There is currently one campaign that I always hope I will see every time I turn on my television – which is permanently playing reruns of Friends.  This campaign?  AT&T “It’s not complicated,” created by the brilliant minds at BBDO. When I first heard that these commercials weren’t scripted, I was extremely doubtful. Children have wild and imaginary minds, however, I had a hard time believing these were their thoughts entirely. Well, I was wrong.  After doing my research, I found that they do scripted versions as backup, but they have never made it to air. There has only been one time where the concept was slightly more scripted (“Candy Island”), but what actually made it on air was still improv. In case you have no idea which commercials I am talking about, I will briefly explain them. Actor and comedian, Beck Bennett, sits down with a group of four children and asks them simple and unbranded questions. What’s better: Bigger or smaller? Faster or slower? More or less? The children answer in the most odd and hilarious ways, which makes for some seriously great commercials.

BBDO prefers working with children who do not have an acting background, but they have worked with actors as well. The children they select must have a certain dynamic and energy during casting, but that is not always reliable. Sometimes kids will do something random and wild in casting, but will act completely different on set. This could be caused by a bunch reasons, including a fight with their sibling, the time of the day, or just because that’s how kids can be.

They film five groups of four kids per day, each group for a total of two hours. During this time, they hope to get inside the quirky and amusing minds of these children. Beck Bennett has a scripted lead-in line, but that’s it. His reaction to the children’s answers, and the answers themselves, are what they call “guided improv.”

I was pleased to find out that my favorite commercial, “Werewolf”, was 100% out of the mind of a little girl named Diana. Creative director, Stephen McMennamy, said, “There’s no way you could come up with anything that wonderful. That’s Diana going nuts in her own head.”  No matter how many times I replay this commercial, it always amuses me.

Kids add something to these commercials that no adult could. They bring humor and innocence to something that is not very exciting, picking out a wireless carrier. You might have to keep reminding them to stop kicking the bottom of the table, or to stop fidgeting with their microphone, but these dilemmas are nothing compared to the end result, entertaining commercials.

Cobia

There comes a time when a little minnow leaves his safe pond and becomes a big minnow. King Mackerel. That has been my fish name during my wonderful time here at The Pond. The name King Mackerel will follow me no matter where I am. A wise minnow said “Once a minnow, always a minnow,” and that statement is definitely holding true as I spend my last few days here at the minnow PROJECT.

As I am sitting here at my mintern desk looking around the office, I am thinking about how I’ll miss so many things. The friendships, the fishing memorabilia on the walls, Remmi, the taP room, the kitchen facet that only runs hot water if you turn the lever all the way to the left, and the fish puns. Most of all, I’m going to miss my fellow minnows. Always willing to help with a smiling face, the minnows I’ve met here at the Pond have been the absolute best. The minnow friendships will continue for a long time to come once I’ve left.

If you’re looking for the best, you can find it in the hearts and minds of the minnows. Their work, attitude on life, and willingness to help each other is what makes the minnow PROJECT the best place to grow up. Thanks for all of the memories, guys! I’ll swim strongly and wear the badge of once having been a minnow, proudly.

See ya ’round,

King Mackerel

Well folks, the time has come for me to spread my “gills” and swim away from the Pond. My time here at the minnow PROJECT has been one that I soon won’t forget. The people here at the minnow have such a deep love and passion for their work and have by far made my internship experience a great one at that.

During my time at the Pond I had the distinct privilege of assisting the account managers, which gave me an in depth look into the advertising world. I also had some typical mintern tasks of taking Remmi on walks and answering the phones. I am happy to say that after three months I have finally figured out how to answer the phones, and successfully send to voicemail. My apologies to any clients that I may have accidentally hung up on while trying to transfer your call (shout out to my fellow mintern Freya for showing me the ropes).

the minnow PROJECT is a fabulous advertising company that I am honored to have interned for. The people here are top notch and have a contagious love of life. I am definitely going to miss the daily laughs and conversations, and talking Yankees baseball with Todd.

As I swim away from this Pond and enter into this other pond that I like to call the real world, I leave you with the famous words by Dr. Seuss,

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”

-Ashton

Imagine you have the perfect idea for your client’s new creative campaign. It was so simple and right in front of you that you hardly realized it was there. So you write it down, concept, sketch, design, storyboard, and eventually pitch this idea to your client. They love it.

Happy story right? If only coming up with the perfect creative idea was this easy. How easily does a great creative idea come to you? It never slaps you in the face like you would like it to. You have to find it…search for it…think about it…construct it in your mind.

Everyone has their own creative process to find that elusive idea that is poking about your brain. What’s even more interesting are the times that this idea decides to show its creative face. You may even be walking down the street at night when you’ve had a whole bottle of wine to yourself and the great idea may pop into your brain. Your own creative process will come to you.

For now, I’d like to share my creative process with you, as random as it may be. It usually begins at a time when I’ve been thinking vigorously about a project. I can’t come up with the perfect idea so I decide to lay off the project for a while with a little relaxing. First, I grab a snack. Any kind of snack…crackers, an orange, or even some gum. Your mind will slowly begin to concentrate on the food instead of the project you are stuck on. Next, I draw up a hot bubble bath. At this point you may be thinking…where is he going with this? But I promise, this completely works for me! I soak in the bubble bath for at least half an hour. Usually at some point a few ideas come to me while relaxing in the hot waters of the tub. If not, I go to my last resort. Petting a fluffy kitten. Although it may not seem safe for a minnow named King Mackerel to be petting a cute fluffy kitten, I can promise you that the little fuzzy ball of fur will get your creative mind flowing.

Your process will be much different than mine. But it’s definitely necessary to have a plan for when you just can’t think creatively at the moment. Relax, snack, pet a ball of fur, and most importantly: Just keep swimming.

The time I have spent here at the Pond hasn’t been long. In fact, my time spent here has felt incredibly short and that is solely due to the wonderful people that work here.

Last night I went and saw Aaron Draplin speak, a designer from Portland.  Aaron has worked for the President and a whole roster of other big names. And he left me with a lot to think about. But one of the most important things he said is about how we need to love what we do.  As he said, “…people, Omaha, I beg you, we are not digging ditches or breaking rocks, we’re using our fat fingers to click a mouse. Love what you do.”

To me this was huge and made me think about my time here as a Minnow. The people here truly have a passion for what they do, and it is so evident when you are here, that these people love the work. No matter how ridiculous the request or how crazy a product they are selling, these people are on board and giving it all they’ve got. I think that’s one of the most important things I will take from this experience – and to try to do in everything that I do in the future.

I’m sad to say I am leaving the safe waters of the Pond to go try my hand in bit larger body of water. But I will remember the connections I made here, and the awesome people who are giving it their all, day-in and day-out. Oh, and the secret tips and tricks Bryon and Scott showed me.

Thanks,

Wahoo/Manderson

It was recently that wonderful time of the year again…MARCH MADNESS! For this sport enthusiast and former basketball player, March Madness is like one big three-week holiday— filling out multiple brackets, watching basketball games all day (yes, even during class), and the sweet taste of victory when I win the office bracket. Unfortunately, this year is leaving more of a sour taste given all of the unpredictable upsets. (Florida Gulf Coast— all I have to say is, WOW!) While my bracket may have gone down the toilet week one, this aspiring sport marketer has been quite pleased with the advertisements.

According to Anthony Crupi in his March 6, 2013 Adweek article, “Show Me the Moneyball: March Madness Generates $1 Billion in Ad sales,” March Madness produced $1 billion in tournament ad sales revenue for CBS and Turner in 2012, making it the top postseason advertising grosser. And that does not even include the $60 million sold in digital inventory! Checkout how March Madness stacks up against a few of the other major postseason moneymakers:

1. March Madness ($1 billion)
2. NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl ($976.3 million)
3. NBA Postseason ($536.9 million)
4. MLB October Baseball ($354.1 million)
5. NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs ($101.1 million)

As the field of 64 teams shrink down to the Final Four, a 30-second spot drastically increases. Crupi further explains that during the 2012 tournament the average unit cost for the opening rounds were $100,000 and $350,000 during the Sweet 16, $700,000 throughout the Final Four, and $1.34-1.45 million for the national championship game. Needless to say, one can only expect those prices to increase for this year’s tourney.

Note to all of you advertisers out there— if you want your product or service to be viewed by millions, I highly suggest you hop on the postseason sports advertising bandwagon ASAP.

Check out my two favorite ads from this season…

Bud Light’s “Back Up Plan/Blind Date – Here We Go” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMExuin6U-c

AT&T’s “It’s Not Complicated High Fives” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIMm9w8PwJA

Peace. Love. Minnows. And Basketball.

-Ashton (still waiting for a fish name)

http://www.adweek.com/news/television/show-me-moneyball-march-madness-generates-1-billion-ad-sales-147732

Today, I (King Mackerel) am going to take a look at unhealthy Facebook habits. This can pertain to anyone, whether you’re a Facebook addict or not. On most days, swimming through the busy waters at the Pond keeps my mind from wandering from my work to Facebook, but even I slip up sometimes.

Here are a few tips that say, “I’m a Facebook addict.”

1. Sharing Too Much

It’s strange to find that there are still a number of us who voluntarily share our deepest secrets about our intimate lives on Facebook, even though we may not want people to know everything about us. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the satisfaction of being recognized by our ‘friends’. Social affirmations by our friends are the main reason we feel the need to ‘share’ tidbits from our personal lives.

What I’m talking about here is the idea of over-sharing. In the case of Facebook addiction, we may become unable to judge what’s applicable to share.

2. Checking Facebook at Every Free Moment

This means checking for any updates to your newsfeed or responses to your posts every time you don’t know what to do. In other words, the default choice for your free-time activity is to be on Facebook. So, what do you do? You leave your Facebook open in the background, switching between work and assignments to the page every few minutes. Even when you are outside enjoying a drink with a friend, you log in to the Facebook app on your smartphone every now and then during brief moments of non-interactions.

The end result is that you get distracted in whatever it is you’re doing and you may find it hard to be fully present at the moment. Maybe you take a significantly longer amount of time to complete simple tasks or maybe some of your friends may complain that you don’t pay enough attention to what they say. No surprise there, seeing how your attention is always diverted to some Facebook notifications.

3. Your Facebook Image? Who Cares?

Have you ever spent more than fifteen minutes coming up with a Facebook status? After you’ve posted it, do you wait to see how people will respond? This is what it means when I mention your ‘Facebook image’. We should all be concerned with what we’re shouting out to the world, but some take it to a new level.

It gets out of hand when you’re always trying to think of something cool, humorous, entertaining, etc. to post just to show how awesome you are. After, you wait for others to comment or ‘like’ what you’ve posted. You just keep checking and re-checking your Facebook for new notifications.

4. Do You Spend Hours on Facebook a Day?

Spending about an hour or so everyday scrolling through your newsfeed is okay, but if you start spending more time than that, there’s definitely a problem. Sure, there’s loads of content on Facebook like photos, and chatting and interacting with friends, but if you start using increasingly more of your valuable waking hours surfing worthlessly on Facebook, it’s time to reevaluate your lifestyle.

If it seems to you like maybe you are becoming or are a Facebook addict, try to think of something you could be doing instead of surfing the interwebs of Facebook. Could you be writing a paper? Some copy? Designing that website the client just sent you forty-three new revisions on? If you are spending more than an hour on Facebook a day, step back, take a deep breath, and use that energy to make your day more productive!

Some companies constantly have creative and appealing advertisements, and some, not so much.  McDonalds is one of those companies that I am continuously impressed with their work – good thing they spend more time on their advertising than they do on their hamburgers.  One aspect that I believe they do extremely well is that they keep things simple.  It is easy to figure out what they are trying to say, without having to stare at it for hours on end.  Their billboards are where they show their most simplistic work, which gets their point across without causing drivers to take their eyes off the road.  The Fresh Salads billboard below was created by Leo Burnet to promote McDonald’s health-conscious menu – they actually planted lettuce to form the words “Fresh Salads”, crazy right?  Even though this billboard is extremely simple, it also is very creative; something McDonald’s does well.

McDonald’s  also carriers their simplistic style over to their print ads as well.  The two shown are promoting the free Wi-Fi that McDonald’s now offers.  The print ad on the left has the Wi-Fi symbol made out of fries and uses a lot of negative space.  The one on the right shows an individual using the box his food came in as a laptop, with the words, “Free Wi-Fi served at all restaurants” above it.  Both of these print ads use little to no words; focusing more on the images.

Regardless of if their food is five star worthy or not, I have to admit, their advertising puts them one-step above their main competitor – Burger King.  They are unique, simple, and creative, without looking like they are trying too hard.  Even though I rarely eat at McDonald’s, whenever I see their advertisements it gets me one step closer to going through their drive thru.

Until next time,

Freya (aka Cobia)

With March Madness fast approaching it’s obvious that everyone’s focus is on their bracket and how well they chose their teams. Personally – and don’t freak out on me – I don’t really like basketball. The rest of my family is religious in their devotion to the scientific analysis of facts and data, but I like to take an opposite approach and flaunt their facts. I’m passing on these tried and true techniques in the hopes that you can also irritate your family when you win the pot.

There are a wide variety of factors to consider when devising your bracket. From wins and losses to field goal percentages, to the animalistic traits of the mascot, nothing is off-limits. My sister, a med student and ardent basketball fan, disagrees with me in every way I choose to pick my favorite teams. She analyzes every detail and focuses on the facts. My father, the meteorologist, always guesses in percentages like the points are precipitation. My family is full of analytical thinkers, but the beauty of it is that I’ve won our family pool the last two years. Like I said, it’s an art form.

Two years ago I played it pretty simple. I was just starting to fully appreciate the fun of guessing, so I called up a buddy of mine and asked him which mascot would win a fight, and picked every game by his wise choices. My buddy was four years old, but his predictions were accurate and I walked away with a respectable pot of $35. I was hooked.

The next year came with two new challenges: maintaining my winning streak without the help of a four year old, and coming up with a new bracketing methodology. Conveniently, it was the dawn of the age of Google Maps, so I took the opportunity to research the aesthetic of the campus (how symmetrically it was built). I still won $75, much to the chagrin of my sister.

This year I needed to step up my game, so I called in a ringer: my dog Sophie. I went to my local Scheel’s and purchased all the team key chains I could afford. I then placed them two by two in front of my mutt and which ever one she attacked first was my pick. It’s all highly scientific, I can assure you.

It may be nonsense, but there’s no reason to take this whole thing too seriously. For me and for many, many people across the country, March Madness is a fun outlet to do something creative (or just plain dumb) and then rub it in everyone’s face when you win.

Goodluck,

Wahoo

P.s. Sophie picked Georgetown over VCU. That’s gonna be interesting.

Hi! I’m Ashton Honnor and I’m the newest mintern at the Pond. Having spent time with the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA), the College World Series of Omaha, Inc. (CWS), and the Nebraska Coaches Association, I am very excited to join the minnow PROJECT as an Account Services Intern!

I am currently a senior at Nebraska Wesleyan University majoring in Business Administration with minors in Sport Management and Marketing. I love taco salads, all things Nebraska, country music, and sports. Oh yeah, and the marketing nerd in me likes to pick out product placement in The Big Bang Theory.

While at the NSAA I had the distinct privilege of compiling, designing, and organizing the organization’s first annual report. I also conducted a ticket efficiency study comparing in-house ticketing verse online ticketing, which I am pleased to report that the NSAA is implementing today. For this baseball lover, interning with the College World Series was an absolute dream! Interacting with the players and coaches during the team autograph sessions and team dinner, answering the CWS hotline, working in the hospitality room, and watching baseball all day— what’s not to love? At the Nebraska Coaches Association I redesigned the Sportsmanship Award Program, which is being utilized for State Volleyball, State Basketball, and State Soccer.

So, what, you might ask, brought me to the Pond? As you can see, all of my prior experiences are sport related. I felt the need to expand my horizons and dive into the creative marketing and advertising world, and I found that opportunity here at the minnow PROJECT. This internship is going to be an incredible learning experience filled with many crazy new adventures, but with a great group of minnows to learn from, I am ready to tackle the challenge head on!

When I’m not at work or studying my life away, you will more than likely find me at a baseball game (Go Yankees!), working out, or hanging out with my friends and family. If you want to talk baseball, I’m your girl!

There you have it folks, that’s me in a nutshell. I look forward to my time with the minnow PROJECT and cannot wait to see what is thrown my way!

Until next time,

Ashton (fish name yet to be determined)