Odds and ends.
File under: This, That, Other
The above photo was taken the first time I ever saw my work for a global brand “in the wild.” I had spent a lot of time on that window decal, working on various details of the background texture and the nuances of the type treatment. By contrast, the store manager clearly did not invest that kind of time into mounting it on the glass.
This story has a point: I don’t expect anyone to spend as much time on my work as I do, and I know that some of the other sections of this website can be a bit wordy. So here’s an opportunity to scroll through some melty mouth-watering goodness.
Social posts for an ahead-of-its-time product innovation that hit markets just before the seltzer boom of the late 2010’s. Svedka Spiked Premium Seltzer didn’t survive, but don’t blame me — these were some of the best-performing social posts our client’s media partner had ever seen. Styled, shot, and edited in-house at Upshot with a very small team on a very tight timeline and budget.
My role here: Creative direction
Creative team: David Huettner, Meredith Johnston, David Kail, Allie Musial
Corona has been a partner of the V Foundation for Cancer Research for over a decade and raised over 15 million dollars in that time. For every Corona sold during March Madness, a donation is made (the V Foundation was started in honor of late NCAA basketball coach Jim Valvano).
In 2019 we were asked to come up with something to go beyond that simple transaction, to try and inspire more active consumer participation. We teamed up with the cause marketing platform Omaze and the very funny Rob Corddry to help us incentivize participation.
The campaign ran at retail, on social media, and on Omaze’s platform during the 2019 tournament and helped Corona raise $1.72 million for the organization when all was said and done.
My role here: Creative direction
Creative team: Sarah Altenburg, Landon Dinnin, Tyler Schmidt, and the very cool people at Omaze
Pitch-winning concept work that landed Upshot the Tazo Tea business, a division of Starbucks. The pitch assignment was to introduce the new flavor-forward chai concentrate option alongside the classic tea bag format in a campaign that could span print, shopper, and digital media.
Tazo chai — with its rich, complex flavor — inspires contemplative, creative moments of enjoyment. These concept visuals set the tone for work that included sampling events, limited-edition box art, and a Pinterest-based contest in which drinkers could submit and vote on user-generated concepts for the next box.
My role here: Art direction
Copywriter: Sarah Uchison
This holiday season campaign nods to Modelo’s Mexican origins, featuring some traditional cuisine (pozole y tostadas) and a holiday icon whose literal roots are in Mexico (I learned while making this that poinsettias are native to the country). It ran during the 2020 Christmas season and was a warm, simple gesture to close out a difficult year. We shot it in March, on what turned out to be the last day of “normal work” before everyone headed home for the year.
Marketing in 2020 was a weird thing in general as we all tried to figure out what to say to people. I don’t know if anyone got it just right, but I feel pretty good about these images of quiet comfort and joy.
My role here: Creative direction
Creative team: Gaba Gonzalez, Joel Richter
Photos: Michael Maes
Working for the beer division of Constellation Brands during a period of astounding growth has led to some fun assignments, like the launch of some new Corona products. Corona Refresca was their first foray into flavored malt beverages and, if you ask me, it tastes way better than a Lime-A-Rita. On set for this shoot I learned that passionfruit looks like alien eggs no matter how you slice it.
My role here: Creative direction
Creative team: Jeff Konkel & Will Wilson
Photo: Joe Pellegrini
Here’s another image from a product launch campaign, this one for the introduction of the ultra-light beer Corona Premier. The brand positioning of “elevated light beer” is on full display here as the camera looks up at the heroic product, which is situated in an upscale interior. It’s evident that this not your college dorm’s light beer, nor is it your dad’s Corona — the lime leaning at the base of the beer suggests a new take on an old classic.
My role here: Creative direction
Creative team: Jeff Konkel & Will Wilson
Photo: Michael Maes
Corona, the world’s #1 Mexican beer, has become pretty much synonymous with the American observation of Cinco de Mayo over the years. This campaign was an installment of the brand’s yearly “Corona de Mayo” tradition of encouraging celebration with food, music, and (of course) the cerveza.
The work I created here sort of launched my career in beer way back in 2014. I came up with the visual treatment and directed the photo production, and the history that ensued is scattered all over this website.
My role here: Art direction
Creative director: David Nigh
Photos: Brian Kuhlmann
That’s all for now.