While at the BS&P agency, the owner was close personal friends with the 'Queen of Mean' herself, Leona Helmsley and took on the Helmsley Hotels account right after he
r release from prison. So, we decided to turn this almost surreal moment in time into something that would help us by using her persona in the ad campaign. I guess this is what you call making lemonade out of lemons.I started by rebranding the identity with a badge I found on a gate while photographing the six different hotels in New York City. This badge would serve as kind of a new look for the dated-looking existing logos. I then worked with photographer Bill Sumner to shoot detail shots of all the properties as well. One of the better shots was when we used the reflection of The Park Lane from a lake in Central Park (see lower left corner of ad).
The work was well received and got various mentions in USA Today, The New York Post and The New York Observer. In fact, some of the ads are still posted in Grand Central Station today. Talk about a woman with staying power...
