gyro Animates EMV for First Data

Posted January 4, 2015 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

First Data needed to get some important news out to their customers and their employees. In October 2015 businesses without EMV (chip) technology could be liable for fraudulent card transactions. FD needed to educate their customers and employees about their options to avoid these potentially disastrous consequences and solutions that First Data could provide..

We had an very little time and a limited budget. The subject matter was a bit tedious and difficult to explain. We decided that animation was a good way to simplify and lighten the complex and scary subject matter. We had to write two different scripts, one for customers, one for an internal audience. We designed a host of “icons”, to be shared between the videos and started animating. Mark Deeter at Deeter Post really killed the animations and a couple weeks later, viola! Above you can find the customer version, below the internal video. Enjoy!

gyro Shoots Sweet videos for Dolcea Launch

Posted December 30, 2014 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

Tate and Lyle, a big ol’ international ingredient provider for the food and beverage industry came to gyro for help launching a groundbreaking new zero calorie sweetener, Dolcea. The product really is a game changer for the industry and we wanted to give it the dramatic reveal it deserved. Some beautiful photography, a custom music track and a well crafted VO script set the appropriate stage for the unveiling. We shot and edited 4 different versions of the videos for use in various web and social media channels. As VP of Video Content I served as Executive Producer and directed the food shooting. The client was delighted with the results and Tate and Lyle received some pretty sweet reviews from the press based on our media outreach. All in all, a pretty sweet deal.

For First Data It Pays to use Apple Pay

Posted November 8, 2014 & filed under Uncategorized.

When First Data swung a deal with Apple to accept Apple Pay it was big news in the financial industry, but the press did not cover the steps First Data’s customers would need to take to accommodate the new way to pay. FD customers, largely small business merchants were using all sorts of different legacy POS systems. They needed to get the right equipment for their system quickly in order to take advantage of the millions of Apple Pay users. One of my very first assignments while serving as VP of video content was to design a video that we could recut into different versions that would speak to the different equipment configurations of the FD’s customers.

It was a monumental game of mental Jenga. We had to shoot different products in the same set up, write and record 4 different scripts, create 4 different product shots and 4 different graphic packages… but at least we had 10 days to get it done. I’ve included two of the four here (one at the top of the page, one at the bottom) so you can see the similarities and differences in the videos. Oh, so you know, the client loved the videos and the roll out was a huge success.

Best of Show. Yeah, you heard me.

Posted February 24, 2014 & filed under Husky Boy.

Husky Boy pulled in a little hardware at Cincinnati’s annual Addy awards show last Saturday night. Hosted by Landor and held at the historic Moerlein tap room, the event celebrates the best creative design and advertising work in our region. Dave Morrison and I won a silver, two gold and the Best of Show award for our work with MadTree Brewing Company. A special shout out to John McDaniel at Sonic Arts for his stellar work directing rank amateur VO talent (me), and to the Seedy Seeds for an awesome music track, and especially to the mad geniuses at Madtree Brewery who trusted us to give their brand a voice. You can, and should, check out the spots here; http://huskyboy.tv/2014/02/madtree-beer-you-had-me-at-beer/ .

It was a great night and a true honor to be recognized. Congratulations to all the Addy winners. We should go grab a beer. I know a place.

MadTree Beer, You had me at Beer

Posted February 1, 2014 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

Today is the 1st Anniversary of one of my favorite clients MadTree Brewing Company. Late last year Dave Morrison and I had the great opportunity to create some branded video content for MadTree. We met with the owners and listened to their story, their concerns and their dreams for their brand then developed a voice that fit their vision. They are a craft brewery and don’t have the resources of the big boys, so we developed ideas that we could execute inexpensively, but would still look great. I’m very proud of how they turned out. You probably saw them on Facebook, or Twitter, or Youtube, or LinkedIn or some other social media….what’s that? You haven’t? Oh, well click on them here then!Though Dave and I had a lot of fun throughout the process (can you imagine letting us loose in a brewery? ), the most rewarding, energizing, crazy-cool part of the entire experience was meeting and working with the MadTree owners. Kenny, Brady and Jeff are living their dream every day. They are working their collective butts off producing great products and having the time of their lives. It’s a fun vibe to be around.
So Happy Birthday MadTree Brewing Company. I hope to celebrate quite a few more with you guys!

You Want it When?

Posted October 7, 2013 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

Thought I would post a spot from a few years ago just for grins. Sorry, I

don’t have the HD version, but it’s still one of my favorites. It’s one of

the jobs that I think about a lot because it was an amazing feat just

to get anything shot on the client’s time frame. It all happened a little

like this…

Rob (creative director, JWT): We need to shoot a promotional spot for a

special addition F150.

Me: No problem. We’ve done a hundred of them.

Rob: Yeah, I know. This time we want to shoot in the largest

truck and SUV plant in North America.

Me: Cool! Flying sparks, giant robots…we’ll make it look great.

Rob: Yeah. We need some beauty shots in the factory as well and

you will need to find a farm and some country roads for a

running footage package that we will edit into other spots

later in the year.

Me: Got it. Anything else.

Rob: Yeah, one more thing. They are closing the factory for

renovations this Friday, so we have to shoot Thursday.

Me: Um…It’s Monday afternoon Rob.

Rob: Yeah. If you can get me numbers by the morning, I should

be able to give you the go ahead late in the afternoon, or

Wednesday morning latest. We don’t have a script or

storyboards yet. I should have those by Wednesday as well.

How did we do it? I’m still not completely sure, but we did. Just another day at the office.

A World Without Mobile Looks Pretty Funny

Posted June 23, 2013 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

We are all so accustomed to being connected that it is hard to imagine what our lives would be like without our mobile devises. No cell calls, no text messages, no ability to check how many likes your most recent Facebook post has racked up while you are out at your child’s piano recital. Yes, a virtual hell-scape. Such is the premiss of this video I wrote and directed for gyro Cincinnati and wireless network provider, Crown Castle.

The folks at gyro approached me to help them develop a humorous video for Crown Castle around the theme “imagine a world without mobile”. The video was used in a pitch so our budget was…. um…. challenging. PPS provided production and editorial services (a special shout out to editor extraordinaire, Preston Price and his lovely wife Deb who provided stellar Voice Over work!) All on-screen talent are gyro employees and did one hell of a good job. It was kind of like one of those old Micky Rooney movies. “Let’s put on a show! We can use my granddad’s barn as a stage and Aunt Maggie has a trunk of old costumes in the attic.” I think it turned out great. Amazing what you can accomplish with a good idea and a few talented people. Imagine what we could do with a larger budget.

Huskyboy Scores Rare Triple for Cincy RTA

Posted May 22, 2013 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

Writing, Producing, Directing, that pretty much sums up how I make a living, though I rarely receive the opportunity to wear all three hats on the same job. I was lucky to receive just such an opportunity recently from Sunrise Advertising and their client Cincinnati Regional Tourism Network. (Full disclosure: I teamed with Sunrise’s Tim Hogan on the writing duties.) The spot above is one of a campaign of four commercials and my personal favorite of the bunch. The creative team at Sunrise, lead by CD John Young and the aforementioned Mr. Hogan, developed the campaign around an enthusiastic spokesperson. Someone who reminds you of your cool aunt who knows all the best attractions in her city and cannot wait to show them off. I like this spot because I think we get to see a little more of the characters quirky personality.

We shot all the commercials in a single, very windy spring day and experienced some monumental sound challenges at Great American Ballpark. The Reds were busy prepping for opening day and had all hands on deck scrubbing, hosing, raking and generally making enough noise to bring a sound man to tears. In between the pressure washers and the jack hammers we were able to squeeze in the copy. Barely… hey, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Husky Boy Hall of Fame, Grappling with Greatness

Posted January 30, 2013 & filed under Husky Boy, Opinion.

It is my distinct pleasure to announce the first inductee to the Husky Boy Hall of fame. For those of you who do not know (and why should you? I haven’t told anyone yet), the HBHOF honors great men and women who live large. These are the individuals who sink their teeth into every day and never refuse seconds. They live husky. So without further adieu I am proud to induct the first member into the Husky Boy Hall of Fame, a fabled star of sports entertainment and a boyhood hero of mine, Mr. Haystack Calhoun.

As a boy growing up in the 70s I marveled at the feats of strength, the bombastic personalities and the comic book morality play of professional wrestling. Over flowing with villains and heroes who were quite literally larger than life, pro wrestling was Saturday morning cotton candy escapism for preteen boys. Bobo Brazil, Dick the Bruiser, “Nature Boy” Buddy Rodgers, Pompero Firpo, I loved or hated them as prompted by the announcers. I gobbled up their exploits like they were Lucky Charms. My hands down favorite though was the largest of all, the first inductee to the Husky Boy Hall of Fame, Mr. William “Haystack” Calhoun.

Haystack tipped (or crushed) the scales at 640lbs. He was huge, by far the biggest man I had ever seen, but he was no stiff. He could move. He could grapple. His finishing move, “the splash” was, as you may imagine, devastating. He was inhumanly strong, earning the name “Haystack” from his ability to through bails of hay from the ground into a hayloft. Calhoun was nearly impossible to beat but what won me (and the crowd) over was is affable personality. It’s always good to see a man enjoy his work and Haystack was obviously enjoying every moment in the squared circle. In just about every match he could be seen laughing at an opponents attempts to pick him up for a slam or smiling as smaller wrestlers bounced off him in failed attempts to knock him off his feet. He played the part of a good-natured hillbilly with a twinkle in his eyes (and a horseshoe around his neck). He was a hell of an entertainer, and a sight to behold. He lived large, a true Husky Boy. Congratulations Haystack Calhoun, you are the first member of the Husky Boy Hall of Fame.

gyro Banks on Husky Boy for 5/3 Web (and I cannot resist a bad pun!)

Posted December 17, 2012 & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

OK, OK, I’m sorry about the headline, so sue me.
Late in 2012 Husky Boy produced 4, two minute web videos promoting 5/3 Bank’s mobile banking app for gyro, Cincinnati. The videos follow a couple from first tentative glance through wedding day getaway highlighting their mobile banking moments along the way, naturally. The schedule was ridiculously tight and if not for the courage of her fearless crew the Minnow would have been lost (sorry, I lapse into ’70’s sitcom theme songs on occasion, I’m working on it.) With multiple locations, props and wardrobe changes, we packed a lot into the four shoot days.

Above you can see the last of the series of four videos (and my personal favorite), below are the remaining three. Check ’em out, I hope they pique your interest. Get it, check… interest… bank videos. OK, I said I’d stop.