The Park Central Hotel

One of the original re-inventors of South Beach, Tony Goldman asked the TS&P agency to help their company (Goldman Properties) revitalize their logo and collateral materials for The Park Central Hotel. Having feel in love with the art deco beauty that is South Beach myself, this was a dream assignment – especially since The Park Central is one of the Art Deco Preservation League's more noted buildings on Ocean Drive.

Goldman Properties had used heavyweight designers like Todd Oldham for their other South Beach properties like the T, so the bar was set pretty high. I began by studying authentic art deco alphabets and type from the 1920's. I then began sketching and putting letterforms together. After awhile I found solutions that made everyone happy.

Next was the brochure, it had to be contemporary and hip without losing the original art deco integrity. We hired Bruce Weber's one-time assistant Lynda Churilla to do some sexy lifestyle and property shots. The result was 18-page duotone and full-color beauty that showcased the history and luxury of the hotel. In the end, our team (Greg Wheeler and Soren Thielemann) received the ultimate compliment when the notably tough Mr. Goldman gave the team a grade of "A+."

Helmsley Hotels

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 her 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...

Nickelodeon Latin America

My company competed against several Miami agencies to win the Nickelodeon Latin American account. Our first trade campaign targeted cable executives in Argentina and consisted of print and direct mail. One print execution featured actual Nickelodeon executives wearing masks from characters of their #1 show The Rugrats in a conference room and read, "Successful cable operators connect with kids, do you?"

Our trade campaign competed against some 3,600 entries from around the world to win the "World-Class Award" at the 21-st annual BDA Awards held in New York City. AD/CD: Me. Copy: Piper Hickman and Debbie Reznik-Meija. Photog: Louis Jay

MTV Networks, Inc.

My first job in New York was at an agency owned by a couple ex-MTV creators named Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman. We handled all the advertising for MTV Networks, Inc. including; VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick At Nite, and even introduced Comedy Central. The creatives were Noel Frankel, Tom Godici, Norm Magnusson, Bill Horvath, Bill Burnett and myself. I couldn't have asked for a hipper place and a nicer group of people. On most days, we'd have anyone from John Leguizamo, Drew Carey, Paulie Shore, The B-52s, Harry Connick, Jr. to Sting in our offices.

We worked with many of NYC's hottest artists like Lou Brooks, Jenny Holzer, Janet Woolley, Chip Simons, Al Jaffe and Charlex. In addition to MTV, we also did the advertising for Barq's Root Beer and put then unknowns like John Leguizamo and Drew Carey in their first-ever, tv commercial.

I worked mostly on logos, trade ads, billboards and direct mail for MTV. Above and below are a few samples of some of my work and a photo of some of the crew being weird.

Michele Watches

Michele Watches is a sophisticated fashion watch brand that I helped launch in Miami. It was named after the daughter of Jack Barouh, the company's founder. Barouh learned the watch trade from his father, Maurice, who owned watchmaker Tempus International in Belgium. Watch giant Fossil bought Michele Watches in 2004, but Barouh still runs the company, and his daughter, Michele, is now creative director.

While at BS&P, I was asked to redesign their logo and do a print campaign for Ocean Drive magazine. We did stark fisheye shots using some of Miami's top models – including Heather Davis who had her acting debut in Bad Boys. Below is a couple of the print executions that appeared in the publication.

Persol Sunglasses

A brand of fine Italian sunglasses that has been around since 1917. The brand was purchased by Luxottica who continues to make them in the historical factory in Lauriano (Turin).

While at BS&P, I was asked to do a campaign for an Academy Awards push in the Los Angeles market to promote their exclusive boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The magazine print portion to run in Vogue and GQ using their celebrity supermodel Carol Alt. For the radio, the campaign won gold in the local, district, and National Addy competition.

Below is one of our outdoor executions that was placed on Sunset Boulevard. I asked that the outdoor company to build a structure for the sunglass frame to make our photographic billboard wrap actually 3-D.

Havana Nines

When Henry Leace opened the first Havana Shirt Store in 2001 in Bayside Marketplace, the Panama hats, cigar boxes and Cuban art were all meant as decorations. Quickly, customers started trying to buy them. That helped Leace realize he had an opportunity to sell more than just guayaberas and tropical sportswear. His focus then turned to creating a chain of stores and a private-label brand. Smartly, he employed the help of an advertising agency.

At S/A, my team (including Chris Pastir, Manny Prieres and Amanda Burrows) started by renaming the brand to 'Havana Nines' instead of 'The Havana Shirt Company.' We then decided on a modern interpretation of a retro Cuban theme for the brand look. This included a stylized pattern of the word 'Havana' that could give the brand a certain caché like Burberry and Louis Vuitton. This pattern was incorporated into the collateral materials, advertising and even into the garments themselves.

Today, Havana Nines has a dozen stores throughout Florida and with new financing is currently undergoing national expansion. The goal is to have 55 stores by 2013.