Projects come, and projects go, but here's to the few that stand to be preserved as part of the journey. Maybe it was the blood, sweat, and tears that took months of laboring over, or perhaps the one idea that got away. For whatever reason, here's a trip down memory lane.
As the largest population entering the U.S. workforce, the millennials' job search wasn’t in the home appliance industry. Most seeking jobs in coastal cities were turning to the tech industry. Whirlpool Corporate Communications recognized this issue and wanted to develop a series of ads to help drive more graduates to the home appliance industry instead of the tech world.
Call me Dudley Moore in the movie “Crazy People,” but dammit, sometimes we just have to speak the truth. Today's typical millennial graduating has over $60K wrapped up in student debt. Meanwhile, salaries are not keeping up with the standard cost of living. So what can companies really offer students? It’s a tough subject, but my approach was to lighten the mood and try to make fun of the situation.
Creatively speaking, everybody agency side loved the idea. Client-side, my writing partner and I got some laughs and a firm handshake, but no dice.
If the ad business wasn’t crazy enough, I decided that it would be a good idea to take on a passion project outside my full-time day job at the agency. In college, I had started a small clothing company called Rootdown Products. It was based around action sports, mainly BMX freestyle, snowboarding, and skateboarding. With video emerging to play more of a role in the action sports realm, I saw early on the importance of getting something produced. The idea was to make a feature-length video with a unique group of characters who express their individuality through action sports, art forms, and comical storytelling. Sections featured each person’s discipline, short stories, and hilarious antics.
At first, I handled the majority of the work and scheduling. As the premiere date approached, a small team of the cast helped with getting the word out. No one could have predicted the turnout, but we all knew this was something special. Marketing consisted of a strong web presence with social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace (yes, MySpace), and an official dotcom. UnCut premiered theatrically to sold-out audiences of over 100 attendees and continued with a strong demand for DVD.
