at a lot of places," Hopper observes. "Instead of thinking that it’s just you and your book that are important, you really get involved with the goals of the project, and the goals of the client."
Hopper was instrumental in securing Y&L’s first major regional account, Steak n Shake restaurants, back in ’90. "Some of the ads that we made that first year are still in rotation," reports the creative, who has since seen the chain quadruple from 100 locations in ’90 to 416 today. "We’ve redone a couple of [the spots] just because film stock quality changes, but the campaign itself has lasted for fourteen years."
Though he left the shop for a few years in the mid-’90s—for stints at TBWA/Chiat/Day, St. Louis, and Martin/Williams Advertising, Minneapolis—Hopper returned in ’99. "I missed being able to honestly say that Stanley Steemer, Steak n Shake, Galyan’s—whoever it is—is getting a sweep-brand approach as opposed to ‘Yeah, we’ll shoot you out some TV commercials, and let somebody else take all that yucky direct mail,’ " he says.
Both Hopper and Hadlock hope Y&L will continue to grow and challenge conventional advertising wisdom. "Everybody in the restaurant industry shows somebody biting into a burger and smiling with a look of ecstasy on their face. What if we didn’t? We don’t have to do that," Hopper points out. "You don’t have to show a toddler spilling the spaghetti on the carpet in a Stanley Steemer ad. Even though everyone does it, it’s just not a requirement."
