JaxCreative

We keep hearing that the recession is over. But like private jets, vaginal rejuvenations and mixed nuts, advertising is one of the first casualties of an economic downturn. So, instead of complaining about the dirth of work out there, we’ve come up with our own positive spin on the slump.

From the Glass Half-Full Department:

1. There’s no work to clutter up your desk anymore.
2. Reduce, re-use, recycle. This now applies to gum.
3. Salon visits? Long and grey is in.
4. The word “staycation”. Nuff said.
5. Become a mac-and-cheese-atarian.
6. Nanny? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
7. Manis and pedis have become bourgeois. Plus you know how to say “bad tipper” in south asian dialects.
8. The five-second rule for dropped food has been increased to 30 seconds. Even longer if you wipe it off on your shirt.
9. DIY not only applies to re-tiling bathroom floors, but also bikini waxing and outpatient surgeries.
10. Don’t think of it as child labor, think of it as mentoring.

We’re not whiners by nature. But if we were, advertising would have us kvetching all day and all night. There are the usual client demands. Make the logo bigger. Change the headline. Control the ebb and flow of the moon’s gravitational pull.

For us, work is anything but. And the old adage “it’s not brain surgery” is so true. Even before Lisa personally experienced seven brain surgeries, we’ve both always looked at work as an opportunity to make Mojitos out of life’s lemons — lemons, limes, whatever.

Just the other day, Jackie scratched her cornea. (Word on the street was she got into a knife fight with a print vendor over color corrections.) Since she already had to wear an eye patch, she ended up being a pirate for Halloween. Way to turn that frown upside down.

Wait. Does this make us sound annoyingly blissful and happy? Like we’re sliding down rainbows on the backs of unicorns? Did we NOT mention the seven brain surgeries and a scratched cornea?

So, on the rare occasion that we get a less-than-thrilling project or have to make the logo bigger, we’re just grateful to be working. Not to mention alive and not blind.

Goodbye Flash. Hello WordPress. Our original website — built in Flash — has served us well but, it was time for a little nip and tuck. We’re going from website to blogsite because Social Media Marketing is very slimming and we all know how traditional websites add ten pounds. Enjoy our new blog job.

From the extremely random department, it’s The Amazing Hair Hat Man from the Japan Probe. They go on to explain “The narrator introduces him as “Danny, a man who has never taken off his hat for 20 years.” Seriously? I don’t know which is funnier, the Hair Hat or the Japanese graphics and commentary.

This consumer print ad was to promote The Ellen Degeneres Show and draw tune-in for her one-week only taping in New York featuring A-list celebrities. And one politician.

We took the M.A.C. brand in a whole new direction by elevating the typical beauty routine into a religious experience. Epiphanies have been documented.

Now someone will want to be president of your fan club.
Someone besides your mother.

This award-winning campaign was created for Mitsubishi’s entire line of cars and SUV’s. The strategy was to drive sales (no pun intended) and evolve the current stylized brand image by instilling a highly attention-getting and irreverent introductory campaign to catapult Mitsubishi ahead of the pack. The media buy was National News, Car, Sports and Men’s Magazines along with Nationwide Outdoor. (Insert manly grunt here)

We created this portfolio website for renowned L.A.-based Interior Designer, Mae Brunken. The challenge was to brand her above the rest and give her a style that would be fresh without being too edgy. The Flash-based site showcases her interiors in a visually stunning and interactive way. It’s kept current by continually updating her homepage with new and exciting work as it becomes available.